6 top tips for writing a letter of recommendation for an employee

This comprehensive guide provides essential tips for crafting a clear and legally compliant letter of recommendation, making the process straightforward and helping you avoid common pitfalls. With these expert insights, you can focus on what matters most - running your business, while confidently navigating the nuances of writing a letter of recommendation.

Additionally, we offer a simple but comprehensive template on the Docue platform, which takes the guesswork out of the equation. It guides you through each step of the creation process, ensuring that you include all the necessary details and meet legal requirements. Whether you’re a seasoned letter of recommendation author or new to giving references, our guides on this topic that can be found in our in our Legal Hub will help you every step of the way. Let’s dive in!

1. Start with the essentials

The basics: At the very least, your letter of recommendation should confirm the employee’s job title and employment dates. Be sure to include the start date and the date they left the company. While you may choose not to include further details about the employee’s performance or conduct, these basic facts are crucial.

Keep it concise: Avoid long-winded explanations and irrelevant details. Ideally, the letter should be no longer than one page, unless you’re writing for a particularly senior-level employee. Make sure that you cover all the essential points in a clear and concise manner.

2. Be impartial and stick to the facts

Offer a fair and balanced view: While it’s important to be honest in your recommendation, ensure that your assessment is fair and objective. A recommendation that is vague or includes subjective comments could prompt the prospective employer to request further details. If the employee has areas for improvement, it's acceptable to mention them in a constructive manner, emphasising the steps they are taking to address these issues. This balanced approach ensures the recommendation is credible and helpful.

Sickness and absence records: You may wish to mention any sickness or absence records, however, the letter should not refer to any absences related to disability parental rights – for example, maternity or paternity leave.

For more guidance on maintaining objectivity, check out our detailed guide on writing a fair and impartial recommendation letter.

3. Be specific and include examples

Highlight relevant skills and provide an example: If you choose to write a comprehensive recommendation letter, it’s crucial to focus on the skills most relevant to the role the employee is applying for. Whether you’re providing a comprehensive reference or a more concise one, highlight both hard and soft skills, and always back them up with concrete examples.

For example, if the employee is applying for a managerial role, emphasise their leadership and communication skills, citing specific examples of how they have led teams, driven initiatives, or managed projects successfully. If they are pursuing a technical position, highlight their problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and technical expertise, supporting these with examples of projects or challenges where these skills were instrumental in achieving success. This makes the letter more robust, impactful, and tailored to the role they’re pursuing.

Share quantifiable results: Numbers or measurable outcomes can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of the recommendation. Including details of achievements demonstrates that the employee has made impactful contributions to your business during their time at the company. If the employee’s input lead to the success of a project, increase in revenue or client’s satisfaction, make sure that you mention these achievements with details of the supporting evidence.

For example:

Bob led his team in implementing a new initiative that resulted in a 150% increase in MRR and a 25% reduction in client churn.

4. Avoid unsupported claims

Unsupported subjective claims can open you up to legal risks: There have been cases where employers have made subjective or defamatory comments in recommendation letters, leading to significant legal consequences. If these statements negatively affect the employee’s job prospects, they may take legal action. Employees have successfully sued former employers for defamation, proving that misleading or harmful references caused them tangible harm, such as losing a job opportunity. Therefore, sticking to factual and verifiable information is crucial to avoid potential legal issues.

If you're unsure whether it’s appropriate to mention a negative aspect of an employee’s performance, check out our FAQs with detailed answers about writing a negative reference.

5. Keep it formal

Maintain a professional tone: It's important to maintain a respectful and formal tone throughout the letter. Once the content of the letter is complete, ensure that you use an appropriate sign off (e.g. Yours Sincerely, Yours Faithfully"), to finalise the letter with. You should also sign the letter of recommendation with your signature, full name and professional title. With Docue's e-signature function, you can easily sign your letter from any device, making it convenient and legally valid.

6. Use a lawyer-drafted template to speed up the process

When writing a letter of recommendation for an employee, using a template ensures you include all the necessary details while keeping the content professional and factual. A lawyer-drafted template offers a clear, structured approach that helps you stay compliant and accurate.

If you want to streamline the process, Docue’s employment letter of recommendation template makes it easy and quick to create professional recommendations. The template ensures you’re providing fair and accurate references that align with best practices, saving you time and helping protect your business.

Once you've crafted your letter, you can sign it electronically and store it securely with Docue Drive, Docue’s smart storage feature. It’s simple, intuitive, and hassle-free.

Sign up today and see why savvy-businesses love using Docue.