How to Welcome a New Employee the Right Way + Examples

Making a new employee feel welcome is extremely important. First impressions are everything, and you want to ensure that your onboarding process makes the new employee feel comfortable from the get-go. There are several tips, tricks, and onboarding tools that managers can use to make a new employee’s start date go smoothly.

• Why do you need to welcome a new employee? 
• How to welcome a new employee 
• 20 welcome message examples
• Next steps
• Connect with new talent through Fellow

Why do you need to welcome a new employee? 

It’s important to extend a warm welcome to new employees for various reasons—not just for them but also for the company.

Showcase professionalism and organizational skills

Giving a warm welcome to new hires is an opportunity to demonstrate your company’s professionalism and organizational skills. This first impression sets the tone for their entire employee experience.

Motivate and value your new employee

When you welcome the new employee with genuine excitement and enthusiasm, it lets them know that they are a valuable addition to the team. Making them feel appreciated and valued right from the start boosts their motivation, fosters a positive work environment, and reinforces their decision to join the organization.

Retaining talent through smooth onboarding

Effective employee onboarding plays a pivotal role in retaining top talent. When the onboarding process is seamless and well-planned, new hires are more likely to feel supported and inclined to stay for the long term. A positive onboarding experience, virtual or in-person, sets the stage for their future success within the organization.

How to welcome a new employee

Welcoming a new employee is a critical step in ensuring their smooth transition and integration into the team. Here are some essential tips for creating a warm and welcoming experience:

• Write a welcome email 
• Have trainings ready for the first day
• Make sure they have everything they need before day one
• Stay patient and available
• Encourage coffee chats with their team members

1 Write a welcome email

Writing a welcome email is a crucial step in the onboarding process. This email is more than a mere formality; it’s the first official communication that sets the tone for the employee’s journey in your organization.

Your welcome email should not only include details of the job offer, including pay, working hours, information about parking and dress code, but also contain a personal touch. Your welcome email should be warm and inviting, making the new hire feel excited about their new role. It should ideally reflect the company culture and values, giving them a glimpse of the work environment and the team they are about to join.

Renée Solorzano, Director of Product Design at Faire, uses the welcome email as an opportunity to “retell the story of why we hired them.” This approach helps in reinforcing the employee’s decision to join the company and ignites a sense of purpose and belonging from day one.

2 Have trainings ready for the first day

New employees should never spend their first day of work wondering what they’re meant to do. The first day at a new job can be overwhelming, so it’s crucial to have a structured onboarding process. Make sure that you’ve updated the employee handbook, have a clear onboarding checklist, and that you have some training and preparations ready for your new hire.

This will show your employee that you want to catch them up to speed on their position-related knowledge, and properly prepare them for the job to feel confident and supported to take on their new role.

3 Make sure they have everything they need before day one

Preparing for a new employee’s arrival ahead of time is crucial to ensuring a seamless transition and a warm welcome. Take the necessary steps to have all their essentials ready before their start date, and this may differ depending on whether they’re onboarding remotely or in-office.

This includes ensuring they have the appropriate software access, laptops, employee badges, parking passes, and any other required resources. It’s important to set the right tone from day one. When an employee walks into a new job and nothing is set up for them, it can send the wrong message and make them feel uneasy or undervalued. A high level of preparedness shows the new hire that they are entering a well-organized and considerate work environment. It reflects the company’s professionalism and commitment to its employees’ well-being and success.

4 Stay patient and available

There’s going to be a learning curve for any new employee as they acclimate to their new role and environment. For this reason, managers and leaders need to be patient with new hires and available to answer any and all of their questions. Remind them that it is completely normal to have questions, no matter how trivial they seem, and ensure they know the best communication channels, whether through instant messaging, emails, meetings, or in-person discussions. 

5 Encourage coffee chats with their team members

To ensure your new hire feels comfortable and integrated, it’s important to foster informal interactions. Starting a new job can feel intimidating, so encourage your existing team members to take the initiative and invite the new hire to a coffee chat or a walk. Assigning an onboarding buddy or promoting these informal interactions helps create a more relaxed and welcoming environment, provides an opportunity for a tour of the office, and contributes to an overall positive work atmosphere.

20 welcome message examples 

Having a personalized and warm welcome message is crucial to making a new employee feel valued and excited about joining your team. A thoughtful welcome message sets the tone for their onboarding experience and can have a significant impact on their overall satisfaction and engagement. Below are some examples of welcome messages that you can use to create a positive and encouraging onboarding experience.

• Simple and concise messages
• Positive and encouraging messages
• Personalized acknowledgement messages
• Emphasizing team collaboration messages

Simple and concise messages

• “Congratulations on joining our team, [name]! Looking forward to sharing many wins and successes.
• “A huge welcome from the whole team at [company]! We’ve worked to build a strong and passionate team, and we think that you’ll fit in perfectly with us.”
• “[name], we are so excited to welcome you to our team! You’re going to be a great addition, considering your background and expertise. Welcome aboard!”
• “[name], I want to welcome you on behalf of the leadership team. I hope you will enjoy working with us.”
• “[name], best wishes for your first day at [company]! We’re behind you in everything you do here, so let us know how we can support.”

Positive and encouraging messages

• “Welcome to the team [name]! Everyone on our team brings a unique background and different experience, which enriches what we bring to the table. We can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish with us!
• “Congratulations on accepting your job offer [name]! Welcome to the team! We can’t wait to see the great contributions that you’ll make here.”
• “Congratulations and welcome aboard, [name]. We selected you for the [job title] position because we know you’ll help us achieve great success! We want you to be comfortable and take chances in your work from the get-go.”
• “Welcome to the team, [name]! Starting a new job can be overwhelming, so we wanted you to know we’re here to support you at every step. You’re a part of our team now, and we know you’ll do amazing things at [company name].”
• “Congratulations on taking the next step in your career! We see great things in your future and amazing potential with [company name]. We hope this will be an opportunity for you to try new things and acquire different skills and competencies so we can all progress together.”

Personalized acknowledgment messages

• “We are delighted to hear about your decision to join our team, [name]! Your application really stood out because of [characteristic 1] and [characteristic 2]. We know you will bring unique and innovative ideas to the company, and we can’t wait to hear about them!
• “Thank you so much for accepting the job offer with [company]! We hope your onboarding process goes smoothly. If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Don’t feel shy about sharing your valuable thoughts and ideas — we brought you on board to share them!”
• “Dear [name], your skills and competencies will be a great addition to our ongoing projects. We are so excited to have you work with us and look forward to collaborating!”
• “Welcome, [name]! You truly stood out from the other applicants, and we are so confident and proud to have you on the team. We look forward to learning and growing with you these next few years.”
• “Welcome and congratulations, [name]! When we on-board a new employee, we make a commitment to their success. This is why you were selected carefully and why we feel so confident in your joining our team! We look forward to helping you do the best work yet with us.”

Emphasizing team collaboration messages

• “Welcome to [company name], [name]! Our organization constantly changes and grows, and we’re excited to have you along for the ride. We hired you to make a real impact here, so please don’t be shy!”
• “Welcome [name]! We know it can take some time to get comfortable in a new job, but we want to encourage you to always speak up, share your thoughts and challenge us. We’re here to grow together, and we can’t wait to hear more about what you have to say!”
• “Welcome to the team, [name]! You’re the perfect addition to our team, and we know you’ll accomplish great things here. We look forward to supporting you as you begin your journey with [company name].”
• “Welcome to the crew [name]! We are so happy to have you as a part of our work family! Always ask questions when you have them, and let us know if and how we can help.”
• “Congratulations and welcome to [company], [name]! We can’t wait for you to collaborate with the team in the coming weeks and months. We want to ensure you always feel comfortable asking us for support in your new role. Soon enough, you’ll also support those who work with you!”

Next steps

After the onboarding process is finished, be sure to continue with the following steps:

• Schedule their first one-on-one meeting
• Set the new hire up with an onboarding buddy
• Introduce them to their first project
• Ask for feedback about onboarding process

Connect with new talent through Fellow

There are many ways to extend a warm welcome to new employees or introduce yourself to a new team, and Fellow can streamline the onboarding process and ensure that new hires feel supported and engaged from day one. Fellow can not only help host effective meetings with your new hire but also has an extensive library of pre-built templates to help welcome your employee, including this one for their first one-on-one meeting.

Fellow also makes it easy to send post-meeting recaps, keeping you updated at all times on their progress. Fellow’s feedback feature can also help the new employee easily provide feedback on the onboarding experience, so you can continuously improve for any future hires.