How to organise a leaving card: a checklist for the whole team

To organise a leaving card, confirm the person's last working day, choose one organiser, decide how the card will arrive and give contributors a clear deadline. Keep any money collection optional, and make sure the recipient can still open the card after their work email closes.

The card, the collection and the leaving event can have different deadlines. Write those down separately before asking anyone to contribute.

For a team spread across countries, use a named time zone and an unambiguous date such as 24 September. A farewell or goodbye card follows the same process; the office's name for it does not change who needs the link.

Start with the date and the person's wishes

Check the last day the person will actually be working. Annual leave, a different shift pattern or a final day spent remotely can move the handover earlier than the date on the HR record.

Ask whether they want a group send-off. A private card may suit them better than a presentation. If the departure is difficult, let the person and the appropriate manager decide what is welcome before circulating an invitation.

Choose one organiser and one person who can cover if they are away. That avoids two cards being started in different team chats.

Choose how the card will be delivered

A paper card works when the contributors can sign it in time. An online card makes it easier to include people in other offices, on different shifts or working from home. A card signed online and printed combines both, but needs a delivery allowance.

Before choosing a service, check:

• Whether contributors need an account.
• How many people can sign.
• Who can read the messages before delivery.
• Whether you can schedule the handover.
• What the recipient can keep afterwards.

Our online farewell-card comparison covers the main differences between eight services.

Build the invite list around people they worked with

Start with the immediate team, then check for close colleagues in other departments, previous teams and other offices. A reporting line will not always include the person who helped them through a difficult project or worked beside them for years.

Ask the manager or a close colleague to check for omissions. Include remote and part-time colleagues in the same invitation process. People on leave can be offered the chance to contribute without being expected to check work messages.

You do not need to invite the entire company to make a card worthwhile. Equally, do not assume somebody has nothing to say because they sit elsewhere.

Set a signing deadline before the handover

For an ordinary digital card, opening it around a working week before delivery is a practical starting point. This is a suggested schedule, not an etiquette rule. Allow longer for postal delivery, holidays or a team spread across time zones.

When	Organiser's task
About a week before	Confirm the date, format and invite list
Once the card is ready	Send one invitation with the signing deadline
One or two working days before the deadline	Send a reminder if needed
Before the handover	Check the recipient details and delivery settings
On the agreed day	Deliver the card and explain how to keep it

For a Friday morning handover, a Thursday lunchtime signing deadline leaves some room to fix an incorrect address. For an international team, name the time zone rather than saying only “end of day”.

Put the useful details in the invitation

The invitation needs the person's name, the signing link, the deadline and any instructions about the collection. State whether the card is a surprise and who can see the messages.

You do not need to prescribe what everyone should write. If somebody is stuck, share the leaving-message guide. Let contributors decide how much they want to say.

Use one main channel for the invitation. If you also post in a team chat, use the same link and deadline. Conflicting versions create more work than an extra reminder solves.

Keep a gift collection separate from signing

People should be able to write a message without paying towards a present. Make that clear when you send the link, even when the card and collection share one page.

Decide who will buy the gift, when the collection closes and what happens if the amount differs from what you expected. For an international team, check the collection currency, organiser eligibility and the country where a gift can be redeemed before promising a particular gift or cash transfer.

Avoid publishing who contributed money or treating the amount as a measure of someone's relationship with the leaver. A card can be complete without a gift.

Check delivery and access after they leave

Before sending, check the name, the address and the scheduled time. If the card arrives by work email, make sure the recipient can save the link or keep a copy before that account is closed.

For a digital card, distinguish the online page from its download or keeping option. Some pages have an expiry date. A saved PDF may also lose video or animation. Check what the chosen service actually preserves.

If you use tbf work, the recipient can read in a browser and choose to keep the messages in the app. The public work-card page is removed ninety days after the occasion. See the reading experience.

If the farewell is tomorrow

Choose a digital format, ask the people who worked most closely with the leaver and set a realistic same-day deadline. Tell contributors when the card will be sent. Skip the collection if organising a gift would delay the card.

A small card delivered at the agreed time is a reasonable outcome. If a close colleague misses the deadline, they can contact the person separately.

When you organise cards regularly

Keep the same checklist for each departure, with space to change the guest list and the person's wishes. Record the owner and handover date when the departure is confirmed.

tbf work supports workplace dates, a manager's invite-list check and a writing link for colleagues. You can enter dates manually or use the supported BambooHR integration, depending on the plan.