Shawnee Love   •  
January 13, 2017

I like the adage

Begin as you mean to go.

It works for so many situations, and to my way of thinking is particularly valuable when it comes to interpersonal relationships.  That adage causes me to trust immediately, have honest dialogue, and both compliment and coach when the need arises.  Offer letters are another way of beginning as you mean to go within the employment relationship.

Good offer letters will:

• Share the flavour of your culture,
• Set the tone for the relationship,
• Clarify what the employee can expect as it relates to terms, conditions, benefits etc.

To do all that, you want your offer letter to use language that sounds like how you speak.  You also want to cover:

• Start date,
• Position title,
• Main duties, responsibilities, or deliverables,
• Schedule of work,
• Probationary period (if you have one),
• Rewards including base rate, vacation, allowances, and any incentives which are part of the package as well as when the employee gets paid),
• Benefits (and when eligible),
• Resignation expectations and Termination notice,
• Key expectations such as the requirement to protect company information, etc.
• Specific terms required for the job which may include tools being issued or the requirement to  maintain a driver’s license or professional designation), and
• A clause confirming that the entire package is listed and anything not listed is not part of the package.

Some of the best offer letters cover all this ground in clear simple language and concise bullet points which make it easy for the new hire to understand what is being offered and what isn’t.

One important note, is that you may need more than a simple offer letter if you have intellectual property, or concerns about confidentiality, solicitation, competition, etc.  In these cases, you may want to get your lawyer to write a more formal offer with legal clauses and legalese, aka employment agreement.

I always say that whereas a good employment agreement will stand up in court, a good offer letter will help you avoid court.  To decide which approach to take, reflect on your organization’s risks and needs and the type of people you want to hire.

As always, if in doubt, we are here to help.