Breaking up is always difficult. And this applies not only to romantic relationships but even to changing jobs. If you are going to leave your position, think about a goodbye message. In this way, you will not only leave a positive impression, but you will also be able to create a strong professional network, maintaining contact with your co-workers or even your immediate boss.
By now, you’ve probably had a few ‘I’m leaving’ conversations in person with various colleagues. Still, before you officially leave your position, you should send a farewell email to colleagues UK in which you express your best wishes and leave your contact details. A goodbye letter is not just a way of demonstrating polite business behaviour but also a great way of ensuring you end your employment with a particular company positively. It can help you keep in touch with your colleagues in the future.

On your last day at the company, you must send farewell letters to several recipients. You may have to write several letters for close colleagues, direct reports, immediate boss and customers.

If you need to learn how to write a goodbye email, you’re not very good at saying goodbye, and you find it difficult to write about leaving your place of work, but you will find our article useful. Use the following tips to say goodbye properly and show good etiquette to the people you’ve worked with for years.

Planning Your Farewell Email

Writing a goodbye email is a must for every employee who wants to part on a positive note. Once you have submitted your resignation letter and your company has accepted it, it is worth taking care of a proper goodbye. It is not enough to have a personal conversation. Even if everyone knows perfectly well that you will leave, you should still email your co-workers with whom you have worked closely. It is standard practice among real professionals.

Well-chosen words will not only allow you to express appreciation, but you can also use the goodbye email as a great opportunity to share your alternate contact information, including:

LinkedIn profile url;
personal email address and other important data to keep in touch in the future.

Farewell emails are often sent out to those people in your professional network whom you want to rely on in the future if you need advice or any other professional help. In addition, they can also provide you with new opportunities in the future – you need to remember to return the favour in the future.

If you are going to write a goodbye email, it is important to think carefully about what it should look like. In this situation, the first thing to think about is the recipients, the tone of the message, and when to send it. Each of these issues has its own nuances. Of course, you can use ready-made goodbye email templates, but you still need to know a few important rules for doing it right.

Timing and Context

Goodbye mail should happen AFTER you send two weeks’ notice of departure. A formal farewell must take place when you physically leave the company and will no longer be seen at the workplace. It should be sent on the final day, after which you will no longer be seen in the office. Note that if you want to ask the recipient of the goodbye email to inform you about any unresolved issues, it is best to send the email in advance. But it would help if you still tried to get things sorted out before you leave.

One more important thing to keep in mind: if you send goodbye emails through a special platform that you will not be able to access after you leave your position (this could be your company’s email account or other options), you need to allow your colleagues to respond to the message. Therefore, you need to plan your goodbye email responsibly.

Recipient List

Next, you should think carefully about sending personalised goodbye emails to everyone you have had regular contact with in the workplace throughout your tenure with the company. If the company is small enough that you can interact personally with each employee, you should still send out emails to co-workers. Suppose you worked in a large enough company with several hundred or even thousands of employees. In that case, you should only send goodbye emails to people in your department or other departments with whom you worked directly on various projects.

There may also be individual co-workers with whom you have a deeper working relationship than others. In this situation, you should send a personalised message to that particular person. Also, remember a direct supervisor with whom you have worked for a long time. You can write about how much fun your years of work have brought you and how grateful you are for the experience.

Tone and Style

A final goodbye in a formal written form is necessary to express gratitude to people you have worked with for a long time. A farewell message also creates opportunities to communicate with these people in the future. It is worth keeping a positive attitude. It would help if you did not describe unprofessional remarks or express a negative opinion of the company. Stay on a positive note in your message. Remember, the goodbye email is your last chance to make a positive impression on your team before moving on to future endeavours in your career.

Farewell Email Structure

The farewell message must have a correct and clear structure. It is worth remembering that this letter belongs to one of the types of business correspondence and allows you to demonstrate politeness and professionalism. Goodbye email templates can have a ready-made structure, but at the same time, it is worth knowing clearly what sections the message should consist of. There are not so many of them already.

Subject Line

The Farewell email subject line should always be well thought out. Include an appropriate subject line so your colleagues will read the email and only ignore it in their inbox after even opening it. It will allow you to let as many people as possible know you are leaving. Some may send out a single goodbye email to the whole company – this is the easiest and quickest way to say goodbye to all employees. But you can also email a smaller group of people a goodbye.

The subject line should be bright and eye-catching to be easily noticed on the page. In particular, you can use the following ready-made variants:

Thank you for everything;
We’ll stay in touch;
Moving on;
My last day;
Saying goodbye was never easy;
I’m not saying goodbye;
My personal contact information so you can keep in touch.

You can use the ready-made options above or come up with a subject line that will catch the eye.

Opening and Greeting

The next important point is the introduction and greeting. In this situation, it is not necessary to be formal – if you send goodbye emails to close colleagues, it is enough to write “Hi …” followed by the name. If it is a general mailing, it is best to write “dear team…”. Please note that if you are going to say goodbye to your immediate boss or clients, you should keep the tone as formal as possible.

Expressing Gratitude

When saying goodbye on your final day at work, you should stay positive. You can write that you enjoyed working but must move on to conquer new heights. You can also dive into fond memories to express gratitude for the joint years of work. If you are saying goodbye to your boss, you can write how grateful you are for your experience, what skills you have acquired, and other options at your discretion.

Sharing Memories and Achievements

In your farewell letter, you can share fond memories of your work. Also, it is best to mention how the recipient of the email contributed to your success. This way, your goodbye email will become more personal, memorable and attractive. At the same time, you must ensure you are sincere enough. You don’t want to make your goodbye too flattering and luscious. If you do, you risk leaving behind a less than favourable impression.

Future Contact Information

The main reason for sending a goodbye email is a great way to leave your contact details for future communication. You probably won’t have access to your work email account anymore, so it’s best to include personal email and other contact details. If you want to, you can also leave your mobile phone number.

Closing Remarks and Farewell

You can conclude by expressing your extreme gratitude and your desire not to break off the relationship after you leave the job permanently. You can share future plans. At the same time, include a personal email address where you can be contacted. You can also offer your own assistance so that colleagues can contact you if they need career advice or any other professional issues.

Adding Personal Touch

Before starting the next chapter in your professional life, you need to wrap things up competently at your previous place of work without having to cut all ties. To make an email to co-workers more personal, adding positive memories or even a compliment doesn’t hurt. In any case, it should be a positive note, not a letter that will only upset the recipient.

Personal Anecdotes

Over the years, it is likely that you have developed your own professional jokes, understood only by a narrow circle of people. You can recall a funny moment and tell a small joke so that the recipient of your letter reads it with a smile.

Inside Jokes and References

A positive note is a much better option than a tearful message that will leave a sad residue. Email to co-workers should have a warm and positive tone. You can write a little joke so the parting is not so sad. Your inside joke can only be understood by you. If you have a deeper connection only with specific colleagues, you can write a separate personalised goodbye email only for your closest ones with jokes that only you will understand.

Tailoring for Different Colleagues

Goodbye emails are not the kind of situation where it is enough to say “To whom it may concern”. In this situation, a professional greeting of “Dear” or “Hello” is a must, followed by the names of your colleagues in EVERY email you send. In addition, there should be clarity about who does what in a goodbye email. It is unnecessary to include your colleagues’ job titles so that the goodbye is not too formal. An example of an optimal address:

Dear Miss Anderson,
Hello, Mr Pitterson.

Farewell Email Best Practices

Goodbye emails are important to maintaining a positive relationship with your former manager and colleagues. Just as you want to showcase yourself in the best possible light at your new job, it’s worth leaving behind only fond memories. In order to do this, you should follow the following professional guidelines.

Keep it Positive

Your farewell letter should be positive and friendly. Say how grateful you are for the experience and the opportunity to work with such talented people. Indicate that you will be working. If you send a letter to a loved one, you can share a joke, a funny moment, or a good memory.

Be Concise

You should not write a long farewell letter of several pages. Keep it as short and sweet as possible. Try keeping it to 1-2 paragraphs. You should not go into small details about your new job, and you should not detail your excitement about leaving. You should also not speak negatively about management, the company itself, or work team members. It is best to stay brief; state that you are grateful and leave your contacts.

Proofreading and Editing

To avoid wasting time, be sure to reread your letter at the very end. There should be no grammatical or punctuation errors. In addition, check that all names are correct, also double-check that the recipient’s personal email and details are correct. Agree you want the boss to refrain from reading a letter addressed to your close colleague, where you described your joke, which concerns the management. It will not leave a positive impression.

Avoiding Controversial Topics

It would help if you did not mention controversial topics to ensure that reading your farewell letter brings absolute pleasure and leaves a positive impression. In particular, if you stay on a good note, you should not continue the conflict. Also, it would help if you did not describe why you decided to quit, listing the company’s shortcomings.