15 manager email templates to help you prepare for important conversations

As you know, it’s crucial to get to know each individual on your team and understand their specific challenges and aspirations. At the base of this is having a constant flow of important conversations, some of which require extra planning and personal consideration.

But you have a demanding schedule, and crafting your message for a tough talk or a performance conversation can take time. We’re here to help!

In this article, you’ll find 15 manager email templates for how to approach important conversations with team members. They are presented as email templates, but really, you should see them as broad preparation guides for any type of interaction.

Sometimes email is best, but not always. That’s why with each template, we give some preliminary notes to guide you on language, clarity and tone.

Before we begin

These guides are here to help you save time when questioning how to write an email to team members. This means more time and energy can be spent less on day-to-day planning, and more on the big-picture work of being a great team leader.

Just remember, these templates are guides to start and respond to conversations. Use them faithfully only when the situation permits. However, most of the time, it’s important to tweak them based on the individual or the context.

Before preparing to send an email or talk to an employee, ask yourself:

• Is this employee more communicative by email, text or in 1-on-1 conversation?
• Should this conversation come at the beginning of the day/week, so as to motivate them right away? Or at the end of the day/week, so as to give them time to reflect?
• Does this employee respond well to directness? Or is a bit of small-talk a good way to warm them up?
• Does the subject line use language that is fear inducing?
• Most importantly: Remember why you hired this employee, and what about them and their work do you find amazing? Keep that front and center in your mind when preparing for a talk!

15 Manager email templates to help prepare for important conversations when:

1. An employee continuously shows up to work tired

Constant work fatigue or burnout might be caused by outside-work factors, and you don’t want to appear too nosey. However, a tired employee is not performing at optimal capacity, which as a manager it’s your job to fix.

Choose your words wisely to get at the right level of personal interest. And as we’ll see, a common refrain will be to express how your door is always open.

2. An employee continuously shows up to work late

When you need to write an email to employees to come on time, it’s because it affects the work, but more importantly, it’s upsetting to coworkers. You don’t want to single anyone out by using language that pits the employee against the team.

Again, express that you’re open to hearing out their reasons and eager to help. Avoid reproachful words like “unacceptable” and “unfair.”

3. An employee misses too many deadlines

Missed deadlines are not something that the employee will be unaware of, so don’t beat around the bush.

If you need to email an employee to improve their performance, ask if there’s a good reason, and be clear you’re open to listening to them out without judgment. But if it’s just a general slacking off, let them know that, as a manager, you have a responsibility to fix the situation, and you will.

💡 Tip: Remember, the first step to making sure your employees are on the ball when it comes to deadlines is to clearly set and communicate expectations before a task or project. Otherwise, as a manager, you are just as responsible if your employee fails to meet these unclear standards.

4. An employee takes too much time off

You want to encourage a good work-life balance but need to be on guard for employees who may be taking advantage. Still, you never know the reasons behind the absenteeism.

Your tone should be cautious before jumping to conclusions. Use language that expresses giving them the benefit of the doubt. You won’t demand all the details, but if it’s a work issue, you must express the importance of them being open with you.

5. An employee can’t handle criticism

This convo is likely coming after you’ve had to dish out some unpleasant criticism about poor performance and got a bad feeling about how it was received.

While you can’t walk back your criticism, you should be mindful this time around that your intention is not to reinforce the criticism, but to convey that it was meant constructively.

💡 Tip: A hard talk about poor performance is something you should really be doing in person. Maybe you want to give a head’s up via email that you want to talk, which can give the employee some time to reflect and prepare. But you should also come prepared, not only with your criticism but also potential solutions.

6. An employee has a negative attitude

This might be caused by non-work factors in the office (like personal issues with a colleague), or by circumstances in their private life outside work. Your aim is to let them know their negative attitude might be affecting their work and their colleagues, but not to chastise them. The tone you want here is one of total openness.

💡 Tip: Employees that have a negative attitude may not respond well to emails. Assess each situation individually and decide whether giving direct feedback on the employee’s attitude and behavior during a 1-on-1 meeting might be more appropriate.

7. An employee needs more training

The goal here is to avoid making the employee feel like they’re not good enough. You want to let them know that you’re there to help them to improve.

The tone is all about encouragement; the language zeroes in on “improvement” and “progress” as opposed to concepts like “falling behind.” And stress that you want to have more 1-on-1s going forward (and you can use Officevibe’s 1-on-1 meeting software to help).

💡 Tip: New employees, or employees undergoing training for new responsibilities or roles might be in a slightly more vulnerable mindset, and you need to keep this in mind. This is an example where a personal chat will be more encouraging (and less intimidating) than an email.

8. An employee brags a lot or takes too much credit

You don’t want to stifle anyone’s brightness, but occasionally some over-confident behavior distracts or upsets colleagues.

Find the words to show you appreciate their talents and achievements, and that it’s only how they express themselves that may be problematic. What’s more, always remind them of the collective effort.

9. An employee flirts inappropriately

This is a topic that needs to be nipped in the bud. One problem is, there are cultural differences regarding what’s friendly and what’s flirtatious. Know the culture of the employee you’re dealing with, but be very clear that your shared office culture comes first.

10. An employee wants to quit

A lot of previous templates deal with problems you spot first. But when an employee surprises you like this, it’s an opportunity for you, as a manager, to learn something. So definitely reach out. Let them know how surprised you were, and how that’s because you possibly weren’t paying enough attention, which you need to own.

11. An employee recently got fired

Here’s one case where we suggest that the initial announcement not come from email. Group meetings are best, whether in person or virtually. Afterwards, it’s a good idea to send a follow up email, to let them know you are open to questions and concerns.

Be proactive in taking responsibility for the decision, but don’t seek pity for having been put in that position. Finally, never disparage the terminated employee.

💡 Tip: Before preparing how you will communicate this news to your team, you should familiarize yourself with the company’s firing process in case your team has questions. Also, have a plan ready for how the team is going to need to adapt with one person fewer.

12.You want to ask employees for feedback

The first tip of soliciting feedback is: Don’t put people on the spot; they’ll be more likely to say what they think you want to hear.

If you’re not yet implementing a great employee feedback platform like Officevibe, you should check out one of these non-intrusive ways to encourage your team to give feedback freely, regularly and without any pressure.

Take a look at our favorite employee feedback examples for more ideas.

13. You receive negative feedback

Well, this one’s tricky. On one hand, you’ve given them the tools to provide anonymous feedback. On the other hand, you want to address negative feedback at the source. Make it clear you are not upset, and nobody will be reproached. Use the language of volunteerism, like “feel free” or “I’d be happy to hear more,” that avoids being demanding and sounding incensed.

💡 Tip: If the employee does volunteer to chat about their negative feedback, that’s great. Try as best you can to remove any managerial hierarchy when giving them the floor. First way to do this: Let them pick when, where and how to communicate. Also, be prepared to explain your company policy and procedures if this criticism is not something easily resolved.

14. You want to thank a specific employee

This is one of those manager email templates that should be a joy to compose. But, it’s no less essential. Recognizing achievements in person or email is a big part of what managers should be communicating regularly. Be specific, have examples ready, and use personal expressions to describe your reaction to their great work.

15. You want to thank the team

Whether in a blast email or a live meeting (virtual or IRL), giving group praise is a humbling experience. But you need to make it genuine. Again, touch base on specific tasks or projects. Link their recent hard work to future opportunities and successes. And don’t be shy about gushing a bit; they are your team.

Hopefully, you’ll see these manager email templates as broader guides for helping you prepare for certain conversations.

Now, once you’ve broken the ice, it’s important to remember that these emails or chats do not put these issues to bed once and for all. You need to follow up. If you’ve started with the email route, then go for a personal 1-on-1 in the near future.

What’s more, don’t forget to gauge how well-received your messaging is. You can ask your employees directly, but sometimes you’ll get less filtered feedback using an anonymous feedback tool like Officevibe.

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