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  3. Thank you messages for colleagues

Thank you messages
for colleagues.

A thank you at work names the thing they did and what it saved you. Two sentences, their name at the top, yours at the bottom.

The thank you messages below are sorted by why you are writing: you are leaving, they covered for you, a project ended, or you want to thank a whole team at once.

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Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. Thanks for covering for us. We owe you a lunch. A proper one.

Thank you for teaching me the job and then letting me do it my way.

From Tom

Thank you for the cover. I owe you a week, and I will pay it back.

From Maya

We shipped. You are most of why. Thank you.

From Dev

Thank you messages for coworkers

Pick one, put the real thing they did in it, and sign.

When you are leaving

  • Thank you for four years of answering the question I should have known the answer to. I will miss asking.

  • I am leaving with more than I arrived with, and a lot of it came from this desk. Thank you.

  • You made a hard first year bearable and the years after it fun. Thank you, and keep in touch.

  • Thank you for the cover, the coffee and the honesty. Especially the honesty.

  • I have worked in a few places. This is the team I will measure the next one against.

  • Thank you for teaching me the job and then letting me do it my way.

  • Leaving is the only part of this job I have not enjoyed. Thank you for the rest.

They covered for you

  • Thank you for taking the client call on Thursday. Nobody asked you to, and it saved the week.

  • You covered my desk for a fortnight and handed it back tidier than you found it. Thank you.

  • Thank you for stepping in while I was off. I know what it cost you and I will not forget it.

  • The report went out on time because you stayed late on a day that was not yours. Thank you.

  • Thank you for the cover. I owe you a week, and I will pay it back.

After a project

  • That launch happened because you refused to let the one bug through. Thank you.

  • Thank you for the last three months. I would do it again, with you, and with more sleep.

  • You did the part nobody sees and it is the reason the part everybody sees works. Thank you.

  • Thank you for keeping the plan honest when the rest of us wanted it to be optimistic.

  • We shipped. You are most of why. Thank you.

To a whole team

  • Thank you, all of you. The quarter was hard and none of you made it harder.

  • To the team: thank you for the year. Every deadline held because somebody here held it.

  • Thank you for showing up on the days when showing up was the whole job.

  • I get the credit in the meeting. You did the work. Thank you.

  • Thank you for being the kind of team that notices when somebody is struggling and does something about it.

Short

  • Thank you. You made this easier than it should have been.

  • Thanks for today. You were right, and I am glad you said so.

  • Thank you for the help. It made the difference.

  • You did not have to. You did. Thank you.

How to make it land

Name the day. Thank you for Thursday is worth more than thank you for everything, because it shows you noticed.

Say what it saved you. Time, a client, a weekend. A thank you that says what was at stake is one they will keep.

Send it once, in writing, and do not follow it with a request. A thank you with an ask attached is an ask.

Thank a whole team in one card

One link goes round, and the card opens for them on the day you pick.

  1. 01

    Add the date.

    The end of the project, their last day, or the day you want it read.

  2. 02

    Choose who to ask.

    Everyone the thanks is from. Each gets one link and writes once.

  3. 03

    Everyone writes their own words.

    Signed, in their own hand. The person reads it on their phone and keeps it.

Create a card

Pick a design

  • A trophy. Thank you. We'd give you a trophy but the budget went on biscuits.
  • Lino-cut lettering in a printed band. Thank you, from all of us.
  • Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. Thank you for answering the same question four times.
  • A bunch of flowers. Thank you. You made a hard week easier.
  • A cake. Thank you. There's cake in the kitchen. It's for you. We've had some.
  • Cutpaper thanks card. Thank you.
  • Marker lettering. Thank you for saving us. "helping" is crossed out and "saving" written above it.
  • A star. Thank you. You're a star. We checked.
  • A bunch of flowers. Thank you for looking after Mum.
  • Botanical thanks card. Thank you.

Questions

How do you thank a colleague professionally?

Name the specific thing they did, say what it made possible, and sign it. Keep it to two or three sentences. Formal words are not what makes it professional; being specific is.

Should a thank you go by email or in a card?

Email for one person and one thing, on the day. A card when several people want to thank the same person, so it arrives once and signed by all of them.

What do you write when you are leaving and want to thank everyone?

One message to the whole team, and separate messages to the two or three people who changed your time there. Everyone can tell the two apart, so do not send the group message to individuals.

Is it odd to thank a colleague for something small?

No. Small and specific is what works. Thank you for the spare charger on Tuesday will be remembered longer than a paragraph about their contribution.

Part of online leaving card.

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