It’s no secret that performance reviews can be very intimidating. You’re never sure whether you made the cut or you’re going to be shown the door.
So, it’s understandable that you’d want to thank your manager when you receive a good review. After all, a simple thank you message to your boss could score you some additional points towards your next review.
It can be intimidating if this is your first time writing this kind of email. This is why we’ve created this article to provide tips to get you started.
Additionally, we’ve also created some templates that you can modify for the purpose. Simply copy and modify appropriately to send to 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
You’re excited about the review and want to thank them. Make sure your email clearly conveys this in as few words as possible.
Keep your message short as your manager won’t have a lot of time to spend reading your long email.
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:
Thank You for the Good Appraisal
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 support
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 Thank You Emails To Manager For Good Appraisal
Template 1: Good Appraisal – Short And Simple
Email Subject
Thank You for the Good Appraisal
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for acknowledging my effort. Your recognition means a lot to me and I will continue to do my very best in my assigned role as {{Your role}}.
Thank you again for your recognition.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 2: Good Appraisal With A Raise
Email Subject
Thank You for the Raise and Positive Appraisal
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I am thrilled and grateful for your acknowledgment of my efforts on {{What they acknowledged}} project and the accompanying raise.
I appreciate your support and guidance and look forward to contributing more to the growth of the company.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 3: Good Appraisal With A Promotion
Email Subject
Thank You for the Promotion and Positive Appraisal
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I am humbled and delighted by your kind words and the new levels of responsibilities you’ve entrusted me with.
I look forward to taking on my new role and continuing to grow within the company. I will work hard to exceed your expectations and contribute to the success of the company.
Thank you again for the recognition.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}Template 4: Constructive Feedback on Appraisal
Email Subject
Thank You for the Feedback
Body
Dear {{Surname}},
I hope this finds you well. I received the review and would like to thank you for your constructive feedback regarding {{What they want you to work on}}. I agree that {{What advice they gave you to improve}} would {{How it would help}}. I will take a proactive approach to self-improvement in this area to better serve the needs of the {{Company/clients}}.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
{{Full name}}
{{Department name if applicable}}
{{Job tile}}
