How To Write a Welcome Email To a New Employee [Free Drafts]

There’s nothing like an empty inbox to kick off a new day. But for new hires, logging in to find a barrage of emails and back-to-back meetings is usually unavoidable.

What’s something that is preventable? Impersonal and unhelpful welcome emails.

There are lots of reasons your first impression might miss the mark. Maybe your new hire receives redundant emails because no one has documented their templates. If welcome templates *do* exist, maybe they’re outdated because no one has been trained on your new email platform. Separate but related: maybe nobody on your team has the time to sit through an hour-long tutorial video. 😵💫

It’s easy to put things like creating/maintaining email templates and hosting tool training sessions on the back burner. But taking the time to tailor, update, and polish your outreach can make a world of difference for a nervous new hire.

To take some work off your plate, we’ve put together eight templates and our top tips for writing a welcome email to a new employee.

What to include in a welcome email to a new employee

You can help your newest teammate start on the right foot by prioritizing what they need to know on their first day in their new hire welcome email. Essentials can include their start time, dress code, and any documents they need to share with HR.

Other information, like project rundowns, may not be helpful to cover in detail on the first day. You can send links or files for awareness and go over them together later.

Here’s some information you may want to include in any type of welcome email to a new employee:

• Start date and time 🕘
• What to expect on their first day (especially if you’re treating them to lunch!) 🥪
• Upcoming meetings (their first 1:1 with their manager, standing weekly meetings, a watercooler talk to say hello, etc.) 🖥️
• Work schedule and first tasks 📅
• Dress code (for hybrid or in-person workplaces) 👔
• Address, directions, parking information, and other special check-in instructions if they’re working in person 🗺️
• Login instructions and credentials 🧑💻
• Employee handbook, role milestones, and other expectation-setting materials 📕
• Instructions to access the company wiki, learning management system, and similar databases 🗃️
• Other process documentation to help them get settled (independently!) on their first day 📄
• List of onboarding paperwork or items to prepare 📁
• Checklists and other resources to help them keep track of their onboarding tasks ☑️
• Contact information for troubleshooting, questions, or feedback (use an email signature generator, if you don't have one set up already!)📱

Welcome email examples

We organized our templates below based on different scenarios, from who’s sending them to the overall purpose.

It may sound obvious, but your teams will operate (and communicate) differently. Direct managers may assist in new hire training and provide in-depth email overviews. Others on your team may share other onboarding details in a single welcome email or response.

Go ahead and modify these templates based on your team's onboarding process (and don't be afraid to spice them up a bit to let your personality shine!).

If you find one you like, select the “click to copy” button to quickly put the template into action.

Welcome email example #1: General template

Hiring managers help transition teammates from the hiring process to the onboarding process. Their initial email can help new hires understand what they can expect before their first day.

• Goal: Set new hires up with everything they need to know before starting their first day.
• When to send: Before their first day.

Welcome email example #2: General template tailored to a hybrid or remote teammate

New hire welcome emails are especially important for hybrid and remote teammates. On top of the usual first day information, you can also cover remote-specific resources. These can include your team’s remote work expectations and internal communication SOPs.

Polished process documentation is especially important to finalize before your remote teammates start. They’ll lean on these guides for their go-to resources (instead of emailing you, interrupting a more experienced coworker, or asking someone to share their screen). 🙏🏾

• Goal: Set remote or hybrid new hires up with everything they need before logging on to their first day.
• When to send: Before their first day.

Welcome email example #3: General template tailored to a new teammate who relocated for the job

Teammates who recently relocated likely have a lot on their plate. On top of juggling a new job, they’re probably still knee-deep in boxes.

Help your new teammates feel welcome by offering any support you can during their transition. It also doesn’t hurt to throw in your team’s local tips or a list of places not to miss (like that coffee place around the corner that does fun latte art). ☕

• Goal: Set new hires up with everything they need before starting their first day in the office.
• When to send: Before their first day.

Welcome email example #4: Direct manager template

A new hire welcome email from you (as their direct manager) may focus on day-to-day work and initial projects. It can also include an agenda or a list of documents to review before your initial meeting. Tip: include how-to guides to show them how to set up key accounts on their own beforehand!

• Goal: Get new hires acquainted with their manager, the projects on their plate, and anything else they’ll need to know before meeting their manager.
• When to send: Their first day, before their first one-on-one meeting.

Welcome email example #5: Training manager template

Needless to say, onboarding training will vary from company to company.

Your training manager’s welcome email can help set expectations from the start and clear up potential confusion or questions. It can also include training documentation and materials for a sneak peek of upcoming training topics.

This new hire welcome email can also help clear up what role a training manager will play (vs. your role, as their direct manager).

• Goal: Provide new hires with an overview of what they can expect during the onboarding training process.
• When to send: Their first day, before their first onboarding training.

Welcome email example #6: HR template

At the risk of stating the obvious: HR teams need to take care of a lot of important and sensitive information.

Where would we be if we didn't have HR taking care of our sensitive documents for us? They’re the ones who gather new hire W-2s, I-9s, and other paperwork—and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Although you may not send this onboarding paperwork over email, starting with an introduction can help your new hires feel more comfortable with the HR team.

• Goal: Get new hires acquainted with the HR team and learn who to reach out to for common HR-related questions.
• When to send: Their first day, ahead of their document submission deadline.

Welcome email example #7: Immediate team or department introduction template

Not every welcome email needs to be formal or full of action items! As a new hire’s direct manager, you can also send an email to introduce the teammates they’ll be working with most closely. Your new teammate can get a chance to know their team a little more before any lunches or meet-and-greets.

• Goal: Get new teammates acquainted with their immediate team or department.
• When to send: During their first week, before meeting their team or department.

Welcome email example #8: Broader team introduction template

Last but not least, you can send off an email to introduce your newest teammate to the broader team (beyond the people they’ll work with on a weekly basis). This note can be short and sweet. 🍭

• Goal: Introduce new hires to the larger team.
• When to send: Their first day.

Tips for putting together a new hire welcome email that they’ll actually read

You could copy an email template online as-is and call it a day. Or, you could take the time to personalize it and make your new hire feel really welcomed.

Oh, and remember that email platform everyone’s been avoiding? You may also need to sit down and create some documentation for it. A great email can’t help your new hire if no one knows how to send it!

Check out our list below for tips on putting together your email (and ensuring they read it). 😉

• Make subject lines short and easy to find.
• Include the most important details in the email and leave granular details for your workflow documentation.
• Break up long blocks of information into multiple emails—with separate notes for HR paperwork and onboarding training.
• Use bullets and bolding to break up text and highlight the most important information.
• Use a friendly tone that’s true to your team’s culture.
• Mention why you’re excited to have them join the team to give them a confidence boost and help them understand why they stood out.
• List out contact information for those who can help with specific topics, like payroll questions.
• Encourage them to ask questions and emphasize that your team is there to support them.
• Check your new hire’s time zone before scheduling emails.
• Tailor emails to your new hire’s situation, like removing paperwork reminders if they’ve already submitted everything.
• CC teammates so they can introduce themselves.
• Proofread the email for accuracy and to make sure you’ve updated placeholders.
• Send yourself a test email, especially if you just updated the template.
• Update your new hire welcome email templates, checklists, and other documentation as your team grows and feedback comes in.
• Create documentation for navigating your team’s email platform so anyone can hop in and set up their welcome emails.