The Best Welcome Emails To New Employees

A welcome email is a crucial part of the onboarding process for new employees. It’s an opportunity to welcome them to their new work environment, introduce them to who they’ll be working with and what the expectations are, and provide any additional information about company culture or policies that may not have been covered in other communications.

Whether you’re unsure of how to start sending welcome emails or just want to improve what you already know, this article is full of tips and tricks to help you write the best welcome email for your newest colleague.

What Should Your Welcome Email Include?

Your welcome email needs to include important details about the job to help your new employees get started working, like office location, expectations of work hours, dress code, and any other special instructions exclusive to their position. It also helps to include where to find important documents such as the employee handbook or the policy manual so they can familiarize themselves with the company’s policies and procedures.

Welcome emails are also a way to help new employees settle into the workplace, so giving them an idea of how their first day or even their first week will go can significantly help them out in that regard. A simple, brief explanation will suffice if you’re low on time, but we recommend sharing a quick anecdote about your personal first day as well. Doing this will also make you seem approachable and allow them to relax — it helps new employees realize that everyone was new at some point.

You can include information on who they will be working with as well so they can already become familiar with their colleagues. Also, providing their department or team members’ contact info lets them know who to reach out to if they need help with anything. This especially helps remote employees, as the work-from-home set-up tends to make it harder to meet people and get organized.

Be considerate and respectful of their time. The welcome email should be concise, clear, and easy to read so they can start getting used to the way you communicate early on. Welcome emails don’t need to include how their benefits work or long, detailed instructions for certain processes they need to learn. This is better for an in-person conversation where there’s more time to explain everything thoroughly. Keeping your welcome email concise makes it easily digestible for your new employee.

Additionally, be sure your welcome email doesn’t contain any errors or typos. It’s the first impression they have of you as an employer and needs to come across as professional, so take extra care in checking for mistakes before sending it out.

Don’t forget to sign your name at the end of the email so they know who sent it! Including your contact details is also a must so they know how to reach you if they want to reply or ask a question. Making it easier for your employees to speak up is a great way to build rapport.

What Makes A Good Email Great?

Now that you know what to include in your welcome email, how do you take it one step further and write a welcome email that makes an immediate impact? Here are some tips and tricks to help you get your message across.

Use A Positive, Warm Tone

First impressions are everything, and a welcome email is the first impression your new employees have of you. While it’s important to be professional in this type of correspondence, being overly formal can come off as cold or impersonal. Use a more casual tone and be engaging to make your new employee feel more comfortable. After all, you want them to feel accepted in their new workplace!

Be Enthusiastic

Show your excitement in your welcome email. You can do this by telling your new employee that their role plays an important part in helping the company or business grow and thrive! Expressing how much of a positive impact they will make means creating an extremely welcoming atmosphere for employees. This shows trustworthiness as well as enthusiasm about having them on board.

Another way to express enthusiasm about having your employee join the team is by referencing how thrilled everyone else on staff will be. Including their names can help emphasize who they’ll be working alongside now, which makes an impact right away!

Be careful not to go overboard though, as your excitement and enthusiasm shouldn’t overshadow the important details that the welcome email contains.

Make It Personal

Try to make your welcome email more detailed and less vague, so it doesn’t come off as a generic template that’s simply sent out to anyone who’s new in the company. Your new employee should be the focus of the content of your welcome email. Opt to use “you” more than “I” and “we” so they know you’re talking directly to them and welcome their input. This not only creates a more personal welcome email but also shows that you value your workers’ opinions and contributions!

Another thing to take note of when writing the welcome email to the new employee is that you should use their first name so they don’t feel like they’re simply reading another important, required document or set of instructions. Plus, using their first name will make them feel that they are valued and make them trust you more.

Questions Should be Encouraged

Make it clear in your email that any and all questions are welcome. In addition to making them feel more welcome, this will also help them ease into the workplace much faster! By encouraging them to ask for help when they need it, you also promote communication. Establishing a line of communication between you and your new employee when they first start ensures that their transition into the company is much smoother.

Their questions can also give you an idea of how well-informed or not they are about certain policies or procedures, so you know what to focus on and prioritize more during their onboarding process.

Showcase The Company’s Culture

A welcome email is a perfect opportunity to let your company’s spirit shine! Giving a glimpse of your unique workplace culture will create excitement for your new employee, and it gives them something else to look forward to aside from getting to work on day one. It also introduces your employees to the people they’ll be working with and the kind of atmosphere in the workplace.

You can show off your company’s culture with pictures of past activities you’ve done, a list of upcoming events at the workplace, or describing the facilities you have. You can even add a welcome video that shows them around the office and introduces everyone in it!

Keep It Easy To Read

Put yourself in your new employee’s shoes: it’s nerve-wracking going into a new job. The processes are unfamiliar, the procedures can be confusing, and management can be scary. Given all of that, receiving an email that’s just a huge block of text written in corporate-speak won’t do anything to calm your new employee’s nerves — it’ll only make them feel more anxious and confused. That’s why formatting is such an important tool to understand as someone in HR.

You don’t need to go crazy, either. Make simple use of subheadings and bullet points to give your email a clear structure they can easily follow. Highlight important details and space them out properly so they don’t get overlooked.

You can also consider using visual aids such as infographics or videos in your welcome email to keep your new employee engaged and make everything easier to take in!

In Closing: A Strong Welcome Email is an Opportunity

A welcome email to a new employee is an excellent opportunity for you to make them feel welcomed, valued, and appreciated on their first day on the job. We’ve all been new before — showing that you understand that, while also setting clear expectations and boundaries, can help put a positive note on their first day while laying the groundwork to build a successful, long-term arrangement with them.

Make use of these tips and tricks to make a good first impression and write the best welcome emails to new employees!