An executive departure announcement provides notification that an executive, manager, or upper-level employee will be leaving the company.
Depending on the circumstances and sensitivity of the matter, as well as whether the announcement will be shared publicly or exclusively within the organization, it can be difficult to know what to say, how much to say, and then, how to say it.
The following tips and sample will help provide a general starting point to announce an executive departure to the public and to people within your organization.
An Internal Executive Departure Announcement Sample
An internal executive departure announcement is meant to be exclusive to people within your company or a specific department. Typically, this announcement is brief and focuses only on the most pertinent information that employees will need to prepare for the upcoming change.
Depending on the circumstances of the departure, you may or may not want to share the reasons why the executive is leaving, but the date of their departure, who will be filling their former role, and whom to contact with specific questions or concerns should be included at a minimum.
If specific instructions or actions need to be undertaken, you can include them, but if they are especially involved or will vary for each department or employee, it’s best to save them for a separate and subsequent communication.
The most appropriate tone and content of the departure announcement will naturally depend on the management and communication standards of the company, and the nature of the departure itself. But with that in mind, it’s usually better to keep an executive departure announcement focused and limited to only the most essential information, which includes:
- Who is leaving and their job role
- The date they will leave the company
- A statement on whether a successor has been selected, and if so, who they are
- Whom to contact with questions or concerns
The following sample shows how this can be accomplished.
Dear CennoMore Team,
As of December 1st, 2023, our Senior Vice President, Nancy Fredricks will be leaving CennoMore.
Mrs. Fredricks will continue to serve in her role until that date and will be working closely with the transition team to identify a successor. An announcement will be made once our new SVP is selected.
Please keep an eye out for additional communication as the date of Mrs. Fredrick’s departure nears. We appreciate everyone’s support and flexibility as the CennoMore team continues to move forward.
If you have questions or concerns you wish to discuss, please submit them to me or your department manager, or visit HR to arrange an in-person meeting.
Sincerely,
Betty Simmons
Director of Human Resources
A Public Executive Departure Announcement
A public executive departure announcement lets people outside of your company know that a key decision-maker will no longer be at your organization. It can be combined with the official announcement of that executive’s temporary or long-term successor.
Unlike an internal announcement, which is usually sent via email, a public executive departure should be issued as an official company statement on its website and as a press release. Releasing a public statement in this way will foster the impression that your company is moving forward with a significant change in an orderly manner.
If you have a general idea of how to write a press release, you will simply need to treat this news like any notable development from your company.
Even if the situation is sensitive, a public executive departure announcement can be approached just like a press release announcing a new hire or a media release that details a new business partnership. You are simply addressing what happened and what this change means, and affirming that your company is forging ahead.
Using press release templates can give you a better idea of how to confront the topic optimistically but objectively and in a way that’s informative to people outside of your company.
Building the right impression is just one benefit of issuing an executive departure announcement as a press release. Instead of creating multiple posts for social media, customer and business associate email lists, and other communication channels, a press release serves as a consistent statement that you can link to from multiple sources, which saves time and prevents misinterpretation during an important transition for your company.
