FormatsHow to write a letter at work
Most office letters today are emails. The layout is the same: a clear subject line, a greeting, the request in the first two lines, the details, and thanks. For an email, put the subject in the subject box and start from "Dear Sir/Madam"; you can leave out the "To" block and the date.
Managers read quickly. Put the request and the dates first, and the reason after. Say how your work will be covered. That one line answers the question every manager has.
Tone
Be polite and direct. "I request leave from 3 to 5 March" is better than a long apology. Avoid heavy phrases such as "I beg to state"; plain English is the professional style now.
Keep a record
- Send leave and resignation letters from an account you can access later, and keep copies.
- If your company has an HR portal, apply there too. The portal entry is what payroll sees.
- For resignation, check the notice period in your appointment letter before you write a date.
Who should receive your letter
Leave requests go to your reporting manager, with HR in copy where your company expects it. Requests for documents, such as experience, salary and relieving letters or an NOC, go to HR. A resignation goes to your manager and HR together. If you are unsure, the employee handbook or the HR portal usually names the approver for each kind of request.
Before you press Send
- Is the request in the first two lines, with exact dates?
- Have you said how your work will be covered while you are away?
- Is the subject line clear enough to find the mail again in six months?
- Have you attached what you promised to attach?
If there is no reply
Give it a reasonable time, then send one polite reminder as a reply to your own mail, so that the first request sits below it. For leave, a short call or message to your manager settles most delays. For documents from a former employer, write to the general HR address as well as to the person you knew there, because people move on.