Good leaving gifts for colleagues are a reminder of your time together and come from the whole team. The envelope everyone puts some money into is the classic. What makes the gift personal is everything that comes with it: shared stories, in-jokes from everyday work life, a good wish from every person. Whether a colleague is changing jobs, retiring or your boss is leaving the team, here are ideas for each of these goodbyes.
Job change, retirement or the boss: what suits the occasion
Job change. There are often only a few weeks between handing in notice and the last day, and your colleague is busy handing over work. Go for something that is quick to organise and suits a fresh start: a card from everyone, something for the new desk, lunch together.
Retirement. The date is known well in advance, and after many years at work the gift can be bigger. Ask former colleagues whether they would like to join in, and give something for the time ahead: a hobby, a trip, memories of the years at the company.
The boss. Here the whole team gives, often other departments too. Keep the value modest and the content honest: thank you for trust, for backing, for good decisions. One person coordinates so it doesn't look like a duty.
10 ideas for a personal leaving gift for colleagues
1. A leaving book from the whole team
In a Flashbook, every colleague gets their own double-page spread with two photos and answers, for example “Our best moment together” or “What I picked up from you”. Add a team photo, awards and pages for signatures and messages. A Flashbook is a shared book: everyone in it can get a copy, the minimum order is 10 books, and for anything else just ask us. More about the leaving book for a colleague.
2. The big card that goes round early
An oversized card that everyone writes in. Put it in a folder with a list of names and send it round in good time, so nobody has to scribble “All the best!” at the last minute.
3. An experience for the time ahead
A cookery course, a guided hike, concert tickets. Ask someone who knows the person well what they really enjoy. Especially fitting for retirement.
4. Something for the new desk
A good notebook, a plant that needs little care, a mug with a line only you understand. Just right for a job change.
5. The team throws the leaving do
Traditionally in Germany, the person leaving treats everyone to a leaving do (Ausstand). Turn it around: the team invites them to breakfast or lunch, and someone says a few words.
6. A retirement starter kit
Crosswords, an alarm clock without batteries, a voucher for the first coffee with no appointments. Only if the person likes that kind of humour; otherwise, go for something more serious.
7. The team's playlist
Everyone picks a song they connect with your time together and writes a sentence about it. The songs become a playlist, the sentences go on cards in a box.
8. A keepsake from everyday work
The name plate from the office door, a printout of the very first email, the favourite mug from the kitchen. Small things with a story, framed or in a box.
9. A donation in their name
For people who already have everything: the team donates to an organisation that matters to the person and hands over a card.
10. A digital pinboard for spread-out teams
If you work at different sites or from home, collect messages and photos online on a shared pinboard. Printed out and handed over, it's still something to hold.
How to organise the leaving gift as a team
One person collects, and everyone knows who it is. Ask the team briefly who wants to join in, and let everyone give what they want, anonymously in an envelope or through a collection app. For retirement, start early; for a job change, start as soon as you hear the news. The card goes round first and the gift is bought last, once you know how much has come in.
A book needs a little more time. Everyone fills in the questionnaire on their phone in about 5 minutes, printing starts once all the answers are in and all books are paid for, and 5 to 7 working days later the book arrives. Each person pays for their book via a payment link, or one person pays for everyone by invoice. One book costs €24.90, €22.90 if 3 groups from your company order together and €19.90 with 5 or more groups.
A book holds 8 to 42 people. If your team is smaller, include colleagues from neighbouring teams or former colleagues; for more than 42 people there is a special book on request.
What to avoid in a leaving gift for a colleague
Jokes about age or about the new employer, alcohol if you don't know whether the person drinks, and big things that only take up space at home. And no collection list with amounts: who gave how much is nobody's business.