When onboarding a new team member, it’s important to send a welcoming letter to them. It should be done one or a few days before this person begins to work for you. In this article, we’ll provide smart tips on how to write a welcome email as well as share a comprehensive template.
Benefits of Sending a Welcome Message
Welcome messages serve as an effective way for achieving the following goals:
- Produce a favorable impression on the newcomer;
- Make them feel confident and not isolated;
- Help them to prepare for their first day in the office;
- Inform all the other staff members about their arrival (if you put them in copy);
- Schedule meetings and social events with the newcomer.
Sometimes, you hire a professional but they need to finalize their work for their previous employer. A few weeks might pass before they leave their old job and join your team. In this case, the welcome email will remind the person about the date and time when they should arrive at your office.
Tips on Sending a Welcome Email to New Employees
You can send an introduction email to your new team as a whole or to its members individually. Alternatively, it’s possible to send two emails to each person. The first one can be team-oriented. It will inform the recipients about their initial goals as well as the general rules and norms of the organization. The second email should be shorter and contain personalized information, such as the login and password to your corporate website.
An ideal email to new team member should be sent from the address of the HR department and should include the answers to the following questions:
- When is the newcomer expected to start the work?
- What will be their working hours?
- Which is the address of your office?
- How can the newcomer reach your office by public transport?
- If they have a car, where can they park it and how much will it cost?
- What should the newcomer do to be allowed inside?
- What’s the schedule for their first day at work?
- What should they bring with them?
- Who will show them around and how to contact this person?
Together with this letter, you can send all the forms and documents that the hired specialist needs to fill in, such as taxation-related papers or any internal questionnaires. If they don’t complete the paperwork in advance, this process might occupy a large part of their first day in the office.
The members of the department that the newcomer joins should receive emails with the basic information about this person, including their photo, position, the scope of responsibilities and a concise bio.
It would be great to share the announcement of your new hire on social networks too (LinkedIn first and foremost). This step can strengthen both your corporate brand and the personal brand of your new team member.
Sample of a Well-Written Welcome Email to New Employees
When drafting a welcome email to a new employee, you might want to stick to this template:
"Hi / Good morning [put the name of the recipient here],
We’re thrilled to welcome you to our company! We believe you’ll become one of our most valuable assets. We promise to go to great lengths to help you settle down quickly and smoothly.
As you remember, we expect you to start working in our office on [date and time]. We’d like to kindly remind you about our dress code: [describe your rules].
When you arrive, [do this and that]. The receptionist will give a security badge to you. [The name of the person who will accompany the newcomer during their first days in the office] will meet you in/near [place and time] and show you to your workstation. They will be glad to answer all your questions, show you around and introduce you to your colleagues.
On your first day, we’d like to invite you to have lunch together with all our team. Please inform us about your dietary restrictions. Then, you’ll be able to meet with [names and positions of the staff members who occupy high positions and have little free time].
Before you get started, we’d recommend you should enter our panel for administrative tasks [link].
Don’t hesitate to call or text me whenever you’d like to ask something: [contacts].
Welcome on board!
[Name and signature]"
You can flexibly modify this template to better meet the tone and culture of your organization. An ideal new staff welcome email sounds professional but not too formal. It's important to include calls to action to get the recipient involved.