Promoting an employee is one of the most rewarding moments as a manager or HR professional - you finally get to deliver good news! It's an opportunity to recognize your team member's hard work, boost their moral (and your team's), and prepare someone for a more impactful role. But how you communicate the promotion can make all the difference in how the news is received and how the transition unfolds.

If you've had this conversation, or need to have it, watch an example roleplay of a manager telling an employee about a promotion. And read on for practical tips on giving your team member the good news about their promotion. 

Start the Promotion Conversation

Don't just let them know by email. When you’re ready to share the exciting news, schedule a one-on-one meeting with the employee. A promotion is a significant moment, so intentionally make it a celebration. Start with a positive tone to immediately convey the purpose of the meeting.

For example: "Hi [Employee Name], thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I’m thrilled to tell you that you’re being promoted to [New Role]! We really value everything you’ve contributed to the team, and I’m so excited to see you step into this new position.”

Make sure to pause here and give the individual a chance to react. While you prepared to give the news, they might not have been expecting it. Let it sink in for a minute, and give them the opportunity to respond. 

Discuss Current and Future Compensation Questions

After sharing the promotion news, clearly communicate the compensation changes and any additional benefits related to the role. Don't make them bring it up. And be transparent and thorough with this part of the conversation, to avoid confusion or frustration later.

If you're only giving a title change, and not a pay increase, be prepared for a very natural reaction. Especially if the employee is asking to take on more work now, but only potentially more pay later, it's not likely going to feel so celebratory. Having that candid conversation with your own leadership in advance can help ("If I just tell them they're expected to take on more, but not making more, that doesn't tend to be well received').

If they are getting a pay increase (which really should be the case), explain the specific pay increase, any new bonus structure, and any applicable benefits. For example, you might say, "With this promotion comes a salary increase of $17,500 annually, starting immediately, and you’ll also receive professional development budget that you can use on a coach or leadership courses."

This is also an appropriate time to share future opportunities for increases, especially if they're tied to structured reviews: "We’ll check in with you in 6 months to evaluate performance and discuss further compensation adjustments. These timelines will help us align progress with rewards."

Be clear about compensation - it's what most people care about, and being proactive makes sure the individual feels valued and understands the organization's commitment to their success.

Cover the Transition from Their Current Role to the New Position

Internal promotions often involve balancing the employee’s current responsibilities with their new ones. While this sometimes can mean holding on to some old tasks for a bit, your employee isn't an octopus - they're not magically growing extra arms (or hours in the day) along with the promotion. To avoid confusion or unrealistic expectations, address this early on with a clear transition plan and an official start date for their new role.

Assure the employee they won’t be juggling both their current and new roles indefinitely. Discuss a plan to work together to document the tasks and processes they’ll hand over to the next hire. This could include resource guides, screen-recorded walkthroughs or other procedures that someone could learn from.

Share your plans to hire or post their current position immediately and discuss interim coverage: "We’ll begin recruiting for your current role right away—both internally and externally—to ensure you can fully focus on your new responsibilities." Pro tip: If you can promote form within, it sends a much stronger signal to the team than always looking externally for a magical Mary Poppins candidate.

Reassure First-Time People Managers

If the promotion puts the individual in a managerial position for the first time, acknowledge it! Your employee is likely excited but also may be nervous about what that means. They may have been good at doing a specific job, but people management demands a different skill set.

Explain that balancing empathy and performance is foundational. Encourage pre-planning to anticipate potential team disruption - for example, explain how cross-training for different roles helps team members be "off" on time off, and have others on the team develop. 

Reassure them you’re available to mentor and offer resources for managing all of those "people" needs - from managing your friends to managing conflicts. Example words are, "You don’t need to have all the answers right away - it's always a great step to seek guidance as you grow into the role. I - and others - are here to help you succeed."

Providing manager training or pairing them with more experienced colleagues can help establish confidence. Programs like Manager 101 can also provide structured tools for success.

Highlight Why They Earned the Promotion

One important - but often overlooked - step is reiterating the "why" behind your team member's promotion. What tends to happen is more of a "yay, you're promoted!" message. But make sure to pause to explain why they got promoted. Doing this - including highlighting their talents and accomplishments - can build employees up more than you may realize.

Try something like: "Your dedication to getting things done, and ability to consistently deliver what you committed to on [specific project] truly stood out. Beyond your technical knowledge, the way you collaborate with the team and contribute to a positive work environment made you the ideal candidate for this role."

Acknowledging these specifics can help motivate them, and make sure they know what to keep doing more of.

Remind Them of the Influence of a Manager on Team Success

If your team member is being promoted to a manager role, make sure they know how important that is. Managers hold significant influence over the morale, productivity and overall well-being of their teams - at work and even outside of it. Share this perspective to inspire the new manager in their leadership role.

"As a manager, your leadership will fundamentally shape the career successes and work experiences of your team, and even their lives outside of work. By being clear and empathetic, you can help make them not just get results, but do it in a way that makes them want to stay and work with us."

Instilling this sense of purpose can help them approach their role with greater confidence and intent.

Announcing the Promotion to the Rest of the Team

It’s important to think about how to announce the role to the rest of the team, including the employee’s new peers, in a professional and positive manner. This approach help celebrate the promotion, and also answer any questions that the team has. As part of your process, make sure to discuss the announcement timeline with your new manager to avoid awkward miscommunication, especially if there are team members who applied for the role but did not get the promotion. You don't want someone to find out they didn't get it... by hearing about it from someone other than you.

When it comes time to make the formal announcement, share a team email or meeting highlight that conveys the employee’s promotion, why they were selected and how excited leadership is for their contributions in the new role:

"I’m thrilled to announce that [Employee Name] has been promoted to [New Role]. Their dedication, creativity, and expertise made them the natural choice, and we can’t wait to see the impact they’ll have in their new capacity."

Celebrate Their Promotion

Recognition shouldn’t stop at the announcement. Adding a thoughtful celebratory gesture can elevate the moment. Consider gifting something symbolic of their achievement:

• A personalized notebook for jotting down leadership plans and tasks.
• A gift card to their favorite coffee shop or bookstore.
• A personalized gift commemorating the occasion.

Think about what might make the most to your team member. A celebratory gesture speaks volumes about your, and your organization's, appreciation for its employees.

Moving Forward with Confidence

Promoting an employee is more than just an announcement. It’s an opportunity to reinforce your organization's culture, values and commitment to growth. By carefully planning the conversation, ensuring a smooth transition and empowering the employee for success, you’re setting the stage for a win-win outcome.

If you’re navigating promotions or stepping into a leadership role yourself, consider our Manager 101 program. It goes deeper into these topics, including how to handle those conversations with team members who applied but weren’t selected. For HR teams or senior leaders, Manager 101 can be the manager training you've been looking for. It's fully scalable, combining on-demand learning with live sessions and ready-to-use materials to make rollout easy and stick.