Whether you need your organization to approve you for some form of certification program, or you’ve already completed a certification program and you’d like to bring this to your manager’s attention so this can be reflected in your status in the company, the first step is to reach out to them.
However, this may probably be the first time you’re sending your manager an email like this and you want to make sure it’s well structured to increase the chances of a positive response in either case.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered as this article provides some templates for you to modify for the purpose. Additionally, we’ve also included some tips to help you whenever you want to email your manager.
Tips For Emailing Your Boss
While tools like Slack and Teams are leveraged for easier communication across organizations worldwide, emails continue to be used in these organizations, especially when communicating with a supervisor over formal correspondence.
But unlike sending emails to coworkers where you can be informal and not worry about mistakes, you should be careful when writing to your Boss. Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind.
Clear Reasons
Let your manager know what kind of certification program you’re looking at taking or you’ve completed. Don’t forget to list the full title of the qualification and also attach the certificate as a reference.
If the company has already stated its commitment to helping its employees advance in their careers, you should simply let them know that you appreciate their effort.
This reminds the manager of the company’s commitment and motivates them to commit to the investment.
Benefit
How does this benefit the company? If it’s a certificate that would help you perform some specific activities in the company, you can include it in your email.
There’s no problem if you’ve already earned the certificate, but you should let them know of the general benefits if you’re expecting them to invest in it.
In cases where the certificate is common knowledge, you may not need to state its benefits.
Clear Subject Line
While you would not be able to include all relevant information in the subject line of the email, it should present the general purpose of the email within a few words.
This helps your boss or supervisor locate the email, understand the possible content even before reading the full message and finally ascertain the importance and urgency of the email.
After all, your boss would most likely have a busy schedule. A clear subject line would help them identify the urgency of the email especially when they have a boatload of work to get done.
Examples:
Requesting Approval for {{Program name}} Certification
Use Proper Name
Coming down to the body of the email, you should identify the name your boss wishes for you or the general employee body to call them.
If they prefer to be addressed by their first names, you should address them as such. On the other hand, if you aren’t sure how they want to be addressed, you can either ask your colleagues or simply use your boss’ surname.
Keep in mind your workplace culture at this point. Some workplaces encourage informal communication between all members of the organization.
For informal workplaces, you start with:
Good {{morning/afternoon/evening}} {{Boss’ firstname}}
Hi {{Boss’ firstname}}
In the case of a very formal workplace where you aren’t sure of the best way to address your boss, you can simply start with:
Dear {{Mr. /Mrs /Ms. Surname}}
Hello {{Mr. /Mrs /Ms. Surname}}
Set Tone
Maybe something happened at the workplace that you didn’t like or there’s something you find annoying. You should always mind your tone in your professional emails.
It doesn’t matter whether the company’s doing something you’re unhappy with, you should always mind the tone of your communication. If you sound angry, your Boss is less likely to mind your request or even finish reading your email.
Use Work Email
Refrain from contacting your boss through your personal email. Most organizations implement some form of spam filter that may flag personal emails as spam.
The last thing anyone wants is to send an urgent message to their boss only to find out days later that they never got the email. Emails that come through the company emails are whitelisted ensuring that your boss receives them inside their inbox.
This is why most organizations provide their employees with company emails for communication within the company as well as correspondence with external companies.
Keep It Concise
Your boss probably receives loads of emails daily. The last thing they want to do is to spend precious time reading through a long email to determine its content.
No matter how important your email may be, your boss is not likely to spend 30 minutes trying to understand its content. It’s advisable to use short and clear wording to easily convey the content of your message.
Proofread
No one likes reading terrible grammar, especially in a professional setting. It’s advisable to proofread your email to identify any grammatical errors before sending it to your boss.
Tools like Grammarly are readily available to help identify errors in your writing. Keep in mind that these tools aren’t perfect. So manually proofreading your email can further enhance your message.
On the other hand, poor grammar could give your boss some laughs. But keep in mind that others are bound to join in.
Easy To Understand
Your boss most likely receives tens or even hundreds of emails daily, especially in the case of larger organizations. Ensure that your email is easy to understand within the shortest amount of time.
To determine this, you can ask a colleague or friend to skim through the email to test whether it’s easy to understand and adequately presents the necessary information.
End Formally
At this point, you can thank your boss for taking the time to review your request and then reiterate any relevant information before signing off.
Example:
Thank you for your consideration
Signature
Official emails to your boss should be signed off with your official signature which includes your full name, job title, department if applicable, and contact details when available.
This can be easy if you’ve already created your signature template for your company email. The system would automatically include your signature in every email.
If you haven’t created a signature template for your email, you should manually include this in your email to your boss.
It can be something like this:
Sincerely,
{{Fullname}}
{{Department if applicable}}
{{Job role/title}}
{{Contact details (optional)}}
Sample Emails To Manager For Certification Approval
Template 1: Informing Manager For Advancement In The Company
Email Subject
{{Certificate name}} Completion Notice
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I am pleased to inform you that I recently completed the {{Certification name}} program to become {{Your title after certification}}. I’ve attached a PDF copy of the certificate for your reference.
I also want to thank you for all of your support over the years and would appreciate it if this development was reflected in my role within the company. If there’s anyone else, I should inform, please kindly let me know.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 2: Requesting Reimbursement For Certification Completion
Email Subject
Reimbursement Request – {{Certificate name}} Completion
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I would like to request reimbursement for the {{Certificate program name}} certificate program which I recently completed. As you know, the {{Program name}} is a {{Purpose of the program}}.
Please find a breakdown of the total cost incurred below:| Training Cost | $0000 |
| Travel | $0000 |
| Hotel | $0000 |
| Other | $0000 |
| Total | $0000 |
I’ve also attached all relevant receipts as well as a PDF copy of the certificate for your reference. If necessary, I would be happy to provide any additional information.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}
Template 3: Requesting Approval To Take Certification Program
Email Subject
Approval Request – {{Certificate name}} Certification Program
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I would like to request your approval to enroll in the {{Certification program name}}. As you may know, this program equips {{Your Profession or Role}} with {{Purpose of the training}} which would be valuable to the company.
I’ve made inquiries into the costs involved and would appreciate and would appreciate it if this could be charged to the company’s employee training budget. Please find the program content, duration, and a breakdown of the cost below:
Program content:
{{Learning outcome 1}}
{{Learning outcome 2}}
Duration:
{{From}} to {{To}}
Cost Breakdown| Training Cost | $0000 |
| Travel | $0000 |
| Hotel | $0000 |
| Other | $0000 |
| Total | $0000 |
I’ve attached all relevant documents about the course to this email. I believe the program will be beneficial not only to my professional growth but to the company as a whole. Please let me know if you need any additional information to facilitate the process.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}
