A manager’s guide to promotion announcements that get people excited

When you’ve decided to promote someone, you assume the hard part’s over. All you’ve got to do now is tell everyone. Simple, right?

Announcing a promotion is about more than just sharing news — it can be a great way to get employees excited and boost their morale. But to do that successfully, you’ll have to inform people promptly and keep your tone professional while kindling your team’s interest. 

Ensure your announcement ticks all those boxes by reading this promotion announcement guide. It breaks down how to deliver the news, what information to share, and key best practices. We’ve also included examples to give you a head start.

What is a promotion announcement?

A promotion announcement is a statement about an employee’s new role and responsibilities. Typically, managers make promotion announcements after the employee has accepted the position, but before its start date. 

Promotion announcements can be made in person or with written statements, like emails or posts in messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams. The delivery method often depends on company size and whether it has a significant amount of remote workers.

What is the purpose of a promotion announcement?

Promotion announcements have two main purposes — to recognize the promoted employee’s success and to keep the rest of the organization informed.

But there are additional benefits: Done right, promotion announcements show people what to aim for and boost their motivation. Businesses can also use promotion announcements to raise employee engagement and reinforce the company culture. Studies show that, on average, staff who receive recognition for their achievements are four times more engaged than those who don’t.
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How to announce a promotion

A great promotion announcement is an ideal way to conclude a successful employee promotion. To determine the best way to share your news, consider the context and tailor your announcement accordingly. Here’s a list of some of the most common ways to announce a promotion and the situations they work well for:

• During a meeting — A promotion announcement can be a short agenda point during a routine meeting, whether online or in person. But this option is best-suited to smaller companies with regular meetings involving all employees.
  
  
• On your company’s messaging platform — If you’re an organization with a significant amount of remote or hybrid workers, your whole team might not be able to meet regularly due to time zones. In that case, a Slack or Microsoft Teams message in your core team channel might be the best option.
  
  
• In an email — To deliver promotion news to a bigger group of people, large companies often opt for email announcements. Emails also allow you to include clients or external partners who need to know about the staffing update.  
  
  
• Via your company newsletter — Since most newsletters follow a fixed publishing schedule, they work best to complement an earlier announcement. By announcing the promotion on several channels, you can get the news to everyone promptly and in a way that works for them.
  
  
• On your company website or social media pages — Online posts are an effective way of sharing promotion news with people outside your company, like potential customers and job seekers who admire your people-first attitude. Sometimes employees also announce their promotions on sites like LinkedIn, so you can engage with or share their posts to show your support.
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What to include in a promotion announcement

When spreading the word about a new promotion, respect people’s time by keeping your message brief. But don’t leave out the following details:

Congratulations

Promotion news should come across as congratulatory, not just another update. Communicate how happy management is to welcome the employee to their new role. You want your people to see that you recognize their colleagues’ achievements and appreciate their hard work.

This acknowledgment doesn’t have to be long and should be included toward the beginning of your announcement. For instance, say, “We’re delighted to announce that…” or “Please join us in congratulating…”. 

Employee introduction

Depending on the size of your company, some staff members may be unfamiliar with the employee you’ve promoted. So, include their full name, previous job title, and how long they’ve worked with the company. 

Employee achievements & career story

When you introduce the employee getting promoted, dedicate a sentence or two to their success at your organization. You can also acknowledge their education and previous work experience if it’s relevant. This information provides context for the employee’s promotion if there were other internal candidates for the role. 

New position & responsibilities

Let team members know what the promoted employee will do in their new position and how the personnel change will affect the organization. Specify the employee’s new role and responsibilities. You’ll also want to mention who will take over their previous position and whether the promoted employee will move to a new department or company branch. 

Start date

Be clear about the promoted employee’s start date and give your team a firm timeline for internal changes. If anyone has questions, this gives them a chance to reach out to management beforehand.

Invite your team to congratulate the employee

Encouraging peer recognition reinforces a culture of continuous feedback and praise within your organization. So, make the end of your promotion announcement a call for congratulations.

If you’re announcing the promotion in an email, team members won’t be able to congratulate their colleague in person or comment on a post. In that case, suggest how they can send their well-wishes — this reduces awkwardness in situations where people want to reach out but aren’t sure how.

And if you already have an established employee rewards and recognition program, it’ll guide your team in giving recognition and celebrating successes like these. For example, platforms like Leapsome have a virtual praise wall where colleagues can leave each other praise about professional achievements like promotions.

Tips for a great promotion announcement

There’s more to an excellent promotion announcement than the words you share. Here are some best practices to make sure your announcement goes smoothly:

1. Set your team’s expectations

Your organization’s promotion decisions shouldn’t come as a surprise. Employees should feel informed about their career progress and opportunities due to regular performance reviews and the compensation review process. If team members expect unrealistic promotions, you need to review your internal processes or communications.

Determine objective promotion criteria and state them clearly in your promotion policy. Employees can refer to these documents if they’re unsure why someone else got a promotion or want to research professional development opportunities for themselves.

Taking these steps means you can reduce resentment around employee promotions and ensure they’re celebratory, motivating occasions.

2. Inform close team members ahead of time

The employee you’re promoting has established a rapport with department colleagues. They may even be friends.

Even if close team members tend to support their coworker’s promotion, don’t blindside them with the news. They may need time to process the internal changes and get their questions answered. Employees may have mixed emotions if their promoted colleague leaves the department or becomes their new manager.

Consider sharing promotion news with close team members in a private setting. That way, they can process the sadness of losing a colleague or the stress about their team dynamic changing without the added pressure of other staff members being present.
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3. Mix up your announcements with personal details

Avoid making the same promotion announcement over and over again. Otherwise, your congratulations may sound generic and insincere, damping employee morale.

The best promotion announcements are brief, so focus on adding specific details about the employee to show your appreciation for their contributions to the company. You could reference one of their best success stories and its impact on your organization. 

4. Make the announcements a consistent length & format

Minor differences between promotion announcements are inevitable, but you should keep them as consistent as possible. Don’t send a 50-word email for one announcement and write five paragraphs for another. Employees will pick up on the discrepancies and feel overlooked if they get less fanfare for their achievement than a colleague. 

You can include announcements in your promotion policy and use templates like those provided below to align your announcements.

5. Encourage employees to reach out with questions

Promotion announcements provoke different reactions in people. Some employees might feel stressed about the changes and question how new dynamics could affect their work. It’s best to prompt people to approach you with their concerns rather than letting them fester.

Other employees may feel motivated by their colleague’s success and want to know how they can get the same results. This is a great chance to arrange a one-on-one meeting with them and revisit their career development path. 

And some internal candidates may still question why they didn’t get the promotion. Support disappointed employees by gently reinforcing why they didn’t get the role, suggesting further steps to get promoted in the future, and offering mental health resources.

6. Ensure the promoted employee’s details are correct

Before you release your promotion announcement, ask the promoted employee to check it. This gives them a chance to correct mistakes like dates, name, or pronouns — information that’s essential to get right.

7. Time your announcements carefully

After you’ve promoted an employee, don’t wait too long to announce it, or the news will spread around the company before you get the chance. Making your announcement promptly will ensure everyone has the correct version of events rather than relying on word of mouth.

But choose when you share promotion news wisely. If you’re a larger company, promotions may be biweekly or even weekly events. In that case, you can announce them on Monday mornings to energize your people. In a smaller organization, promotions may be more infrequent and eventful. You’d be better off announcing the promotion on a Friday afternoon to allow your team to reflect on and discuss the news after work. Bonus: You’ll end the week on a celebratory note.

Promotion announcement examples

If you’re new to writing promotion announcement emails and posts, you might not know how to begin. Here are some examples to show you what they can look like:

Promotion announcement email

Subject line: Upcoming promotion

Dear [company name] team,

We’re pleased to announce the well-deserved promotion of Jamie Smith to the role of regional manager.

Jamie has been working with us in the sales department at the Easton branch for the past eight years. We’ve cheered for Jamie and her team as they smashed their sales targets and achieved high customer satisfaction ratings. We were especially impressed when Jamie introduced new customer solutions last year, which helped us renew a contract with a large client.

Starting on February 10, Jamie will transfer to the Weston branch to oversee all sales departments. Jude Finch will take over her role at Easton. Everything’s set up for a smooth transition, but please contact me if you have any questions. 

We’re sure you’re just as excited for Jamie as we are. So, please join us in congratulating Jamie and wishing her continued success on the [company name] Slack channel.

Best regards,

Mel Jones

Promotion announcement post

🤩 Exciting promotion news! 🤩

We’re thrilled to announce that @Evan Garcia is moving to the Weston branch as our new customer service manager!

Congratulations Evan! 

Evan started working for the customer retention department in 2019. They’ve impressed us with their high retention rates and customer success stories ever since.

Evan will take over the customer service manager role from @Bobby Blake, who’s retiring next month. I’m sure the transition will be smooth, but please DM me if you have any questions.

Let’s give Evan a big congratulation on their promotion!
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🎉 Promotion announcement tip:
‍Let managers know when you post an announcement on social media or your company messaging app. They can start the thread of congratulations with their comments or messages, and the rest of the team will follow their lead.

Create strong promotion processes with Leapsome

The key to successful promotion announcements is a strong promotion process. Without a fair, consistent, and transparent system, employees may doubt or question your decisions. Then, your promotion announcements will generate more anxiety than excitement among your team — no matter how carefully you plan them.

Leapsome’s promotion management platform lets you streamline your company’s promotion processes. You can create reusable templates and automate your workflow to ensure consistent promotion decisions. That way, you can provide context and details about internal promotions and make their announcements an occasion for recognition and celebration. 
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FAQs about promotion announcements

How do you announce an internal promotion?

You can announce an internal promotion in person or online. For small organizations, you can share the news during a regular team meeting. In a larger organization, it’s probably not realistic to meet with all your employees simultaneously, so you can announce promotions via email, a professional messaging app like Slack, or your company website.

Should promotions be announced?

Promotion announcements celebrate your people’s achievements and keep the entire team informed. When management shares news about decisions like promotions and explains the processes and reasons behind them, it encourages transparency across the organization.

How do you announce a promotion in an email?

You can announce a promotion in an email by including the following information:

• A congratulatory message
• An introduction to the employee who’s getting promoted
• Their achievements and career story
• Their new position and the responsibilities it entails
• The start date of the new position
• A call for other employees to join you in congratulating the promoted employee

When should a promotion announcement be sent?

You should send promotion announcements promptly, but exactly when depends on your organization type. If you have a small organization and promotions aren’t a regular occurrence, schedule the announcement toward the end of the day or the working week, so employees can discuss and process the news after work. In large organizations, promotions may be more commonplace, and you can schedule the announcement toward the start of the week to energize your employees with positive, motivational news.