Welcome email

Writing your welcome email

Introduce yourself and encourage their questions

Your welcome letter is typically the second step in your onboarding workflow (following your congratulations email) and before they start, your new hire will likely have a few questions. This is a great place to open the door for them to ask.

Start by introducing yourself and what you do at the company. This will help them understand how you fit into the company's hierarchy and how you’ll help guide them.

Share some information about the company's culture, values, and expectations and give an overview of the new hire's role and what they’ll be responsible for once they begin. We know this is included in the job description, but there’s usually a little more detail to convey once they’ve been hired.

Encourage them to reach out to you (or another POC) if they have any questions or concerns. You want to support them and provide access to any resources they need to step confidently into their new role, and a new company.

Celebrate their new journey with you

Think about everything that went into making this happen. For both your company and your new hire.

Your company decided to open up the position, a hiring manager crafted the job description, recruiters chatted with countless candidates, and your hiring panel interviewed the best candidates, filled out rubrics, had discussions, then made an offer.

On the other side of the equation, your new hire decided to make a huge change in their life. They probably reviewed a ton of postings, submitted numerous applications, and sent just as many “thank you” emails. Eventually, they interviewed with your team, received and contemplated your offer, and made a final decision to sign it.

Look at all of that. This is a big deal! And conveying the excitement you feel is as easy as writing  celebratory opening and closing lines, like “Welcome to Sora! We’re so excited to have you join our team!” and “Sincerely looking forward to your first day!”.

Highlight pre-start-date tasks

New hires are naturally anxious before their first day, so outlining what their next few weeks will look like gives them an idea of what to expect and helps ease their nerves. Including an overview that covers everything your new hire will do during the onboarding process - whether it’s a PDF, a pamphlet, or directly in the email - helps to make sure there aren’t any major surprises or unknowns once they begin. 

Of course, every company needs their new hires to complete a pretty standard checklist of administrative tasks. To stay on top of this, highlight some tasks your new hires have on their to-do list (that also feed to yours) before they start, like:

• Fill out background check paperwork
• Fill out payroll information
• Complete a survey with preferred name and address 
• Review benefits information*

*Attach a benefits package so they understand what’s offered to them.