At most retirement dos, someone gives a speech about you first, usually your manager or a close colleague. Then, often after the gift, the room turns to you. Some people love this moment and some dread it. Either way, it helps to have something ready, because it's hard to think of what to say while everyone is looking at you and holding a glass.
Your speech doesn't need to be long. People mainly want to hear you say thank you and tell them what you're going to do next. If you're giving the speech about someone else, see the retirement speech guide instead.
A simple order to follow
- Thank the person who spoke and everyone who came. Mention the card or gift if you've been given one.
- A quick look back. When you started, and how things have changed since then.
- A memory or two. Something funny or something you're proud of.
- Your thank-yous. Colleagues, managers and your family.
- What's next. Your plans, in a sentence or two.
- A toast to the people staying. Something like "To all of you, and to the next thirty years of this place."
Thanking people
This is the heart of the speech, and the part people worry about most. The risk is that you name twelve people and forget the thirteenth, who then remembers it for years. A good way round this is to thank groups first ("the whole team on reception", "everyone on the night shift"), then pick out only a few people who made a real difference to you. That might be the person who trained you, or someone you've sat next to for fifteen years.
Finish with a line that includes everyone else, so nobody feels missed. And remember to thank your family. They have put up with the late finishes and the stories about people they've never met, and they are often sitting in the room hoping to hear their name.
Memories that everyone can follow
One or two short stories are enough. Pick things that happened to you, where you come out of it with a smile, and explain any work detail so your family can follow. "The day the tortoise got loose in reception" needs no explanation. A story about a change to the invoicing system probably does.
It's also nice to say how the place has changed since you started. People who joined recently often have no idea what it used to be like, and the old hands enjoy remembering.
What's next
Everyone will ask you about your plans, so you may as well tell them all at once. A sentence or two is enough, whether that's travel, grandchildren, a beach hut or finally learning the piano. If you don't have firm plans, say so with a smile. "My plan is to have no plan for at least six months" is a perfectly good answer.
Staying gracious
Your last speech at work is remembered, so keep it generous. Leave out old arguments and complaints about management. Even if you're leaving with mixed feelings, the people in the room are the ones you've worked alongside, and they came to wish you well. Talk about what you enjoyed and who you'll miss.
If you're leaving for a new job or moving away, the same advice applies. There's more on that in the leaving speech guide, with a short example.
Keeping your emotions in check
Plenty of people who have never cried at work find themselves struggling at their retirement do. It's fine, and people will be touched to see it matters to you. A few things help:
- Practise the speech out loud several times, especially the thank-yous. Lines lose some of their power once you've said them a few times.
- Put the most emotional part near the end, so you've settled in before you get there.
- Have water nearby, and pause if you need to.
- Hold your notes on a card. Nobody minds, and it gives you something to look at.
An example of your own retirement speech (about 3 minutes)
Shirley is retiring after 27 years as practice manager at a vet's surgery in Bournemouth. The senior vet, Anand, has just given a speech about her and handed over a gift. Her husband Phil is at the do.
Well, I wasn't going to cry, and I've already failed. Thank you, Anand, for those kind words, most of which were true. And thank you all so much for the gift. I've wanted a proper pair of binoculars for years, and now I've got no excuse not to use them.
When I started here in 1999, there were two vets, one nurse and me, and the appointment book was an actual book. It had coffee rings on most pages and Mr Fairweather's handwriting on the rest. Now there are nine vets and sixteen nurses, and we have a computer system I still don't fully trust. I've watched this practice grow into something really special, and I'm very proud to have been part of it.
I've got a lot of memories, and quite a few of them involve animals escaping. There was Captain, the African grey parrot who learnt to copy our phone ring so well that I answered him for a fortnight. There was the tortoise who got out of his box in reception and was found two hours later behind the radiator in the staff room.
I'll also remember the families who came in on the hardest day of their lives with their old dog or cat. I hope we always looked after them well.
I'd like to say some thank-yous. To the nurses, who work harder than anyone I've ever known, and who have kept me supplied with biscuits for the whole of my time here. To the reception team, especially Jo and Kerry, who have had to hear me say "that's not how we used to do it" more times than I care to admit. To Anand, who trusted me to run things and always backed me up. And to everyone else here, thank you for making this such a good place to come to every day.
Most of all, thank you to Phil. For 27 years you've listened to stories about animals you've never met and people you've barely heard of. You've been patient about the late finishes and the phone ringing on Sunday afternoons. It's your turn now.
As for what's next, Phil and I have booked a beach hut at Boscombe for the whole summer, and I'm going to use those binoculars to watch the birds on Brownsea Island. After that, we'll see.
So, if you'd all raise your glasses. To all of you, and to the animals of Bournemouth, who are in very good hands.
What makes it work: Shirley starts by thanking Anand and mentioning the gift, so the speech follows on naturally from his. Her memories are easy for anyone to picture, and the last one shows how seriously she took the job. She thanks groups, picks out only a few names, then includes everyone else before giving Phil a paragraph of his own. The toast turns the attention back to the people staying.
For more examples in different voices, read the retirement speech examples.
Common questions
Do I have to give a speech at my own retirement do?
Nobody will force you, but most people are expected to say a few words after the main speech. Even a minute of thank-yous is enough. If you really don't want to speak, a card or email to everyone is a kind alternative.
How long should my own retirement speech be?
Two to four minutes is plenty, which is roughly 260 to 520 words. If someone has already given a long speech about you, keep yours shorter. People mostly want to hear you say thank you and tell them your plans.
How do I thank people without leaving anyone out?
Thank teams and groups by name first, then pick out only a handful of people who made a real difference. Finish with a line that includes everyone else, such as "and everyone who has made this such a good place to come to every day."
What if I get emotional?
That is completely normal, and people will be touched by it. Pause, take a sip of water and carry on. Put the part most likely to set you off near the end, and practise it out loud a few times beforehand.