One of your team members earned a promotion, and your job is to share the news with the rest of the company. Whether you’re writing an email, sending a message, or announcing it in a meeting, your words matter.
Transparent promotion announcements that communicate who’s getting promoted and why set the stage for their new position. It also lets other employees know what to do if they’re interested in achieving the same success.
A thoughtful promotion announcement improves the morale for everyone involved. Write one that praises the promotee and makes them feel special as they settle into a new role.
What’s a promotion announcement?
A promotion announcement is a formal communication that informs peers, colleagues, and other stakeholders about an employee's new role and responsibilities. This could be a written announcement or an agenda point in a team meeting.
Giving and getting promotions is an emotional process. Whether or not employees understand why someone got a promotion plays a role in their reactions. When making an announcement, be transparent about the reasoning behind the decision.
Other employees might have been in the running, and they’ll feel disappointed if they don’t understand why someone else was promoted over them. When people think leaders manage promotions effectively, they’re twice as likely to work harder, so communication is key.
Writing a good promotion announcement also:
-
Rewards an employee's achievements: Highlight an employee’s specific accomplishments and how they helped the team or company succeed. Show that you and the company recognize and value their efforts.
-
Showcases career development opportunities: Announcing a promotion tells the whole team that career growth is possible. If applicable, use the announcement to offer concrete career paths for upward mobility.
-
Motivates a team with real-life success: Promotions can feel far away. But a promotion announcement shows there are tangible ways to achieve it. Inspire other employees to strive for similar success.
-
Updates a team on new workflows: A promotee’s new position might oversee other employees, or they could be responsible for new tasks. Make sure team members know how the promotion changes their own reporting or work processes.
Where should I announce a job promotion?
The ideal way to announce a promotion varies depending on the size of your organization, company culture or brand, and who actually needs to know. If it’s an executive role, the whole company benefits from an announcement. But other positions might only be relevant to a select few.
Use these promotion methods and adapt them to your company culture. It’s a good idea to combine a few of these methods. For example, start with a Slack message and then dive deeper into the promotion in a department meeting.
Send an email
For larger organizations or promotions to a C-suite position, a promotion announcement email is a professional and efficient way to share the news. Send a concise email to the entire company or a specific department, depending on the scope of the promotion.
Schedule a meeting
Use face-to-face or online meetings to announce promotions on smaller teams. This makes the announcement feel more personal, and it also puts a face to a name if the promotee is joining a new team. For instance, if a team member becomes a team lead, announcing it in a meeting helps their direct reports recognize them and feel comfortable going to them for guidance.
Use an internal messaging platform
Internal communication platforms like Slack are a great way to reach the whole company or a specific team. Make the announcement in a channel to let everyone know about the change.
A message is a more casual way to announce a promotion, so keep in mind that you should combine it with another method, like an in-depth email or meeting. But messages are still a good choice for close-knit teams or remote workplaces.
Everyone can congratulate the employee in real-time, boosting their morale. It’s also a good chance for the promotee to express their excitement and share anything they’d like to add to the thread.
Post on the company's social media
Announce the promotion online, like on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram, to reach a wider audience in real-time. A promotion announcement on social media showcases an employee’s accomplishments and expresses your excitement. This is a good option for high-up or client-facing roles because it introduces the person to the public.
Keep in mind that the relevant teams and employees should know about the promotion before the public does. If they learn about workplace changes — or someone else earning a promotion instead of them — over social media, they could feel betrayed or blindsided.
Announce it via newsletter
For large companies, announce a promotion in the company’s internal newsletter to reach the entire team with more than just a few sentences. You can do this in a special section dedicated to promotions, if you have one, and include photos or more information about the promoted employee and their new role.
Announce promotions in external newsletters when they’re high-level or C-suite changes, since these promotions may affect customer relations. The newsletter can include the promotee’s accomplishments and background and explain how the promotion will affect customers and the company.
How to write a promotion announcement
When writing a promotion announcement, ensure that the message is clear, professional, and effective. Align the promotion announcement with the company culture and brand. If it’s more casual and personal, include extra details about the promotee’s personality and relationships with the team.
If they make the team laugh in meetings, for example, or if they’re always organized and taking notes, mention those contributions. If the culture is more formal, include education and achievements.
When writing (or announcing in a meeting), don’t forget to consider your audience. They might already know the promotee, so you don’t need to include as much background. But if the promotion puts the employee on an entirely new team, tell employees everything they need to know.
Although the content can vary from person to person and position to position, here are a few key elements to include:
-
The promotee and role: Clearly state the employee's name, previous role, and new position.
-
Key achievements: Highlight the employee's accomplishments and how they’ve helped the team or company succeed. If you can, use concrete examples to illustrate their achievements.
-
Company history: Along with accomplishments, it’s nice to include how long the promotee has worked at the company and other relevant details about their history there.
-
The new position and its responsibilities: Provide an overview of the employee's new role and responsibilities, including new departments or teams they’ll be working with. If it’s a net new role, explain why it was needed and what it entails.
-
The effective date of the promotion: Include the exact date when the employee will start in the new job. If there’s a documented transition plan, share a link to it to keep team members in the loop.
-
Opportunities for encouragement: Show respect and support for the promoted employee and encourage other team members to do the same. This can include offering to help with the transition or simply congratulating the employee on their new role.
Email job promotion announcement examples
Email is a common internal promotion announcement method because it’s customizable and can reach as many or as few people as you want. Here are two job promotion announcement email templates to get you started.
Example 1
Subject: Promotion Announcement — [Employee's Name] to [New Position]
Hi team,
I am delighted to announce that [employee's name] has been promoted to [new position] effective [effective date]. [employee's name] has been an integral part of [team/department name], and we’re excited to watch them succeed.
Key achievements that led to this promotion include [list employee's accomplishments and how they have helped the team or company succeed].
In their new role, [employee's name] will be responsible for [list new responsibilities]. We’re confident that [employee's name] will excel in this new position, and we look forward to seeing the impact they will have on our team and our company.
Please join me in congratulating [employee's name] on their well-deserved promotion.
Best,
[your name]
Example 2
Subject: Congratulations [Employee's Name]!
Hello [team/department name],
I’m thrilled to share that [employee's name] has been promoted to [new position] starting [effective date]! [employee's name] has been a superstar on [team/department name] since the beginning.
Since [employee start date], they’ve worked on [relevant projects]. They’ve also [list employee's accomplishments and how they have helped the team or company succeed]. Needless to say, we’re delighted that they’re taking the next step in their [company name] journey!
[a relevant GIF, image, or video]
In their new role, [employee's name] will be joining our [new department/team] and [list new responsibilities]. We’re so excited to see the positive impact that [employee's name] will have in their new role and the company as a whole.
Please join me in congratulating [employee's name] on their new position in our meeting tomorrow!
Best,
[your name]
6 tips for creating a great promotion announcement
Promotees have worked hard, and they deserve recognition with a well-worded announcement. Here are six tips for writing a promotion announcement that stands out and makes all recipients feel excited.
-
Be creative: Depending on your company culture and team dynamics, you can add fun elements to a promotion announcement. Use email templates, GIFs, or even videos to make it stand out. You can also be creative with the subject line to make it more appealing and memorable.
-
Share a team celebration initiative: Dedicate meeting time to promotion announcements so the team can celebrate together. Saving just a few minutes to celebrate is a great way to acknowledge the employee's hard work and boost team morale.
-
Invite employees to congratulate their colleague: Ask employees to share how a promotee has helped them or why they’re valued to show that their peers recognize and appreciate their hard work.
-
Adapt to your employee's personality: Personalize the announcement to the employee’s personality or preferences to show them you care. This is an important moment for your employee. Be mindful and make it special.
-
Be concise: Avoid including irrelevant details or going off-topic. Other news can wait for other emails or later in their first meeting with a new team.
-
Be sensitive: If other employees were in the running for the promotion, they might feel disappointed at the announcement, and those feelings are valid. When addressing the team, focus on the person getting promoted, not those who aren’t.
Use promotion announcements to congratulate and motivate
Whichever method you use to announce a promotion, tailor the announcement to the person, position, and company. Promotions are exciting milestones, and your employee deserves a moment to feel appreciated and recognized.
Say thank you with a promotion announcement and empower the whole team to keep on growing.
-1.png)
