What a good welcome message does
A welcome message has one job: to make the new starter feel they were expected. On the first day everything's unfamiliar, the faces, the systems, where the kettle lives, and a few warm lines go further than you'd think.
Swap anything in square brackets for your own details, and change the tone to suit your office. A law firm and a start-up don't say good morning in quite the same way.
- Use their name, and check you've spelt it right.
- Tell them your name and what you do. They'll meet a lot of people today and won't remember half of them.
- Add one useful thing: who to ask, where people go for lunch, when the team has its morning catch-up.
- Offer something specific, like a coffee, a walk round the office or help with a system.
- Leave out the acronyms, the in-jokes and anything personal. There's time to get to know each other later.
Welcome messages from the team
This is the one most people need: a card left on the desk, or a message from the whole team on the first morning. Say you're pleased they're here and make it clear that questions are welcome. Don't overdo it, though: a very loud welcome can be a lot for someone quieter.
- Welcome to the team, [Name]! We're really glad you're here. Ask us anything, as often as you like: we've all been the new one.
- Welcome aboard! We've been looking forward to having you, and not only because of the workload. The kettle's in the kitchen, and we'll happily share the good lunch spots.
- Hello and welcome, [Name]. Take your time settling in. Nobody expects you to know where anything is this week, least of all the stationery cupboard.
- The whole team's delighted you've joined. We can't wait to get going on [project] with you and see what you bring to it.
- Welcome! You'll hear a lot of names today and nobody minds if you forget them. Ours is [team name], and we're very glad to have you.
- Welcome, [Name]! Your desk's ready, your laptop's ready (we think), and so are we.
From the line manager
If you're the person managing them, your message sets the tone for their first few weeks. Say why you're pleased they've joined, sketch out what's coming, and make it obvious you're around. The most useful thing you can say is often the thing managers forget: that nobody expects results in the first week, and that asking questions is part of the job.
- Welcome, [Name]. It's a real pleasure to have you on the team. This first week is for meeting people and finding your way around, so don't worry about delivering anything yet.
- Welcome to the team! Your [skill or experience] stood out when we were hiring, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you make of [project]. My door, and my inbox, are always open.
- Morning, [Name], and welcome. Let's catch up at the end of the day to see how it's gone and answer any questions. Until then, [buddy's name] will show you round.
- We're all looking forward to working with you. Take the time you need to settle in. You'll learn far more by asking than by nodding along.
- You've arrived at just the right moment for [project]. I'm counting on your fresh eyes: new starters often spot what the rest of us stopped noticing long ago.
The all-staff announcement email
In a larger organisation, a new starter is usually announced by email to everyone, sent by their line manager or by HR. It says who they are, what they'll be doing and which team they're in, and gives people a reason to go and say hello.
Show it to the new starter before it goes out, and leave out anything personal they haven't offered themselves. For the subject line, ‘Please welcome [Full name] to the [team] team’ does the job.
- Hi all, I'm delighted to let you know that [Full name] joins us today as [role] in the [team] team. [Name] has been working in [sector] and will be looking after [responsibilities] here. Do stop by and say hello, or ask them along for lunch this week.
- Hi everyone, please join me in welcoming [Full name], who starts today as our new [role]. You'll be working with them soon on [project or area], so it's well worth an early hello. We're having coffee and cake in [place] on [day] to welcome them: everyone's invited.
- Hi all, [Full name] starts with us today, working remotely from [town or city]. As you won't bump into them in the corridor for a while, please take a moment to send a welcome message on the company chat. Their role: [role and responsibilities].
Short messages for the team chat
In the team chat, the welcome thread is often the first thing a new starter reads when they log on. Short works best: a hello, an offer of help, an easy question. If everyone's chipping in, vary the wording, or it turns into a wall of identical ‘Welcome!’ messages.
- Welcome, [Name]! Great to have you. Any question, however small, just post it here and someone will jump in.
- Welcome to the team! I'm [Name] and I look after [area]. If you get stuck with [system or task], I'm your person.
- Welcome! Virtual or real, the first coffee's on me whenever you fancy it.
- Hi [Name], welcome aboard! Fair warning: this chat is half good ideas, half photos of lunch.
- Welcome! An easy one to start: what's the best thing that's happened to you this week, apart from joining us?
- Lovely to have you with us. Settle in at your own pace, and shout if you need anything.
Welcoming a remote or hybrid starter
When someone starts from home, the welcome message has to stand in for the smile at reception, the tour of the office and the first lunch. Send it early, the evening before or first thing, so they're not spending their first hour staring at a silent inbox.
Make the things that happen naturally in an office happen on purpose: a video call with no agenda, a name to contact when the laptop misbehaves, the date the team next gets together in person.
- Welcome, [Name]! You might be at home, but you're very much part of the team from today. Fancy a quick video call this afternoon? No agenda, just a hello.
- Welcome! A first day working from home can feel a bit quiet, so please post here whenever something comes up, however small.
- Hello and welcome! We can't make you a cuppa yet, so here's the next best thing: a tour of our tools with me tomorrow morning. The real tea comes at the next team day.
- Welcome aboard, [Name]! If your laptop plays up, message [contact]. For everything else, message me.
For an intern, apprentice or graduate
For an intern, an apprentice or someone on a graduate scheme, this may well be their first proper job, and a welcome can reassure them far more than it would an old hand. Say plainly that nobody expects them to know everything, name the person who'll be looking after them, and treat them as a member of the team rather than ‘the intern’.
By the end of their placement, the same colleagues will probably be writing their first reference. Our guide to writing a reference for an intern covers how to do it well.
- Welcome, [Name]! We're really pleased to have you with us for your placement. There's no such thing as a silly question here, so ask away.
- Welcome to the team! [Mentor's name] will be your go-to person during your apprenticeship, but all of us are here to help.
- Welcome! You're going to learn a lot here, and so are we. Fresh eyes on the way we do things are always worth having.
- Morning, [Name], and welcome to your first day. Take notes, ask questions, and come to lunch with us: that's where the best advice gets passed on.
Welcoming someone back after a long absence
Parental leave, sick leave, a sabbatical, a secondment somewhere else: coming back after a long time away is a kind of starting again. People wonder what's changed, and sometimes whether they've been forgotten. The message only has to say you're glad they're back.
Don't ask why they were away, and don't guess at their health or their private life. If they want to talk about it, they will. Offer to fill them in on what's changed instead.
- Welcome back, [Name]! The team's genuinely glad to have you here again. Let's get a coffee this week and I'll catch you up on what's changed.
- Welcome back! Your desk missed you, and so did we. Take your time getting back into the swing of things. There's no rush.
- Lovely to have you back. There are a few new faces and a couple of new systems, but the important things haven't changed.
- Welcome back, [Name]. We've missed you, and your ideas. If anything looks unfamiliar, just ask: it took the rest of us a while too.
Welcome messages with a bit of humour
A joke can take the edge off the first day, as long as it's aimed at the team, the building or the office's little quirks, and never at the new starter. Steer clear of in-jokes only the team understands. They shut people out, which is the opposite of what a welcome is for.
- Welcome! The printer has a personality of its own. We're hoping you'll be the one to tame it.
- Welcome to the team! A survival tip: never touch the thermostat without a team vote.
- Welcome! Make the most of being new. ‘Sorry, I've only just started’ gets you out of almost anything for a good few weeks.
- Welcome aboard! Friday cake is a sacred tradition, and tradition says new starters bring the first one. We're joking. Mostly.
If you're the new starter: introducing yourself
If you're the one starting, a short introduction helps everyone put a face to the name. Give your name, what you've come to do and what you did before, add something personal if you like (a hobby, a firm opinion on biscuits), then thank people for the welcome.
Keep it brief, because it'll be read between meetings. And a few days in, a thank-you to whoever showed you the ropes always goes down well. Our guide to thank-you messages for a colleague has plenty to choose from.
- Hi everyone! I'm [Name] and I've just joined the [team] team as [role]. Before this I worked in [area]. Thanks so much for the warm welcome, and do come and say hello.
- What a welcome! Thank you for all the messages. I'm [Name] and I'll be looking after [responsibilities]. Outside work I spend far too much time [hobby], so if that's your thing too, we'll have plenty to talk about over lunch.
- Hi all, I'm starting today and working remotely from [town or city]. I'll be in the office on [day or occasion] and I'm looking forward to meeting you properly. Until then, my inbox is wide open.
- Hello! I'm [Name], and I'm on a placement with the [team] team for the next few months. I'm here to learn and to help wherever I can, so please send things my way.
Beyond the message: a first week that works
A lovely message falls flat if the rest doesn't follow. What people remember about their first days are small, practical things someone thought about in advance.
- Everything ready on the first morning: laptop, logins, pass, and a desk that isn't doubling as a storage area.
- A buddy who isn't their line manager, someone they can ask the questions they'd feel daft asking anyone else.
- Lunch with the team on the first day, in the diary, so nobody ends up eating a sandwich alone at their desk.
- A catch-up at the end of the first week to answer questions and fix whatever needs fixing.
The colleagues welcoming them now will vouch for them later
The people welcoming a new starter are the people who'll watch them work for months, often years. When that person eventually moves on, it's these colleagues who'll be best placed to say what they're like to work with.
On Take Your Skills, anyone can create a free profile that brings together recommendations written by their colleagues. The Ask for a recommendation button gives you a link to send them when the time comes, and our guide on how to ask for a reference helps with when and how to ask. There's no hurry on the first morning, of course. Learn everyone's names first.