How to Write a Farewell Email to Co-Workers
  • 5-minute read
  • 3rd October 2021

How to Write a Farewell Email to Co-Workers

You’ve handed in your letter of resignation, and you’re getting ready to move on from your workplace. All you need to do now is say goodbye to your colleagues, and sending a farewell email is the perfect way to do it. But what should this involve? Follow our top five tips to ensure your farewell email says just the right thing:

  1. State what the email is about in the subject line.
  1. Tailor your message to reflect your relationship with each recipient.
  1. Express positive sentiments about the company and your colleagues.
  1. Give your contact details so they can keep in touch (if they want to!).
  1. Check your writing for errors before you hit ‘send’.

Read on to learn more about writing a farewell email to co-workers.

1. Make it Clear What the Email is About

No doubt your colleagues receive more emails each day than they have time to read. Make sure yours doesn’t get ignored by making good use of the subject line.

The exact wording will depend on who you are writing to, but in every case, you should keep it brief and make it obvious what the main body of the email will be about (e.g. something like Goodbye for now or Thanks and farewell).

2. Tailor Your Messages

You probably have a range of different relationships within the workplace, and this should be reflected in the tone of your farewell emails.

We suggest drafting several wordings. You could write a casual message to your closest colleagues, which might include an invitation to join you for a drink on your last day or reminisce about some shared memorable moments at work.

When you write to staff members that you are less familiar with, you will want to adopt a more formal style (and you might not want to invite them to the pub!).

3. Be Positive and Appreciative

Use your farewell email to express gratitude to your co-workers and acknowledge the experiences you have gained through your employment.

You should say positive things about your time with the company rather than enthusing about what you are going to do next. It’s fine to briefly mention your immediate plans, but make sure that’s not the main focus of your message.

Take the opportunity to mention specific things that you are grateful to individual people for, and remember to wish them well for the future.

It’s worth bearing in mind that you might end up working with some of these people again one day, especially if your new role is within the same industry, so you’ll want to be remembered as a supportive and upbeat teammate.

4. Give Your Contact Details

When you leave, you will no longer have access to your company email, so if you want your former colleagues to keep in touch, you need to tell them how to do so.

By providing your private email address or LinkedIn profile, you will be leaving the door open for both professional relationships and valuable friendships to continue.

Of course, if there are people you’d rather not hear from again, that’s okay! Just send them a polite farewell email that doesn’t include your contact details.

5. Check Your Farewell Emails for Errors

It’s a good idea to read your emails through a few times before you send them. After all, you don’t want your parting messages to be full of typos.

Try reading them to yourself out loud – preferably when nobody else is around – so you can be sure your emails flow well. Spell-check is a useful tool for weeding out typos like goobdye or thnaks, but you can’t rely on it to pick up correctly spelled but wrong words (e.g. I’ll kiss you instead of I’ll miss you).

As such, it pays to proofread carefully. And if you’d like your writing to be checked by an expert, our team is available 24/7. You can even try our service for free.

Farewell Email Examples

We will finish this post with two example emails – one for close work buddies and one that’s a bit more formal – that you can use for inspiration.

Farewell Email to Close Colleagues

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To: BenG; JohnnyS; ReedR

Subject: It’s been fun

Guys,

As I’m sure you already know, Friday will be my last day with Fantastic Job Ltd. Next week I’ll be starting a new role at Forcefield Corp. I’ve really enjoyed working with you, and I wish you all continued success at FJL.

Ben, I’ve appreciated your honesty as well as your jokes (most of them anyway). I will always remember you, Reed, as one of the most flexible people I’ve ever worked with. And Johnny, I learned so much from our heated discussions.

I’m sure we’ll stay in touch even though you won’t see me at the office anymore. You can reach me at sue@invisible.com.

Keep on making a difference!

Sue

Formal Farewell Email

To: HarveyA

Subject: Moving on from FJL

Dear Dr Allen,

As you will have heard, I will soon be moving on from my role here at Fantastic Job Ltd. My final day will be this Friday, 8th October.

I wanted to thank you personally for the support you’ve given me throughout my time at FJL. I am especially grateful for the training I received when I first joined the company and for the way you helped me develop my skills.

If you wish to contact me in the future, you’ll find me at www.linkedup.com/in/susan-storm12aabb

All the best,

Sue Storm

Comments (2)
Anel
11th October 2021 at 00:25
I know using "Guys" has become a common generic expression. However, many women I know do not prefer being called "Guys." How might we began to address this when writing or speaking to a more inclusive audience?
    Proofed
    11th October 2021 at 10:26
    Hi, Anel. Depending on what your relationship is with the recipients and the tone you want to strike, you can use whichever mode of address you prefer in an informal context, from 'Ladies and gentlemen,' to 'Heya, losers!' (although the latter might depend on having a very banter-heavy friend group). If you're looking for a straight replacement for 'guys', then you could try 'folks', 'y'all', 'team', 'people', 'friends', 'crew', 'everyone', or a whole range of other terms. It's really up to you!




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