How to organize a farewell gift between colleagues?

Organizing a farewell gift between colleagues seems harmless. Yet in many companies, this moment generates more complexity than it appears.

When a colleague leaves their position for a transfer, an external promotion or retirement, the team wants to mark the departure. The gesture is spontaneous. The organization is not. How to organize a colleague farewell gift without creating internal tension? How to manage the cagnotte for an office farewell gift? What amount should be proposed? How to coordinate the farewell gathering in a company, especially in a context of remote work?

Behind this friendly moment lies a logistical reality.

The responsibility often rests on one person
 In practice, one colleague takes the initiative. They send a collective message, centralize responses, collect the money, choose the gift and possibly prepare the farewell gathering. This informal burden adds to their professional responsibilities.

The issue of the amount is sensitive
 Should a contribution be fixed? Should participation be left open? In Switzerland, amounts for a colleague farewell gift often range between 10 and 30 CHF, but each personal situation differs. A rule that is too strict can create discomfort, while the absence of a framework can create disparities.

Managing the cagnotte quickly becomes complex
 Cash, bank transfers, confirmations by message. The organizer must verify who has paid, send reminders and keep track. In a hybrid team or one spread across multiple locations, coordination becomes even more delicate.

Reminders can weaken relationships
 Reminding a colleague about their participation in the farewell gift is never comfortable. Even with goodwill, the approach can be perceived as insistence.

Advancing money creates imbalance
 To respect the schedule of the company farewell gathering, the organizer may advance the amount of the gift before having collected all contributions. This introduces personal financial risk.

Transparency is not always guaranteed
 How much has actually been collected? How is the money being used? Even within a close-knit team, the absence of visibility can raise questions.

Finally, messages are scattered
 A farewell gift between colleagues is also a symbolic moment. Yet the team’s words are sometimes scattered between emails and paper cards.

Faced with these difficulties, some companies now choose to structure the organization of the farewell gift more clearly.

Centralizing the cagnotte to avoid tension

Rather than managing contributions informally, teams use dedicated platforms to organize the cagnotte. Solutions such as Happy Pot make it possible to centralize participation from the outset.

Concretely, the cagnotte is created online and a unique link is shared with all colleagues. Each participant contributes directly, without going through an intermediary. The total amount is visible in real time, which eliminates the need for manual tracking tables.

Clarifying the issue of the amount

By leaving participation open, a platform such as Happy Pot avoids imposing a uniform sum. Everyone can contribute according to their means while still taking part in the collective gesture.

The visibility of the total amount collected on Happy Pot then allows the gift choice to be adjusted to the actual budget, without approximation.

Limiting individual reminders

Within a structured framework, the organizer no longer needs to remind each colleague individually. Sharing the link to the cagnotte is enough to inform the team. This approach reduces the relational pressure often associated with organizing a shared office collection.

Avoiding advancing personal funds

By centralizing contributions before the purchase, tools such as Happy Pot make it possible to avoid the organizer personally advancing the funds. The budget is secured before any expense.

Including hybrid teams

With remote work widely established in Switzerland, it becomes essential to have a system accessible at a distance. A platform such as Happy Pot allows each colleague, whether at the office or working from home, to participate under the same conditions.

Ensuring transparency

The centralization of contributions on Happy Pot provides clear visibility of the total amount collected. This transparency strengthens trust and limits misunderstandings.

Gathering messages in one place

When making their contribution, colleagues can leave a message associated with it. On Happy Pot, these messages are grouped together, making it possible to preserve a structured collective memory of the departure.

Informal method or structured organization?

The traditional method relies on multiple messages, manual tracking and individual coordination. It works in small teams but quickly shows its limits in larger or hybrid structures.

A structured organization, via a platform such as Happy Pot, introduces a clear framework:
• centralization of the cagnotte
• open participation
• visible budget
• simplified coordination
• reduction of internal tensions

Organizing a farewell gift between colleagues should not become a source of stress. By structuring the cagnotte, clarifying budget management and simplifying coordination of the farewell gathering, some companies today choose a more organized approach.

The objective remains the same: to thank a colleague, mark an important professional moment and preserve team cohesion. The difference simply lies in how to achieve it.