How to organise a successful farewell party?

Although it is often a sad moment, the depar­ture of a col­league should be cel­e­brat­ed, espe­cial­ly to thank them for the years spent and the work done in the com­pa­ny. Whether it’s retire­ment, a change of com­pa­ny or a move to the oth­er side of the world, plan a fes­tive, joy­ful and mem­o­rable get-togeth­er for your col­league.

Here are some ideas to help you organ­ise a suc­cess­ful farewell par­ty:

1. Choose the date and time

Choose a date and time that suits the major­i­ty of col­leagues attend­ing the farewell par­ty.

Organ­ise it dur­ing the week­end or at a time usu­al­ly free, e.g. Thurs­day from 7:00 p.m. Sched­ul­ing a farewell par­ty on a Fri­day can be more com­pli­cat­ed for peo­ple with chil­dren or peo­ple who are very active dur­ing the week­end. The aim is to bring togeth­er as many col­leagues as pos­si­ble.

2. Invite the right teams and colleagues

The guest list for the farewell par­ty depends on the com­pa­ny’s size.

All employ­ees should be invit­ed to the farewell par­ty if it is a start-up.
If you are part of a team in a large inter­na­tion­al group, you will prob­a­bly not be able to invite all employ­ees. Invite the teams and the peo­ple clos­est to the depart­ing col­league. You can also invite the their part­ner if it is, for exam­ple, a retire­ment.

3. Choose your venue

The venue of the farewell par­ty will depend on the size of the event, the space avail­able in the com­pa­ny’s offices and the bud­get avail­able to rent a venue. It can be a room in a hotel or restau­rant or even in your com­pa­ny.

What­ev­er venue is cho­sen, it is essen­tial to ensure that it is acces­si­ble and that there is enough space for all guests.

4. Provide food and drink

Hire a buf­fet with food and drink to suit all tastes and types of food.

If your bud­get allows, it may be prefer­able to go direct­ly to a cater­ing ser­vice for more elab­o­rate dish­es. If you can’t afford it, some snacks are also an option. Don’t for­get to ask your guests in advance to com­mu­ni­cate any food aller­gies or pref­er­ences.

5. Music and entertainment programme

What would a farewell par­ty be with­out music and enter­tain­ment to liv­en up the event?

Find out your col­league’s musi­cal tastes before­hand, or cre­ate a song with per­son­alised lyrics to cre­ate a spe­cial sur­prise effect. You can also organ­ise many games: for exam­ple, pre­pare anec­dotes about your col­league’s life in the com­pa­ny, a pho­to album of the best moments… Be cre­ative, espe­cial­ly if it’s the last work­ing day of their life!

6. Prepare a speech

To cel­e­brate this moment, pre­pare a speech to pay trib­ute to the depart­ing col­league and thank the guests for their atten­dance. Set­ting aside time for guests to say a few words is also impor­tant. A word of advice: save this moment for last; it can be a great emo­tion­al moment!

7. Create an online kitty for a parting gift

Give them a farewell present! To com­mem­o­rate this date and thank your col­league for their work, you can cre­ate an online kit­ty to buy them a gift togeth­er. Using an online sys­tem will be much eas­i­er to organ­ise and, above all, more dis­creet!

8. Define a budget according to the size of the event.

Know­ing the bud­get for your col­league’s farewell par­ty and plan­ning your spend­ing is essen­tial. Con­sid­er expens­es such as venue hire, food and drink, music and enter­tain­ment, gifts and clean­ing ser­vice if nec­es­sary.

9. Manage assistance

Hav­ing an online reg­is­tra­tion sys­tem to know exact­ly how many peo­ple will attend the farewell par­ty is an excel­lent idea. This will save you a lot of time and will be very prac­ti­cal for guests to con­firm their atten­dance. It will also allow you to plan the farewell par­ty well and ensure there is enough food and drink for every­one.

10. Communicate within the company

Effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion is essen­tial to ensure that all guests are informed of the even­t’s details, whether your col­league’s farewell par­ty is a sur­prise or not. You can send an invi­ta­tion e‑mail to be more dis­creet. The most impor­tant thing is to inform all the peo­ple involved and make a list of those attend­ing to bet­ter organ­ise the farewell par­ty.

Conclusion

Organ­is­ing a farewell par­ty requires care­ful plan­ning and atten­tion to the above­men­tioned ele­ments. It is impor­tant to con­sid­er the needs and wish­es of the per­son leav­ing, as well as the guests’ pref­er­ences, to make the event a suc­cess.

Weezevent helps you organ­ise a suc­cess­ful farewell par­ty in a sim­ple, fast and effort­less way! Vis­it our web­site to dis­cov­er our reg­is­tra­tion and online fundrais­ing solu­tions.

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