A retirement photo mosaic from a whole career of colleagues

Skip the staff badge photo. Look for a picture of them in their element: at the bench, in the classroom, at the counter, on site. It should still be a close view, with the head and shoulders filling the frame.

If no such photo exists, a relaxed portrait from a work celebration does well. Check the background for anything that should not leave the building, such as whiteboards, screens and paperwork.

The current department is easy to reach and has the newest photos. The people who left ten or twenty years ago have the ones nobody has seen in decades. Find the longest-serving colleague and ask whose contact details they still have.

Wording that works by email: "She retires on the 30th. We are making her portrait out of photos from everyone she worked with. Add a photo of yourself, or one from your time together, and a line about what you remember. One minute, no account."

If it is a surprise, send the request from personal accounts, since the person retiring may be copied on staff lists.

Start three to four weeks before the last day. Former colleagues take time to trace, and old photos are often prints in a drawer. A free page accepts photos for 30 days, so count back from the leaving date and do not start earlier than that unless you plan to unlock the page.

Show the page on the meeting-room screen while people gather, then give the retiree the link so they can read the messages at home, slowly. That second look is usually the one that counts.

With an unlocked page you can download the picture and have it printed and framed as the gift from everyone. Order the print with a week to spare.

Photos that show more than colleagues: customers, pupils, patients, or a screen full of someone's records. Tell people at the start to send pictures of staff only, and use "I approve each one first" so you can catch the ones that slip through.