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Ask your questionRecent farewell questions"I am a student of 11th class and need to know what my classmates can give to the graduating 12th class. Can you provide some cheap but cool gift ideas?" " Swapna from India Given the current global economic climate, you could make a little 'survival' kit - like a little show-bag that has some instant soup, food vouchers, a map to a shelter, a poncho, a fishing line and hook, a budget planner, a credit card cutter and "common sense" (get creative with how you represent the latter). You can have fun thinking what else is needed to 'survive' the world out there. This is a topical gift, and not every show-bag has to be the same. Be clever and witty, but above all keep it clean, as you are representing yourselves in the gift-giving. "I am leaving my current job but will still be in the same industry with more or less same clients in the same regions. How should I farewell my clients and inform them that I will still be in touch in a professional way?" Don from Singapore This situation of your farewell question can be tricky because you don't want to alienate your old workplace by poaching clients, yet you still want your clients to know that you are still a presence in the industry. If your old workplace is having a party for you (and it needs to be an appropriate party) you should invite the clients. You don't have to ask permission to do this - after all, they are attending a company function of which they are clients, and you may have developed good personal relationships with them, so it is entirely appropriate that they be invited. Inviting them will also make them feel part of the company 'family'. Make sure that you deliver a speech that includes your continued presence in the industry and say that you welcome everyone to keep in touch. If the company is not hosting a send-off for you, you should organise one yourself. And as you will be inviting clients, you should invite as many colleagues and managers of your old workplace so that it doesn't appear to be a poaching exercise. If there is no party, you should send an email to everyone (workplace and clients) saying a nice goodbye, thanking everyone for the time you had there, and your new contact details so that everyone can keep in touch. Send along a cookie basket or wine with a letter saying the same thing (and thanking them for their support over the time you have worked with them) to the clients if you really want to chase them down. The latter is more aggressive but just shy of actual poaching, as you are only saying what you would be saying to your old workplace. "My farewell question is about my boss retiring and leaving India. What should I include in the farewell speech, as he has completed 20 years in India?" John from India You can celebrate how Indian he is and the uniquely Indian habits that he will still have in his new country. You might add a joke about how some streets might be named after him, as he has been in India so long (I'm sure somewhere in India you will find it, even if its only vaguely similar!) You can also talk about how he has brought his own influences to the workplace and what you (the company workers and the company as a business) will remember best about him. Focus on qualities he has both as a boss and as a fellow human - as people near retirement tend to reflect holistically on their time in an organisation. Tell him that India is lucky to have had his best years but also say that you all wish for him a long and happy retirement ahead. "I need an idea for organising a matriculation farewell" Vanessa from South Africa Think of the farewell as a Commencement Ceremony, where the focus is on how the leaving students will look forward to the future. The speech should include what they got out of the year at school, how they were inspired, and what they will take with them into the future. The farewell party could have a futuristic theme, such as "Come as what you will be in 20 years". Or you could conduct a survey on what everyone thinks will happen to everyone else, then organise a few backdrops and props and costumes of what people will be so they can dress up and have photos taken, as a fun activity. For example, a backdrop of a farm and a lassoo and chaps for someone who wants to be a cowboy. Or a Nobel prize and ministerial gowns etc. These photos can be put together into an album as a souvenir afterwards. If the send-off is at school, a simple and easy idea is to get some t-shirts and markers and have everybody wear them, signing each other's shirts. This is a fun way to say goodbye with best wishes. "I find goodbyes very emotional - I work very closely with people in some remote workplaces (I am a locum pharmacist) - and am always overwhelmed when I have a farewell thrown for me. How do I get some control over myself - I'm not ashamed about crying but I do want to appear professional!" Melanie from Australia This is quite a common farewell question: you are not alone! It can be very overwhelming to have a mass of people show so much appreciation for you. During the farewell itself, keep things light. Don't ever say good-bye, but "I'll see you in the outback somewhere when you need first aid". This way you are neutralising a farewell - with all of its 'never see you again' connotations - into something less intense. During a farewell speech to you - conduct a mental exercise with yourself. After every sentence think of a witty reply - this way your brain is engaging in something and not focussing so much on the intense meaning of the speech. And don't read the card until you get home!!
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