Appointment Letter

An appointment letter can be written to schedule, reschedule or cancel an appointment. It can also be written to employ a person, appointing him/her in a particular position.

When the letter is meant to schedule an appointment, the purpose of the meeting etc., should be stated. There should be a clear-cut mention of what is expected to be accomplished, so that the addressee, or the recipient, is informed and prepared for the meeting. It would be useful to indicate the benefits the recipient of the letter can derive from the meeting. The date on which you would like the meeting to take place should also be mentioned. In case the letter is a confirmation of a prescheduled meeting, the date as planned earlier ought to be reiterated. Everyone who is expected to attend should be briefly mentioned, to inform the recipient of precisely who to expect as participants in the meeting. The venue and duration of the meeting, along with whatever, if anything, the other party is required to bring to the meeting should also be indicated. If an affirmation is required, the letter should indicate the date by which it needs to reach you. If there is an intention on your part to contact the person for a follow up, mention this in the letter. Make sure that your contact details such as you email address, telephone number, etc., are clearly mentioned in the appointment letter, to enable the recipient get in touch with you.

If the purpose of your appointment letter is to reschedule an appointment, politely state the reason why the rescheduling has become necessary. In the letter, give a few options for different dates along with the timings when you may be available for a meeting, or offer to call to fix the rescheduling. Alternatively, ask the other person to call you if he/she finds it more convenient to do so. If the circumstances warrant a change of venue or attendees, this information should also be included. A date for a response to this letter and your contact information (irrespective of whether or not it was given in your earlier letter) should also be mentioned.

A letter written to cancel a prescheduled appointment is usually short, and restricted to the issue at hand. However, one should never lose sight of courtesy, as there may arise an occasion to meet the person again, or one may require his/her products or services at a different time. If there is some monetary loss or penalty for not canceling by a specific date, it is best done at the very first opportunity, to provide maximum notice to the other person. You may or may not mention the reason for canceling the appointment, depending on how it would affect your interests in the matter.

When you write an appointment letter to employ a person, or appoint someone to a different/higher position, always draft it on a positive note. If the letter is to accord commendation, it should sound honest and sincere, duly praising the recipient for his/her accomplishments. The letter should be able to convey the importance of the new position that the person is expected to occupy. Praise the person for his/her personal qualities that make him/her an ideal candidate to function in the new capacity, expressing your confidence in his/her ability to handle the new responsibilities, and congratulating him/her on being elevated to a higher office.

The letter should contain sufficient information about the importance and scope of the new position. Use your discretion to decide how much information you would want to provide in the letter. There may be an occasion for other employees to read the letter, so it should be written in such a way that it has detailed information about the new appointee's qualifications and attributes, so that anyone reading the letter would recognize that the new incumbent is qualified and fit to occupy the position.

The other situations pertinent to writing an appointment letter are:

• When you write to apologize for having missed, or arrived late, for an appointment
• When you write to thank someone for granting an appointment or meeting
• When you write a follow up to an earlier sales appointment

When you write to congratulate a colleague or friend on a new appointment.