After hiring a new employee, it is good practice to always welcome them to the team and provide them with all the necessary onboarding information and documents.
Using a welcome letter template is a great and simple way to achieve this.
A welcome letter is simply a document given to a new employee by the employer. They introduce the new employees to the team members and provide them with the basic information they need to get started.
In most cases, companies use a welcome letter template for all new employees that can be quickly edited to suit the new employees’ position and department rather than creating new welcome letters every time they have a new employee.
What should be included in a welcome letter?
Welcome letters can either be short and simple or long and complex. The size of the letter depends on the information and the goals of the letter. Some companies use welcome letters as a way of ushering in new employees and providing them with the date and time they are supposed to report while others use welcome letters to provide the new employees with important links to company documents, onboarding forms, and more.
The information to include in your welcome letter template include:
- A welcome statement
- Your official name and position
- Basic information they need to know
- The employee’s start date and time
Other optional information that you may want to include are:
- The orientation/onboarding schedule
- Immediate colleagues’ name and position
- Links to the onboarding forms
- A sample daily schedule/routine
- Links to employee handbooks
- Links to other employee tools and resources
How to Create a Welcome Letter Template
To create a great and effective welcome letter template; make sure to follow these steps:
Determine your goals
To create an effective welcome letter template, make sure to begin the letter by establishing the goals of the letter. Other than congratulating the employee on their new position, what other information do you wish to deliver? You should know this before you begin writing the letter.
Outline the letter
Make sure to create an outline for the letter to ascertain that you have included all the necessary information for the new employee. To achieve this, list down all the main ideas or information that you would like to include in every paragraph before you begin writing the welcome letter template. Note that the letter must be written in the business formal format.
Welcome the employee
Start the welcome letter template by officially welcoming the employee to the company. Congratulate them for receiving the job and express your excitement for them to be joining your team and the company.
Introduce yourself
Introduce your company and yourself to the employee and describe your role within the company. Provide your contact information in case they have any questions, or they need to follow up on something.
Provide need-to-know information
Provide the employee with all the basic information that they need to know regarding their first day on the job and provide them with any documents or other items that they need to have when onboarding. Ensure that you provide them with the start time, first-day expectations, the dress code, and any other information that they must know about.
Expand as needed
Ensure that you include any other information that you think the employee should know about before their first days, such as a link to the employee handbook or a list of other colleagues or team members with whom they will be closely working.
Close the letter
Conclude the welcome letter template with your signature and any last tips
Sample
August 17, 2020
Dear John Mark,
I wish to officially welcome you to the Johnson’s Family Company. We are happy for you to be part of us. Your skills in Human Resource planning and strategic management make you the perfect fit for the Human Resource Manager.
We met during your interview, but I would like to introduce myself to you again officially. I am Ms. Rachael Jennings, and I will be your Induction and Training Officer. Feel free to ask me any questions during the induction process.
Your first day of work will start on August 18, 2020, at 8:00 am. Kindly bring two copies of your identification card and be ready to complete onboarding paperwork. Additionally, you will be required to have a meeting with your Direct Manager, Mr. Peter Kirich, and go over your daily responsibilities. In case there is time, we hope to have you meet with the Finance, Salaries, and remuneration, and Pension departments. Our dress code is official wear on Monday through Thursday and smart casual on Friday.
Your new colleagues are happy to welcome you to the team. They will be great resources for you during your first few weeks on the job. You will have the opportunity to meet them officially during the induction process. Do not hesitate to ask them any questions during that time and in the coming weeks.
Kindly reach out to us through phone or email for any questions about your first day. We look forward to seeing you on August 18, 2020!
Sincerely,
Ms. Rachael Jennings
Induction and Training Officer
Welcome Letter Templates
Following are free welcome letter templates that can also be customized if needed:
Frequently Asked Questions
When Should I send the Welcome Letter?
Welcome letters should be sent immediately after the new employee has signed their contract or offer letter. This way, the employee has contact with the company between accepting the position officially and onboarding along with other resources and company contact information should they have questions.
Whom should the welcome letter be from?
This usually depends on the position the new employee will be taking. Often, welcome letters can come from any top-level members of the human resource team, but they can as well come from department heads or even the company executives.
How should I send a welcome letter?
The information contained in the welcome letter determines how you will send the letter to the employee. Welcome letters are usually sent via email so that if there are links to employee handbooks or other online resources, they can simply click on the link to obtain the information rather than retype the URL.