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Whether you’re running a small business or a huge company, it’s essential to make new hires feel like they’re part of the team from day one.
But how do you go about doing this? For me, the first
onboarding step is to send a great welcome email or message to your new hires.
Sometimes, however, wording and content don’t come easy to everyone. Let’s see how to make your welcome email enticing to new joiners at your business below
At Charlie, we don’t want to leave any room for doubt, so that’s why we want the welcome messages we send to new hires to be as thorough as possible – especially because, as a hybrid company, it’s likely we won’t always meet new hires in person on their first day.
Here’s what we think is essential to include in your welcome email:
Below, I’ll dive into two of these points in particular so you can better understand what I mean:
What we mean by this is how your teams organise themselves – for example around quarters or cycles of work.
It will depend on what type of business you’re running, but it can be difficult for new hires to grasp what’s going on, especially if you’re using some specific jargon (at Charlie, for example, we talk about ‘quests’ – not straightforward when you’re a newbie).
Including expectations for your new hire in your welcome email can be really useful. It’ll be a good way for you to let them know what you want from them and a perfect method for them to understand what they need to achieve.
Just be careful to avoid putting too much pressure on them. They’ll have a lot to learn, and there’s no need to hide that from them.
Although it’ll be the manager’s role to lay out an employee onboarding plan that makes sense for their new team member, we usually advise disclosing some of it in the welcome message or email you’ll send.
Again, starting in a new role can be quite scary and having a good idea of where the first few weeks will go can soothe someone’s mind and prepare them for what’s coming.
There are a few details to consider when choosing a HR self-service tool, but you should first understand where and how you can save time to focus on the most impactful tasks — in other words, what self-service features do you need?
To do this successfully, here are some essential features every employee self-service system should have:
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Make sure you include the relevant people and change it depending on how your work as a company – this is just to give you an idea of how we welcome team members at CharlieHR. Feel free to tweak and copy it as you please!
Hey [name],
I hope you're well and you're looking forward to next week - we're very excited to have you start!
I just wanted to drop you some info about your first day and first week.I've also cc'd some relevant people so you have their names and email addresses.
We use Quest and Cycles at Charlie and you’re joining in what we call Week [x] of cycle [x] of this Quest. You’ll learn more about Cycles as you settle in, but all you need to know for now is that we have 4x 6-week cycles per Quest, and 2 Quests per year. We work in cross-functional teams on tactics which will help us make progress towards our company priorities.
For this cycle, you’ll be joining [who, on what team]. You’ll mostly be busy onboarding for the remaining [x] weeks of the cycle so you won’t be expected to contribute loads to what we’re working on, but we’d love your opinions and thoughts.
Here’s a screenshot from a recent all-hands meeting so you can see most (but not quite all!) of us…
Your buddy will be [name]; they’ll book in some time with you in your first week and be someone who you can turn to if you have any questions at all.
As we have very flexible working hours, people start at different times of the day but everyone always joins for our 10am all-hands meeting each morning.
I've put in a Google Calendar invite (with Google Meet link attached) for [time, date] for half an hour, then we’ll re-join Huddle together at 10 which is also in your calendar [adjust as necessary].
You'll spend most of your first day with me [or change]. You’ll already have your Charlie laptop and I’ll help you to get it set up and start working through some more onboarding bits.
But overall, we'll take it pretty easy and give you plenty of time to read things and ask lots of questions.
I’ll set up some catch-ups throughout the week to talk about your role doc, 1:1s, our progression framework, probation expectations etc.
I’ll be giving you some small tasks to get going with this week too so you’ll know you’re adding value from the get-go :)
Reach out to me on Slack any time as if we were in the office - treat me like I’m sitting next to you!
We'll give you lots to do, but there's no pressure - work at your own pace and take the time to set everything up the way you like it.
Take notes and give feedback - your fresh eyes on Charlie and the ways we work are invaluable, please bring your thoughts and ideas.
Ask questions - we're a small and very open team, so always feel free to ask questions on any public Slack channels or DM anyone you like
See you on the [date]!
[your name]
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This is a great email to send if you don’t want to share too many details before your new hire comes into the office.
Hey [name],
Welcome to [name of the company]! We’re super excited to have you on board and here’s just a short email to introduce you to our team and what’s going to happen when you start on the [start date].
I thought we could spend the first day in the office together so make sure to arrive at [address for your office] at 9am. I’ll wait for you in front of the entrance.
We’ll probably go for coffee together and I’ll make sure you get your laptop and we set up your credentials and all your accesses. We’ll then run through a few of our policies, processes and what’s next for you.
Please let me know if you need anything in the meantime. I look forward to working with you.
Have a nice one.
Best, [your name]
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Remote employees have different needs when it comes to onboarding and making sure they feel as much part of the company as the rest is crucial – have a look below.
Hey [name],
Welcome to [name of the company]! It’s great to have you on board and I’m looking forward to seeing you on the [start date].
Since we all work from home, I don’t want you to feel isolated on your first day, and that’s why I just wanted you to know that I took the liberty of scheduling a few meetings during the day, including a coffee to start the day afresh.
Once we’ve chatted a bit, I’ll run you through some admin and we can slowly start to introduce you to our work and processes. Hope that sounds exciting!
You’ll be receiving your laptop in the upcoming weeks. I’ll either be in touch regarding delivery or you’ll receive a text message. I hope that’s ok.
In the meantime, do let me know if you have any questions.
Best, [your name]
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This can be a message sent on Slack or via email. This can also be a company-wide message so everyone can see the person just started, or a private one. The benefit of sending it to everyone is to introduce the new hire at the same time. It all depends on what you prefer.
Welcome to the team, [name]!
We’re sure you’ll fit right in and good luck on your first day. Some team members will be in touch to introduce themselves over a coffee! Enjoy.
Great to have you here, [name]!
We made a great choice in hiring you, and I’m sure you’ll get up to speed in no time. Looking forward to helping you contribute to business goals and collaborating with you.
Welcome, [name]!
We keep on growing and you’re the latest addition to the team. Well done and enjoy the ride of our fast-growing environment. I look forward to hearing from you and seeing what you get up to.
Glad to have you here, [name]!
As a business, we really appreciate you joining us to build a more creative and collaborative space. Don’t hesitate to bring new ideas to the table and give us any feedback regarding any stage of your journey here.
Welcome here, [name]!
We love to bring a myriad of people to the business and that includes different backgrounds, life experiences and perspectives so we’re happy you’re here and look forward to seeing what you’ll be achieving.
Welcome messages can feel a bit overwhelming for new hires, and although they’re nice, they do take a bit of time and can flood people’s inboxes. Not to mention the ones who won’t read the email or the channel you posted it in.
All in all, is it really worth it? It can be debatable.
If you’re looking for an alternative to sending a welcome email or welcome message to your new employees, you can simply choose to use onboarding software.
Create your team member’s profile and let your HR software do the rest:
No more admin bits when it comes to welcome messages that you might forget about – start a 7-day free trial of Charlie now.
Notice periods can sometimes be long, stretching from one to three months, especially if you’ve hired for a senior role. This will allow you to foster a sense of connection right from the start and sending a welcome message is an obvious first step.
There’s nothing worse to new hires than companies who get excited about hiring them and then go off the radar. To ensure this doesn’t happen, welcome messages (after the contract has been signed) will put them at ease, and ensure they can trust their new employer.
Whilst still working for their former employer, new hires can develop a sense of boredom and lack the right energy if you don’t make sure to keep in touch with them. It’s your role to get them excited about the prospect of starting a new job by getting them up to speed with the tasks they’ll be given and the kind of business they’re going to join.
Sharing information about the work they’re going to be doing and the team they’ll join is crucial, but your welcome email for new employees should also be about the business. I would advise not to overshare, as they’re going to learn as they grow, but some reading before they start can’t hurt.
Getting a warm welcome email will make new hires feel welcome, especially if you’re already introducing them to coworkers. Perhaps that includes sharing everyone’s LinkedIn profile or showing a directory like the one we have in Charlie.
This makes introductions way easier and gives some context as to who is doing what at your business. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to feel part of the team.
Save yourself hours every week – and spend it building a happy, high-performing team instead
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