Goodbye messages for coworkers can be written on different occasions such as the departure of a person from his or her previous work to retirement or a change in the company team either due to a new offer or the completion of a project.
On the other hand, you’re pained for them and their exit from a familiar surrounding. On the one hand, you will undoubtedly benefit from not working with such persons on a daily basis.
Writing a Goodbye cards for coworkers may seem quite challenging and even overwhelming but it is a worthy demonstration of appreciation and well-wishing. The right words matter in order to make them feel valued, supported and with right energy to move to the next operational level.
But, you may wonder, what should one write in a coworker goodbye card, then? And how can one, in fact, achieve the right tone? Here are some tips to ensure a meaningful workplace ritual.
What to Write
The main idea of writing a genuine farewell note card is to maintain an appropriate balance between a formal tone and personal feelings. It has to be tame enough for a corporate environment but still be personable and communicative of your greetings and sentiments.
Here are some elements to consider including:Here are some elements to consider including:
Appreciation and Gratitude
Begin by appreciating your coworker for the efforts that he or she has been playing in the team as well as the organization at large. Emphasize particular activities during which they showed their influence, either as professionals, workers, teammates, or even helpers who can add humor to situations.
Fond Memories
Tell about the favorite story or two you might have experienced with your leaving colleague. Aside from helping you summarize the positive outcomes they have generated it also brings a heartier tone that is more personal. Just be mindful to keep it clean and not dirty without crossing the line of being too office inappropriately.
Well-Wishes
End the card with sincere wishes for your coworker’s work forwarding. This can range from interest in the next stage of their career; their longing to be happy and discover their satisfaction; maybe a simple farewell wish that they will keep in touch.
Signature and Sentiment
Finally finish the card with a heartfelt message like: Best regards, You will be missed, Regards, Thanks. After that, add your name – and if possible, a small personal greeting or signature – to make it more personal.
Keep it Positive
If you feel that it is difficult for you to write the card since your coworker is leaving, then try to tone your card with positive and celebratory language. Do not allow any negativity or passiveness to come forth, and instead speak about the challenging new adventures they are going to experience.
Be Authentic
You will obviously need to keep a professional tone but it would also be nice to add your personal touch; after all, you care and they know it. It is critical that the message is sincere and comes from the heart; otherwise it will be perceived as just another generic message.
Consider the Medium
In current times of working from home or a mixture of at home and office, a photo collage of digital farewell cards may be the most feasible. This way all of your coworker’s colleagues have a quick access to this function and can add their own messages too. But you have to put your personal feeling into the signature.
Time it Right
If possible, try to arrange for the delivery of the farewell card on the last working day of the counterpart’s career or on the sending-off party. This will mean the message is timely for them and they are also able to properly digest the well wishes from the team.
Personalize It
The elements of what to write as specified above are a good guide but the most personal touch would be to express a message that stems from the particular coworker being bid farewell. Look closely at your personal connection with them and engagement. Include information or jokes specific to your relationship that reflects your special rapport.
For example, you could mention a humorous situation that you went through with this person, a particularly valuable project you may have worked on together, or a common interest or activity that you talked about. This demonstrates that you care and have a personal touch when conveying a message.
Consider the Relationship
The language used in parting message may also differ depending on terms of interaction with the outgoing colleague. A card for a friend or a staunch supporter in the organization may thus be more sentimental and touch on personal matters as compared to an acquaintance at work.
But remember if you are writing to a very close colleague then you should add more emotional paragraphs to how you will miss working with them. A more distanced coworker can emphasize more on the desire to see him or her move on to the next stage of career.
Solicit Group Contributions
In most of the cases the cards written as a goodbye card will be used and signed by the whole teams or department. This ensures that everyone can contribute to expressing their gratitude and wishes to the entire group.
But to take advantage of this grouping style best, one may want to consider distributing the card electronically so that off-site and partially onsite workers can also participate. It is also possible to ask everyone to share their favorite memory, or words of wisdom, or even your own farewell message in order to make it collaborative.
The fact that a group card is purchased for the departing coworker is also very symbolic, as it means that the whole group of employees felt their influence.
