How to Write an Employee Introduction Letter

A letter of introduction can provide valuable background information on a new employee to coworkers.

A good employee introduction letter presents the new employee to staff and others as part of the organization's team. This helps the new employee feel welcome. Providing this information to other employees shows respect for them, too, reinforcing the idea that everyone needs to be kept informed and has a crucial role to play. Employers might also have the new employee "shadow" a more experienced one, who personally introduces the new employee to potential mentors and coworkers.

Instructions

1. 

   A letter can provide valuable background on a new coworker.

   Decide on the format of your letter. Choose a memo format if sending it to in-office employees, or a business letter format if sending it to a colleague outside your offices. Begin a memo with the following subheadings, placed on separate lines with a space in between: "TO" "FROM" DATE" and "SUBJECT." Place a colon after each subheading and add the appropriate name, date and subject. Type the body of the letter, without the closing.

2. Ask yourself who your audience is. Determine whether you wish to send the letter to a colleague who will be meeting your current employee. Determine which of the employee's strengths and accomplishments are most relevant to the reader. Make a list of these qualifications. If you're introducing a new employee to an entire department or company, make a list of the employee's qualifications that relate most to her job.

3. Begin your business letter with a statement explaining why you are introducing the employee. If writing an employee-introduction letter to many coworkers, say something like, "Our company has just hired a new human resources director, John Smith, who will be joining our staff on Monday, March 28." If introducing the employee to your colleague, such as a superior who might be working with the new employee, say something like, "I am pleased that you will be meeting with John Smith on March 28, as I believe he will prove to be a tremendous asset in organizing your records."

4. Continue stressing how the employee will benefit the company or individual you're writing to in your letter. Keep the first paragraph brief, summing up the employee's qualifications as he would have done in the first paragraph of a cover letter. Expand on relevant accomplishments, skills and personal attributes in the body, as in a cover letter. Maintain a confident tone, which gives employees confidence in you, as well as in the new recruit. Keep the letter to one page in length, unless you must explain the new recruit's qualifications in greater detail to a particular coworker. In that case, send a briefer, one-page version to everyone else.

5. State what you would like the reader to do for (or with) the employee. If you're writing to one or two coworkers or superiors, you might state that you would like them to collaborate with the new employee on specific types of projects. If writing to the whole department, state that you hope everyone will give the new employee a warm welcome.

6. Send the letter to all recipients at least a day before the employee arrives, so they have time to read it. If sending the letter to a superior you wish to introduce to the employee, send him the letter at least a day before the meeting. If you won't be attending the meeting, give the employee a copy to give the colleague at the meeting itself (see References 3).

References

• Dummies.com: How to Introduce a New Employee to Your Corporate Culture; Max Messmer
• Purdue OWL: Memos
• "Business English"; Andrea B. Geffner; 2010
• Purdue OWL: Tone in Business Writing