What should you say in a welcome message to a new team member?

Something they can use: a person to ask, or an honest note about what they have walked into. Usefulness is what makes a new starter feel less exposed on day one, and warmth on its own rarely does it.

When should you send a welcome message?

On the first morning, and again at the end of the first week. The first day brings a pile of welcomes at once and most of it blurs. A short note five days later, when the noise has died down, tends to be the one people remember.

Should managers and peers send different welcome messages?

Yes. A manager can set expectations and give permission to go slowly. A peer can say which Slack channels are badly named and where the good chairs are. The second kind does more for a new starter’s first week than most onboarding documents.

How do you welcome a remote starter?

The same way, with the incidental information written down. In an office a new person absorbs a lot by overhearing. Remotely, nobody overhears anything, so what would have been ambient has to be sent deliberately.

Is it worth recognising a new starter in their first month?

Yes, and specifically. New people spend their first weeks unsure whether they are contributing. One concrete note that they spotted something or asked a good question resolves that faster than any amount of general encouragement.

Recognition messages

Welcome Messages for a New Team Member: 12 Examples

A welcome message is the first evidence a new starter has about how this team talks to each other, and it usually goes to waste.

The first message sets the register

A new starter reads their welcome messages closely, having almost no other information to go on. Every one is evidence: about how formal this place is and whether people here write like humans.

Which is why the generic version costs something. “Welcome to the team! We’re so excited to have you on board!” tells a new person nothing except that somebody did the expected thing.

Say something they can use

The best welcome messages contain a fact. Where the confusing thing is, who to ask, what is currently broken and being fixed.

Then send a second one at the end of the first week. Day one is loud. Day five is when people go quiet and start privately worrying about whether they are picking it up fast enough, and a short specific note lands differently then.

12 messages you can send

Welcome, Dani. I sit two desks over and I’ve been here four years, so I’m a good person to ask the questions that feel too basic to ask. There are no basic ones this week.
Peer, day one
Offers a specific person for a specific need.
Welcome to the team, Amir. You’re joining halfway through a messy migration, which is honestly the best time to arrive: nothing is sacred and everything is written down.
Manager, day one
Tells the truth about the situation instead of selling it.
Hi Lea, welcome. Fair warning that our Slack channel names make no sense. #tigers is billing. Nobody remembers why.
Peer, light
Useful and disarming at the same time.
Welcome, Ravi. Your first week has nothing scheduled on Thursday afternoon on purpose. Use it to read or to ask me things.
Manager, first week
Gives permission, which is what most new starters are waiting for.
Glad you’re here, Nour. I read your notes from the interview task and half the team has now argued about them. That’s a compliment.
Peer, day one
Signals that their thinking already counts.
Welcome. If you notice something that seems stupid in your first month, please say so then. In two months you’ll have stopped seeing it, like the rest of us.
Manager, day one
Asks for something only a new person can give.
Welcome to the team, Jonas. I’m your onboarding buddy, which means no question is too small and I’ve blocked 30 minutes every morning this week for you.
Peer, buddy
Concrete commitment rather than a general offer.
Two weeks in and you’ve already found a bug in the signup flow that three of us walked past. Welcome properly. 🌱
Peer, week two
Recognition inside a welcome, which is when it starts to feel real.
Welcome, Sofia. Everyone will tell you to ask questions. I’ll add: write down the answers, because you’ll be the one explaining this to the next person by March.
Manager, first week
Sets an expectation that treats them as a future contributor.
Welcome aboard. Coffee machine is the temperamental one on the left, and the good chairs are by the window. That’s the whole induction.
Peer, humorous
Small and human, which is often the most reassuring kind.
First week down, Tom. You asked better questions in the architecture review than people who’ve been here a year. Keep doing that.
Manager, end of week one
Names a behaviour worth repeating at the moment it appears.
Welcome, Hana. I’ve put you in #design-crit even though it’s not strictly your area, because I think you’ll have opinions and we could use them.
Manager, first week
An invitation with a reason attached.

What makes one land

Give them a person and a reason. “Ask me anything” puts the work on them. “I sit two desks over and I’ve been here four years” doesn’t.
Be honest about the mess. New starters find out in week two anyway, and hearing it on day one from you builds more trust than the tidy version.
Follow up at the end of week one. The first day is crowded with welcomes. Day five is when it’s quiet and people start wondering how they’re doing.
Ask for their outside view early, and say why. It expires within a month.
Don’t send the same message to everyone. New starters compare notes.

Questions people ask

What should you say in a welcome message to a new team member?: Something they can use: a person to ask, or an honest note about what they have walked into. Usefulness is what makes a new starter feel less exposed on day one, and warmth on its own rarely does it.
When should you send a welcome message?: On the first morning, and again at the end of the first week. The first day brings a pile of welcomes at once and most of it blurs. A short note five days later, when the noise has died down, tends to be the one people remember.
Should managers and peers send different welcome messages?: Yes. A manager can set expectations and give permission to go slowly. A peer can say which Slack channels are badly named and where the good chairs are. The second kind does more for a new starter’s first week than most onboarding documents.
How do you welcome a remote starter?: The same way, with the incidental information written down. In an office a new person absorbs a lot by overhearing. Remotely, nobody overhears anything, so what would have been ambient has to be sent deliberately.
Is it worth recognising a new starter in their first month?: Yes, and specifically. New people spend their first weeks unsure whether they are contributing. One concrete note that they spotted something or asked a good question resolves that faster than any amount of general encouragement.