<aside> 👋🏼 Saying goodbye to a teammate is never easy. Whether it’s due to a teammate leaving for another job, retirement, or any other circumstance — saying farewell can be difficult and emotional.

It’s natural for those of us who have worked closely with someone over the years to feel a sense of loss when they are no longer part of our team.

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There are a few things to keep in mind when saying goodbye to a teammate:

👉🏼 It is important to be respectful and to be understanding that this person is leaving - whether they’re leaving on their own accord or being let go.

👉🏼 If the person is being let go and you’ve already informed them of your decision (in 1:1), as a manager, give them some time to process the news and process their emotions.

• Hearing this news can be devastating emotionally and financially for the person being let go. It’s important to hold a safe space for the person to digest the news and first, process their fear or anger, or sadness, and then let them shift out of it.
  • The time varies for everyone but it usually takes a day or two for them to really process.

👉🏼 Bi-directionality is crucial when someone is leaving the team.

• Notify the team the same day that the person finds out - their end date, so it’s not a surprise to the team. State the reason, to an extent that’s appropriate - do not disclose private information.
  • The best thing is for the employment to end the same day as the person finds out they no longer have a job at MM. Having them stay after that point is not healthy for anyone. So, the person's last day is the day that they get the news. This should also be the day that the rest of the team gets the news as well.
• Let the teammate announce the news themselves in the #team-announcements channel in Slack.
  • Encourage them to give their farewells, leave their contact information, and tell the what they’re was up to next.

👉🏼 Express gratitude for the time spent together. There are a few ways to do this:

• Block a time, say 10mins, in an all-hands meeting or the closest team meeting for everyone to celebrate the person by:
  • Thank them for their contributions.
  • Acknowledge what they will be missed most of.
  • Offer well-wishes for their future endeavors.
• Have a farewell lunch or happy hour. If location and time permits, it can be valuable to hold an in-person gathering to eat out with the team to celebrate the person.
• If a sync meeting is not possible due to distributed time zones, you can opt to:
  1. Write a farewell card or email where the team can share their love and appreciation for the person. The manager can organize this and send it on their last day. That way, everyone starts humble and leaves grateful.
     • It could be in a message format or people can send a screenshot of what most represents the person leaving in their mind. Examples of this would be a slack message, a photo, a meme, work output, etc. These can be organized into a digital card/board.
  2. This could also be in a video format. People can individually record a loom/video celebrating the teammate and combine it as a company farewell with good wishes.
  3. Send them off with a farewell gift (e.g. gift card, gift basket, etc.) as a token of appreciation for all they have done.

👉🏼 Offer support if they need help transitioning into their new role or team.

• Add the teammate to #z-mm-alumni (Mochary Method Alumni Channel) on Slack. This is a quick and efficient way to stay in touch and check in with them from time to time.
• Connecting on LinkedIn will help you stay in touch after they leave so you can remain updated on each other's progressions throughout your careers—and even if there isn't an opportunity now, staying connected may lead to something great down the road!