Someone joins my team on Monday. What do I write to welcome them, and what do I tell the team?
Bring the start date, where and when to show up, who they will meet in week one and one real reason you hired them. HidenGPT's Email format drafts a friendly welcome from you as their manager, plus a short note to the team if you ask. You get practical, warm messages without the HR brochure tone.
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How to do it in HidenGPT
- 01
Collect the practical facts first: start date, arrival time and place, who meets them, what they need to bring and what is set up already.
- 02
Pick Email, keep Email type on Business email, set Tone to Friendly and put the new person's name and role under To.
- 03
Paste those facts into the main box with one sentence on why you hired them, and ask for a short team announcement as a second piece if you want one.
- 04
Check every time, room and name against your calendar, then cut any sentence that could appear in any company's welcome email.
- 05
Send the welcome three to five working days before the start date, and post the team note on their first morning, before they log in.
Email / Newsletter: Subject lines that get opened, emails and newsletters that get replies.
Example: the email to the new hire (130 words)
“Subject: Monday, 9:30, 4th floor
Hi Priya,
We are glad you're joining us on Monday. Here's what the first day looks like.
Come to the 4th floor reception at 9:30 and ask for me. Your laptop is set up; IT will walk you through logins at 11. The team is taking you to lunch, so no need to bring anything.
Your buddy for the first month is Leo. He has been here three years and knows where everything is, including the good coffee machine.
I hired you because of the cereal box redesign in your portfolio. In your second week you will start on our packaging refresh, so that work will feel familiar.
If anything comes up before Monday, my number is 555 0142.
See you soon, Dana”
Notice what it leaves out: the company history, the values page, a list of 14 tools. Those can wait for week one.
Example: introducing them to the team
A team channel note on day one, three lines:
“Please welcome Priya Shah, who joins us today as a junior designer. She comes from a packaging studio in Portland and will start on the refresh with Leo next week. Say hi, and if you can make 12:30, lunch is on the team.”
In a WhatsApp group the same note works with the last sentence cut and a line about how the group is used: “This group is for shift swaps and quick questions.”
One fact about the person, chosen with their consent, beats a list of hobbies. Ask them in your welcome email what they would like the team to know, or keep it to their role and last job.
What a welcome from the manager should cover, and when
Before day one, the new person mainly wants four answers: where to go, when, who will meet them and what to bring. Put those in the first paragraph. Everything else is a bonus.
A useful order for the email:
1. A one-line welcome with their start date. 2. Arrival time and place, and who meets them. 3. What is ready (laptop, badge, accounts) and what they need to bring, if anything. 4. The first week in two or three lines: one meeting, one person, one task. 5. One sentence about why you picked them. 6. How to reach you before the start.
Timing is a rule of thumb: three to five working days ahead gives them time to plan the commute without letting the message go stale. A remote hire needs it earlier, since hardware has to arrive by mail.
What the Email format does with it
Business email tells the draft to put the purpose in the first paragraph and end with a clear next step and a date, which suits a message whose job is logistics. With Tone set to Friendly it reads like a person, not a policy.
It uses only the facts you typed. If you leave out the arrival time, the draft does not make one up, which is the right failure: you notice the gap. A light red pen pass removes stock phrases like “We are thrilled to welcome you aboard” and “an exciting journey”, which new hires have read in every offer packet. Length Short is 50 to 120 words, Medium is 120 to 250; the example above sits at Medium.
Not the right tool if
- The offer letter or contract. Terms, pay and start conditions belong to HR and the legal documents, not a welcome note.
- A company-wide onboarding handbook. That is a long document with policies; draft it section by section in the Anything format or keep it with HR.
- Welcoming someone whose start date or role is not confirmed yet. Wait until it is, or the email promises what you cannot keep.
Other ways to do it
- Your HR system's automated welcome
- Covers forms and policies. Keep it, and send your own short note on top, since the system cannot say why you hired them.
- A phone call before day one
- Warmer for a senior hire or someone relocating. Follow it with a short email so the time and place are in writing.
- Writing it yourself from the six-point list
- Ten minutes with your calendar open. Often enough for a second or third hire in the same quarter.
- ChatGPT or another chatbot
- Quick, but drafts lean on “thrilled” and “onboard”. Replace them with the arrival time and the buddy's name.
Questions
What do you write in a welcome message for a new employee?
Where and when to arrive, who will meet them, what is ready, a line on their first week and one specific reason you hired them. Keep it under about 150 words.
When should a manager send the welcome email?
Three to five working days before the start date is a common rule of thumb. For remote hires send it earlier, so equipment and logins are sorted before day one.
How do I introduce a new employee to the team?
Post two or three lines on their first morning: name, role, where they came from and what they will work on. Add one personal fact only if they agreed to share it.
What should a welcome message in a WhatsApp group say?
Their name, role and start date in one line, then what the group is used for. Keep it shorter than an email, since everyone reads it on a phone.
Should the welcome come from me or from HR?
Both, ideally. HR sends the forms and policies; a note from you as the manager covers the first day and tells them why they were chosen, which no system can.
Is it fine to use AI for a welcome message?
Yes, if the facts and the reason you hired them are yours. It drafts from what you type; you check the times and names, change anything that is off and send it as your message.
Can I try it before I pay?
Yes. The homepage gives visitors 2 drafts a day without an account, enough for the welcome email and the team note. A plan adds saved history and voices from your own writing; Pro's first month is $3.