How To Say Goodbye to a Good Employee

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye! The Sound of Music certainly made it seem easy to say goodbye if you use a jaunty little tune to accompany your adieu, but the reality is often very different when a beloved employee is moving on from their current job position to another place for various reasons. They might be retiring. Maybe they need to relocate for family or for a bigger salary. They might even be an intern who finished up the semester and is planning to intern at another position afterward.

No matter what the case, you can’t help but feel the sad sentiment creep up inside of you. You worked alongside this person on projects and deadlines and bonded over silly inside joke emails and group meetings. You probably got lunch together at some point and maybe even hung out outside of the office. They were a stable and dependable part of your life- and the business. That employee brought their own special touch to help aid the company in an invaluable way and ultimately left behind an imprint on your life and most likely the lives of others in the office who worked with them.

Here at MyCorporation, we value our associates and the energy and talent they bring to the office each day. Creating strong relationships together as a company unit as well as outside with our customers is important to us. There is a saying that many hands make light work and beyond just hands, many unique voices and personalities  make companies light-hearted as well as trustworthy and down to earth. When you work with a great person who gives their all and goes above and beyond to shine,  every day becomes an adventure together. Whether you’re breezing through the shining days together or weathering a storm of complications, you know you wouldn’t be able to do it all on your own.

Here’s how to send off that associate with all the best wishes.

Get together for a goodbye lunch Depending on how pivotal the role of the employee to the company is and the size of your company, you may want to invite the entire office along or at least those who worked within their department. If you are a fairly small business, you may just want to have lunch be a one on one session between the CEO and employee on the way out. Make the affair light-hearted while out together and recall great times together with plenty of laughter.

Offer to send along a written recommendation You can use a letter if you want, but these days it’s best to request for one to be used on your LinkedIn account. Future associates and employers (hey, you never know just how many career transitions you might have!) will be able to read that recommendation and see the type of work you are both capable of and the personality you bring along to the table.

Communicate often There aren’t many employers who appreciate unprofessional farewells from employees. For these situations, it truly does depend on the type of relationship the pair had together though. In many cases, the employee might believe they’re leaving with a bang by swearing at their former bosses and quitting on the spot, but in truth for many employers all it does is burn bridges. You never know whether or not you might encounter this person again later on in your life, so it is best to keep your emotions in check and exit as gracefully and dignified as possible. If your relationship together was strong, be sure to stay in touch. Email often, friend one another on Facebook, and check in with the others’ life as much as you can. An employee never has to wait for their boss to initiate the connection either- a little “how are you doing” email sent on the spur of the moment never fails to put a smile on your face!