Welcome Messages to New Employees (Templates)
Writing welcome messages to new employees isn’t just a box to check in the onboarding process. It’s an opportunity to really make that employee feel welcome and prepared for their first day. Keep reading to learn why these messages are so important to your teams and business and to get templates for welcoming any new team member.
What Are New Hire Welcome Messages?
Welcome messages are the communications you send to new employees when they join your company. The purpose of these messages is to help employees feel like they belong at the company and you’re excited that they’re there.
But these messages can also be a critical step in your onboarding process. It can be where you reiterate your values, cultural norms, and your mission. You might also use your welcome messages to new employees as a way to share important information like the handbook or their orientation schedule for their first week.
No matter what you do, these messages should be personalized for the individual. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t work off a template or checklist to get these messages right (and send them in a timely fashion). We’ll share our welcome message templates shortly, but first, let’s talk about why these messages are so important.
Why is it Important to Send Welcome Messages to New Employees?
When we talk about improving workplace culture, often the conversation includes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). But there’s another component to creating inclusive, safe workplaces that we don’t talk about as much: workplace belonging.
If you think about DEI:
- Diversity is whether or not your workforce is representative of a variety of people and mindsets.
- Equity is whether or not those individuals have fair and equal opportunities and resources.
- Inclusion is a key second step in diversity, which is actually inviting those individuals to contribute.
But belonging is creating spaces where those individuals also feel accepted. And that is a powerful thing.
Deloitte research has found that belonging improves job performance, lowers turnover, and even improves employee health, decreasing sick days.
So, when you send welcome messages to new employees, you’re taking an active step towards inviting new hires to your workplace and helping them feel like they belong.
New Employee Welcome Checklist
If we want our new hires to feel that sense of belonging and feel set up for success in their first days on the job, it’s important to include a few things in your welcome messages:
- Targeting. Tailor the message to include their name, specific job title, and expectations for their role specifically.
- Make it personal. Beyond just making it clear that the message is for them and not just a template, try to include more heartfelt sentiments from the employees’ actual team. For example, have the message come from their supervisor or the head of their department rather than HR.
- Consider their emotional state. Starting a new job is as nerve-wracking as it is exciting. Employees are often happy to be there, but are also wanting to prove themselves and feel like they belong. So, meet them where they are and use the welcome message to help set expectations and take some of the pressure off.
- Remember your goals. Don’t forget what the purpose of the welcome message is. It’s not to assign them all their onboarding tasks, right? You have other avenues to do that. It’s to give that employee a sense of place and show them that you’re just as excited to have them on the team. Try not to lose sight of that and bog your message down with too many work details.
Welcome Messages to New Employees: Templates
Templates for Hybrid or In Office Staff
| Type of Template | Message of Template |
|---|---|
| General, HR Welcome Letter | Welcome to [Company Name], [Employee Name]!
We are so excited to have you on the team. As agreed, your start date with us will be [date]. Please show up at [time] for your orientation to meet the rest of your team and begin training. Your manager will be there to meet you when you arrive. Here are a few reminders to help you prepare for your first day:
If you have any questions, please feel free to email myself and/or your manager . We look forward to seeing you on [start date]! Sincerely, [HR Member’s Name] |
| Personalized Message from Hiring Manager | Dear [Employee Name],
Welcome to [Company Name]! I am so excited to have you joining [team/department name] on [start date]. We were so impressed by your [experience/enthusiasm], and I know that you’ll make a wonderful addition to the team. With your first day upcoming, I wanted to share my plan for your first week.
You’ll receive another email from HR before your first day with some additional reminders. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Best, [Manager’s Name] |
Templates for Remote Employees
| Type of Template | Message Template |
|---|---|
| General, HR Welcome Letter | Welcome to [Company Name], [Employee Name]!
We are so excited to have you on the team. As agreed, your start date with us will be [date]. I will send over an invitation for a call at [time], so I can get you set up in our systems and have access to your schedule for the week. After our call in the morning, you will have time with your manager, [Name] to go through their plan for your first week and the meetings you will be attending. Here are a few reminders to help you prepare for your first day:
If you have any questions, please feel free to email myself and/or your manager . We look forward to seeing you on [start date]! Sincerely, [HR Member’s Name] |
| Personalized Message from Hiring Manager | Dear [Employee Name],
Welcome to [Company Name]! I am so excited to have you joining [team/department name] on [start date]. We were so impressed by your [experience/enthusiasm], and I know that you’ll make a wonderful addition to the team. With your first day upcoming, I wanted to share my plan for your first week.
You’ll receive another email from HR before your first day with some additional reminders. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Best, [Manager’s Name] |
Templates for Frontline Workers
| Type of Template | Message Template |
|---|---|
| General, HR Welcome Letter | Welcome to [Company Name], [Employee Name]!
We are so excited to have you on the team. As agreed, your start date with us will be [date]. Please show up at [time] for your first shift. On your first day, you will be primarily completing training on the back of house computer and completing your first day paperwork. Here are a few additional reminders to help you prepare for your first day:
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. We look forward to seeing you on [start date]! Sincerely, [HR Member’s Name] |
Tips for Getting Welcome Messages to New Hires
The primary way that companies send welcome letters to employees is via email (although you might also send these as physical mail). And, often, you’re sending this to the employee’s personal email address that you’ve been using to communicate with them during the hiring process.
But what about once they start work? How do you continue to welcome them over the course of their first week and even first month?
Once they work for you, it’s best to communicate with them via their business email address or company communication channels. And using those channels to create welcome campaigns—not just one welcome letter—is the best way to create a sense of belonging and genuine excitement.
We recommend the following:
- Share a post on your employee app and/or intranet to introduce your newest hire to the rest of the team. Try to include a photo and some details about the employee that they feel comfortable sharing.
- Create a new hire resource hub on your app or intranet to give new employees a one-stop-shop for information as they acclimate to the company.
- If the employee is remote or not in office, try to schedule virtual touch bases and celebrations (like a lunch) so they can meet their team in a more casual setting. You might use your internal comms channels to arrange this.
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