A farewell card for a coworker, from the whole team at once
A digital farewell card the whole team signs from their phones. Share one link in Slack or email, and give your coworker a show on their last day.
When a coworker leaves, someone usually buys a card and sends it around the office. Half the team works from home, a few people are on another floor, and the card reaches the last desk an hour before the farewell lunch.
Here the card goes around as a link, a virtual farewell card that reaches the office and the remote half of the team alike. Everyone writes from their own phone, so nobody waits for the card to reach them, and people who hear the news late can still sign before the deadline. On the last day, your coworker opens the link and watches everyone’s messages as a show.
A sample farewell show
This is a sample card. Every person, company and message in it is made up.
Farewell question slips
Pick the farewell occasion and these question slips are ready. Each signer picks one and answers it, which is easier than facing a blank card. You can edit, remove or add slips, up to eight in all. Anything that fits none of them goes on the last slip, “Anything you’d like to say.”
- Remember when we first met?
- The days we pulled through together
- A moment I was grateful for
- Cheering you on from here
A timeline that works
- About ten days before the last day, make the card and set the deadline for the day before.
- Post the writing link where the team talks, without the person who’s leaving. There’s a ready-made announcement in the organizer’s guide.
- Two days before the deadline, remind the people who haven’t signed yet, once.
- After the deadline, preview the card in the editor and finish it. Send the viewing link on the last day, or play it at the farewell party.
Watching it together at the farewell party
On a laptop connected to the TV, the stage spreads out to fill the wide screen. Press the right arrow key for the next message and the space bar to pause. With many messages, hold the right arrow key to fast-forward.
Getting everyone to sign
- Make a new channel or thread for the announcement rather than posting where the person leaving can see it.
- Send the same link to people in other teams, or to clients they worked with. Nobody needs an account.
- Before you send the viewing link, check whether any message should be hidden. Hidden messages stay out of the show.
Will my coworker find out early?
Not from the card. The writing link can’t open the show. The viewing link is made only when you finish the card, and nobody can watch until you send it.
Can I use it as a goodbye card or a going-away card?
Yes, it’s the same card. Pick the farewell occasion. Its question slips fit a coworker who’s moving away as well as one who’s changing jobs, and you can still edit them.
What if several people are leaving at once?
Make one card for each person. Each card gets its own writing link, so post each name next to its link.
Does it cost anything?
The card and the viewing link are free. If your coworker wants to keep the card as a PDF to print, they can buy the keepsake from the viewing link.
For people who don’t know what to write, share the farewell message examples along with the link.
Making a card and the viewing link are free. Only the person who makes the card signs in, with a Google account.