Bidding goodbye to the work that consumed a major fraction of your life can be an emotional experience. To do it officially, you need to submit a letter to your employer stating your desire to do so. The details divulged below are aimed to help you in writing such letters.
Be it a farewell letter or a retirement letter, both are written to inform your employer, colleagues, friends and associates that you are finally leaving the company. In the event of a retirement, it is the mark of a professional to write a good retirement letter and announce it formally at his work place. It is not enough to convey your thoughts verbally to the head of the human resource department, or to the company CEO.
Writing Effective Retirement Letters
Individuals who are about to retire soon must contact the human resource department of their organization so that they can be aware of the formal way to submit their retirement letter. Some companies prefer letters to be hand written while several others are comfortable with typed letters. Your HRD head will inform you if you have to write a letter or, even e-mail attachments to the concerned authorities will suffice. You must also ask your head or manager about the notice period (typically one – three months) that you will be expected to serve before leaving the job. The period of notice is also a decision of the employer. Your employer may ask you to serve for one month or even three whole months. Hence, inquire about the notice period to the human resource manager.
| A Sample Letter |
| Patrick Thomas (Your Name) Home Address City, State, Zip Code Home Phone Number/Cell Number Personal Email Address Date: MM/DD/YY John T. Taylor (Name) Dear Mr. Thomas, I, Patrick Thomas, am writing this letter to notify you regarding my retirement from the post of country head, Sales & Marketing, ABC Corporation Ltd. I will be completing my tenure on June 30th, 2011. I wanted to let you know that during my twenty years of tenure, I had a wonderful opportunity to work with some of the best professionals in the sales and marketing industry. I joined ABC Corporation Ltd., during the initial years of my career and I have enjoyed working in this organization, every day. It has been great to see this firm rising to the top through our dedicated efforts. I’m grateful to the management of ABC Corporation Ltd., for showing belief in me and providing me guidance, support and freedom to lead the people in my own way. I’m particularly thankful to my colleagues, whom I’m certainly going to miss after I leave this office. I’m going to miss my work, colleagues and this company, but I’m glad to take a new professional challenge in my life. I’m sure that the abundant experience I have gained by working here, will help me to be the best in my chosen field. I will be glad to serve the complete notice period. Please keep in touch. In case, you wish to contact me, you can reach to me at my email address: [email protected]. You can also call me at my home phone number, 554-123-6666. Thanks again for all the goodness and the opportunities, Best regards, |
In many companies, there are provisions regarding the joining of retired employees after some months or in case, the firm needs their expertise. You may express this in the letter, if you want to contribute your experience in some way to the firm in future. Be simple, crisp and don’t forget to thank the company in which you have worked for so long.