How to Write a Welcome Message for a New Employee

Your efforts to retain employees and maintain a high level of engagement begin on an employee’s very first day with the welcome message.

A welcome message greets the new hire and introduces them to the team, as well as to the company culture. It also gives the rest of your employees an opportunity to meet their new colleague, learn a little about them, and even begin to form a connection with the latest hire.

“First impressions are very hard to change,” says EveryoneSocial’s Director of Human Resources and Recruiting Sheba Lasley.

“Even though an employee has had several introductions to the company through the hiring process, that was the initial phase to make a good impression. There is another phase where you make a good impression, which lasts longer, and that is when an employee starts with a new company.”

Clearly, there’s a lot riding on this welcome message. But don’t worry — crafting an engaging greeting doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.

These simple guidelines — plus the awesome welcome message examples featured below — will help you welcome new hires the right way.

Tips to Write an Effective Welcome Message

Follow these steps to welcome new hires and help them get started on the right foot.

Prepare before you post.

Contact the new hire before their first day and explain that you’ll be sharing a welcome message about their arrival with the company.

Be sure to let them know whether this will be an internal announcement, perhaps via email or within Slack, or if it’ll be a public announcement that’ll also be shared on the company’s social media accounts.

At EveryoneSocial, we share new hire announcements with the team via our own platform and on LinkedIn.

Ask the new team member what information they’d like everyone to know. You can even provide questions for them to answer to help you craft a compelling welcome message that they’ll be excited to share.

If you’ll include a photo in the post, ask them to provide a picture of themselves. Be specific about what you’re looking for.

Do you want a professional headshot, or do you want a selfie or a photo that reveals their personality, such as a picture of the person engaged in their favorite hobby?

Provide examples of previous welcome messages you’ve shared about employees so they know what to expect.

Cover the basics.

It probably goes without saying, but make sure to include basic information about the new hire, such as their name, title, and what they’ll be doing in their role.

“You should definitely include the employee’s title, who they will be reporting to, and a brief synopsis on what they will be doing at the company,” Lasley says. “If they’ll be remote, include their location. One touch I do is encourage the rest of the company to connect with them on Linkedin and provide a link.”

Show your excitement.

Make it clear that you’re psyched about this new addition to the company by employing an enthusiastic tone in your welcome message.

Be complimentary in your post to demonstrate to both the new hire and current team members why this addition is important to the organization.

For example, you could highlight some of the employee’s past accomplishments, note how their specializations or experiences will enable them to succeed in this position, or mention something they said during their interview that makes them a great fit for company culture.

Demonstrating your genuine excitement will help the new employee feel welcome and confident in their ability to do a great job. It’ll also help them develop an affinity for the company on their very first day.

Communicate company culture.

A welcome message is the perfect opportunity to showcase your organization’s culture, so choose your words carefully to get the right idea across.

If your company is a scrappy startup with a relaxed environment where workers often chat and joke, showcase this.

Have the new hire submit a fun photo or a favorite GIF or meme to include in the announcement. Or use emojis to communicate your fun, laidback culture, such as in this welcome message example from TogetherJust.

You can also ask a new employee to answer a non-work-related question like, “As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?” or “What are your thoughts on pineapple on pizza?”

If, on the other hand, your organization is more formal, keep the welcome message in line with this. Highlight the new hire’s accomplishments or share their relevant experience and invite current workers to connect with the new employee on LinkedIn.

New-Employee Welcome Message Examples to Inspire You

There are countless options when it comes to crafting a unique welcome message. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Create a cohesive look.

Want all your new-hire announcements to be consistent? Create a template that you can easily update for each welcome message as Cybexo does in the examples below.

You can also create a cohesive feel simply by having employees pose for branded photos in the same location like Velox Insurance.

Ask interesting questions.

Have the new hire share a little about themselves by providing responses to a few questions that’ll help the team get to know them — and jumpstart some conversations like we do here at EveryoneSocial.

“We like to foster a true team dynamic at EveryoneSocial, which includes ways to encourage cross team interactions,” Lasley says. “I like to have the new hire answer a few fun questions and then I share it in my welcome post that I send to the company on employee’s first day. I’ve found that from those answers, others in the company can find commonalities and bond with the new hire quicker.”

Create a custom bio.

Want a more structured way to welcome an employee and introduce them to the team?

Have your newest colleague complete a brief bio to share like Creditcoin.

Use video.

If your new hire is comfortable in front of the camera, give them the opportunity to introduce themselves like TerraCRG does with its employees.

This is especially effective if they’ll be working in a more public-facing position, such as in media or real estate.

Feature them on the website.

Some companies give more longevity to their new employee announcements by introducing the latest team member not just in an internal email or on social media.

Instead, they create content around the latest hire and feature them prominently on the website like Professional Project Partners does on its blog.

Post Welcome Messages on EveryoneSocial to Boost Engagement

When you share your new employee welcome message on EveryoneSocial, it does more than just greet your latest hire and introduce them to the team.

It also enables employees to interact with their new colleague, expand their network by connecting with them on social media, and share the welcome message on their own personal networks so your messaging gets greater reach.

Learn more about how EveryoneSocial can benefit your employees and your organization. Book a demo now!