Employee Farewell Letter
by Management

A personalised employee farewell letter that frames leaving in positive terms - such as a New Beginning and Opportunities - should be part of the leaving process that will reduce grievances between employees and management.

In these current economic times, it is very prudent to ensure that your employees leave on the most positive note possible. After all, letting someone go, when it is not on their terms, does affect your company morale.
There is no real measure for the goodwill that these 'small things', such as goodbye letters, can do for people faced with an uncertain future.

An encouraging goodbye letter, for all leavers, with Outplacement Services such as new career training or courses will ensure that there is no rancour or bitterness.
This in turn will make your company desirable to work for when the next boom cycle occurs, so that you attract the best talent and in turn, increase productivity. It will also show your current employees that your company will try to do its best for them.

Why not consider providing work-at-home website retraining for your outplaced employees? This way they can turn their own hobbies and interests into an income.

Example Employee Farewell Letter On Redundancy

Dear XYZ,

As per our last conversation on [date], I regret to confirm that the position you have filled in the company is now redundant.

It's with a heavy heart that we lose you, as it was a very difficult decision. We could not justify keeping the position in these current times.

Please be assured that, had the decision been made to keep the position, there would have been no question about keeping you in the role.

The decision to reduce our workforce was the toughest decision we could possibly make, and we acknowledge the impact this news has on affected employees.
We deeply regret having to take this action.
We are committed to treating people fairly and respectfully throughout this transition in and we thank each and every employee affected for their commitment and service to the company.
We are making difficult decisions during challenging times.

Other changes to the company have been: [list changes, numbers of other redundancies, and other loss of perks etc].

We have enrolled you in the [Outplacement program with GHJ, courtesy of the company. GHJ will outline new opportunities and direct you onto new paths. We are well aware of your considerable skills [listing them is a nice touch, or mention a project they did well in] and believe GHJ can help you to find new ways to use them in different industries, or other companies with different directions to ours.

We encourage you to take up this service, as we believe you can continue to make significant contributions in a new direction.

Your last day will be [date] and we would appreciate you handing over the outstanding work to RST. We will be having a farewell party for everyone on the [date] after the Outplacement program finishes.

I wish you all the best in your future.

Warmest regards,

PQR
on behalf of TUV company.

Example Termination Letter

So the company is about to fire someone? This must also be handled sensitively.

Before firing someone, think about how that person is actually a symptom of a wider workplace problem. Even if it seems only one person is having a difficult time, their behaviour could still indicate a systematic problem (e.g. conflicting KPIs in the workforce, unclear policies, ineffective management in handling issues). Have a look at the wider picture, see if changes can be made and observe their effects before 'blaming' someone for any issues and sacking them.

Even if the decision to fire someone is popular among the workforce, how the sacking is handled will still have an effect on workplace morale. Show that you are aware of your effect on their lives by offering outplacement retraining or resume services as you let them go (such as in the employee farewell letter below).

Essentially the reason to fire will have something to do with a lack of performance, or the fact that the workplace dynamic will be improved.

And more importantly, the person involved should already be aware of where they stand, having had previous feedback from managers via performance reviews or informal discussions.

With these points in mind, the example employee farewell letter below continues the theme of constructive feedback in addressing the employee termination. If written well, it could also serve as a reference for their next job!

Dear XYZ,

I regret to confirm that the company has terminated your services.

It's with a heavy heart that we have made this very difficult decision.

Essentially the role requires the following particular skills: [e.g. customer service diplomacy, attention to detail/deadlines - make sure these skills are very specific. Note how customer service diplomacy is used and not just 'customer service' which is vague.]

Over the time you have been with us, you have been able to provide the following attributes: [list some skills here that have been valuable]. I would also like to note the following contributions you made: [list some 'wins' that person helped with].

While your time with the company has been valuable, over time it's become apparent that you would be more suited to a role in [list some roles or industries here] as your strengths are [list strengths]. Within this company, we already have people who perform those roles, so we cannot put your specific talents and abilities to the best use here.

We would like to offer you entrepreneurial coaching to find your 'best fit'. We are well aware of your considerable skills and perhaps your interest in [list some hobbies they have] could take you onto a new career path.

We encourage you to take up this service, as we believe your [drive/motivation/brains etc] can continue to make significant contributions in a new direction.

I wish you all the best in your future.

Warmest regards,

PQR
on behalf of TUV company.

Going ahead with a farewell speech at work for them?  Click here.

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