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Prompt repository Managers & leads

Handle a resignation on your team: reply, announcement and cover

Someone on your team has resigned and you need to respond well, tell the team and make sure their work stays covered.

Registry no.
MGT-027
Collection
Managers & leads
Laid out for
Any chat model
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
6
Added

Managers & leadsAny chat

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when Someone on your team has resigned and you need to respond well, tell the team and make sure their work stays covered.

  • {{role_and_reason}}
  • {{last_day}}
  • {{company_rules}}
  • {{their_work}}
  • {{team_capacity}}
  • {{my_manager}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
Someone on my team has just resigned, and I need to handle the next weeks well: respond to them, tell the team and the people who depend on their work, and make sure nothing important is dropped.

Their role, and what they are leaving for if they said: {{role_and_reason}}
Last day: {{last_day}}
What our company allows me to offer or say (counteroffers, exit interviews, who announces departures): {{company_rules}}

Their main responsibilities, open work and anything only they know how to do:
"""
{{their_work}}
"""

The rest of the team and their current capacity: {{team_capacity}}

Produce, with a heading for each part:
1. A reply to their resignation, under 100 words: thank them, acknowledge the news warmly and suggest a time to plan the handover. It should not argue, guilt them or hint at a counteroffer.
2. A team announcement, under 120 words: that they are leaving, their last day, and how their work will be covered while we plan, with no reasons beyond what they agreed to share.
3. A coverage plan as a table with the columns Work, Risk if dropped (high, medium or low), Who covers it, Handover needed (document, shadowing or introduction), Done by.
4. Five questions for the handover meeting that draw out what is not written down. For example: "Which recurring task would we only notice was missing when something broke?"
5. Next steps for the role: backfill, redesign the role, or spread the work, as options with trade-offs for me to decide.

Keep the whole plan under 600 words.

Do not include the person's reasons for leaving in anything others will read unless my notes say they agreed. Do not offer or promise a counteroffer, pay or title; if our rules allow one, list it in part 5 as an option to discuss with {{my_manager}} first.

If the team cannot cover the high-risk work, say so plainly in part 3 rather than spreading it thin on paper. If I have not said who announces departures, mark part 2 "[CHECK WHO ANNOUNCES]".

Variables

{{role_and_reason}}
Their role and, only if they told you and are happy to share, where they are going.
{{last_day}}
Their last working day.
{{company_rules}}
What you know about counteroffers, exit interviews and who announces departures. Write "not sure" if you do not know.
{{their_work}}
Their responsibilities, open projects, recurring tasks, key contacts and anything only they know.
{{team_capacity}}
Who else is on the team and how much room they have.
{{my_manager}}
Who you would discuss a counteroffer or backfill with.

Why it works

  • Format. A coverage table rates each piece of work by the risk if it is dropped, so the handover time goes to what would hurt most.
  • What to avoid. Reasons for leaving stay out of the announcement and no counteroffer is hinted at, which protects the person and keeps you within company rules.
  • If unsure. If the team cannot absorb the high-risk work, the plan says so plainly instead of spreading it thin on paper.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/team-member-resignation-plan

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "team-member-resignation-plan"}, or just ask for it by name.