Email template · Offers
Internal promotion offer email
In short
An internal promotion offer email confirms in writing that an employee is being offered a promotion or internal move. It states the new title, manager, pay, effective date and any change in status or schedule, and links the formal letter to sign. Below are templates for a standard promotion, a lateral transfer, a frontline-to-supervisor move and an acting role.
When to send it: Send the same day as the conversation in which the manager or HR makes the offer, never before. The employee should hear it in person or on a call first.
Internal promotion offer email: 4 versions
Standard promotion
SubjectYour promotion to [New Job Title]
Hi [First Name], Following our conversation today, I'm delighted to confirm your offer of promotion to [New Job Title] on the [Team Name] team, reporting to [New Manager Name]. Here's what changes: - New base salary: [New Salary] (from [Current Salary]), effective [Effective Date] - [Bonus or incentive plan: Plan Details] - [Change in schedule, location or direct reports] - [Exempt / non-exempt status, if it changes] Your benefits, seniority date and PTO accrual [stay the same / change as follows: Details]. Your promotion letter is ready to review and sign here: [Letter Link]. Please sign by [Response Date]. Once you do, [Current Manager Name] and [New Manager Name] will agree a handover plan with you. Congratulations. This is well deserved. [Your Name] [Title], [Company]
Lateral transfer
SubjectYour offer to join [Team Name] as [Job Title]
Hi [First Name], Thanks for your time today. I'm happy to confirm that we're offering you the [Job Title] role on [Team Name], reporting to [New Manager Name], starting [Effective Date]. Your pay stays at [Current Salary or Pay Rate]. [What changes: schedule, location, shift, tools or training.] Your service date and benefits continue as they are. The transfer letter is here to review and sign: [Letter Link]. If you have questions before deciding, [New Manager Name] is glad to talk this week. Best, [Your Name] [Title], [Company]
Frontline to supervisor
SubjectYour offer: [Supervisor Title], [Site / Department]
Hi [First Name], Congratulations. As [Manager Name] shared with you today, we'd like to offer you the role of [Supervisor Title] for [Team / Shift] at [Site]. What this means for you: - Pay: [New Pay Rate or Salary], effective [Effective Date] - Status: [stays hourly and overtime-eligible / moves to salaried exempt] - Schedule: [New Shift Days and Times] - Team: you'll lead about [Number] [Team Members' Title]s - Training: [Leadership Program Name] starting [Training Start Date] The first few weeks of leading people you used to work alongside can be the hardest part. [Mentor Name], who made the same move last year, will meet with you weekly for your first month. Please review and sign your letter here by [Response Date]: [Letter Link]. [Your Name] [Title], [Company]
Acting / interim role
SubjectInterim [Job Title] assignment
Hi [First Name], Thank you for agreeing to step in. This email confirms your interim assignment as [Acting Job Title], starting [Start Date] and expected to run until [Expected End Date] or until the role is filled permanently. During the assignment you'll receive [Temporary Pay Adjustment / Stipend] on top of your current pay. At the end, you'll return to your role as [Current Job Title] at your regular pay, unless we agree otherwise in writing. You're welcome to apply for the permanent role when it's posted. Please confirm by replying to this email or signing here: [Letter Link]. Thanks, [Your Name] [Title], [Company]
Subject line ideas
- Your promotion to [New Job Title]
- Confirming your new role
- Your offer to join [Team Name]
- Internal offer: [Job Title]
- Congratulations on your promotion, [First Name]
- Your transfer letter is ready to sign
- Interim [Job Title] assignment
SMS and WhatsApp version
Hi [First Name], congratulations again on your promotion to [New Job Title]. Your letter is in your email and ready to sign here: [Letter Link]. Please sign by [Response Date]. Questions? Reply or call [Your Name]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Placeholders to replace: [First Name], [New Job Title], [Current Job Title], [Team Name], [New Manager Name], [Current Manager Name], [New Salary], [Current Salary], [New Pay Rate], [Effective Date], [Response Date], [Letter Link], [Site], [Your Name], [Title], [Company]
Talk first, email second
An internal offer is personal in a way an external offer is not. The employee knows their manager, their peers and probably who else applied. They should hear it in a one-to-one conversation with their current or new manager, with HR present or briefed. The email follows the same day and turns the conversation into a written record.
The order matters for another reason: other internal applicants. Tell unsuccessful internal candidates before the promotion is announced, ideally in person, and follow up with an internal candidate rejection email. Hearing it from a team announcement is how good people end up applying elsewhere.
What to put in writing
Internal moves create more payroll errors than external hires because people assume "nothing changes except the title." Spell it out:
- New title, manager, team and location.
- Pay: new base or hourly rate, the old rate for reference, and the effective date tied to a pay period.
- FLSA status. Moving from hourly to salaried exempt ends overtime eligibility. Say so plainly, and make sure the role actually meets the duties and salary tests for exemption. Many frontline supervisor roles do not.
- Bonus, commission or shift differential changes, including what happens to any partial-year bonus from the old role.
- Schedule changes, especially for shift-based operations.
- What stays the same: seniority date, benefits, PTO balance.
- Probation or trial period, if your policy has one for promotions, and what happens if it doesn't work out.
Generate the letter from a standard document template so every internal offer covers the same points, and send it through the same job offers flow as external hires so there is a signed record.
Getting the pay right
A common practice is a promotional increase of 8% to 12% of base, or enough to reach at least the minimum of the new range, whichever is higher. Check the result against external hires in the same role. If you would offer an outside candidate $68,000 and you are promoting someone to $61,000 because "that's a 10% raise," you have built a retention problem and possibly a pay equity one. In states with pay transparency rules, internal postings often need a pay range too, so the offer should fall inside what you listed on the internal job posting.
High-volume operations: frontline to supervisor
Contact centers, warehouses and retail chains promote frontline staff into team lead and supervisor roles constantly, and many lose those new supervisors within six months. The offer email is a chance to set them up properly: name the training, the schedule change and the support they will get. A short note about leading former peers acknowledges the hardest part of the move instead of pretending it isn't there.
At volume, standardize. One template per move type (promotion, transfer, acting) with merge fields for site, shift and pay keeps 30 promotions a quarter consistent across sites.
After they accept
Agree the transition date between both managers, then make the public promotion announcement after the employee has signed and after other internal candidates have been told. Update payroll, systems access and the org chart on the effective date, not the announcement date.
Frequently asked questions
What should an internal promotion offer email include?
The new title, manager and team, the new and current pay, the effective date, any change to FLSA status, schedule or bonus plan, what stays the same, and a link to the letter with a response date.
Do internal candidates need an offer letter?
Yes. A signed internal offer letter documents the new pay, status and effective date, which prevents payroll errors and disputes later.
How is an internal transfer offer email different from a promotion email?
A transfer is usually at the same level and pay, so the email focuses on the new team, manager, schedule and start date and confirms that pay and benefits continue unchanged.
How much of a raise should come with a promotion?
A common practice is 8% to 12% of base or enough to reach the new range minimum, checked against what you would pay an external hire for the same role.
Should the promotion be announced before the employee signs?
No. Wait until the letter is signed and any unsuccessful internal applicants have been told personally.