How to Write a Letter of Request for Additional Staff

Holly McGurgan reports:

"When your department has more work than it can handle, adding staff members may seem like the logical solution to you. Unfortunately, your manager might not agree with your assessment. Providing evidence that your department will be unable to meet its goals without additional employees is the key to ensuring the approval of your request. Before you begin writing a letter requesting additional staff, make sure you have all the facts and figures in front of you to support your request...Begin the letter by explaining that you are requesting a specific number of new employees. List the job title and rank of each new position requested. Avoid guessing when it comes to requesting additional staff. Mention if the request is for permanent or temporary employees...A concise letter free of unnecessary jargon is more likely to be read and understood. Use clear headings, concise wording and focused answers to ensure that your manager can quickly identify what is being requested and why. Explain how the lack of manpower is preventing you from accomplishing your goals. You might add that although you have the same number of employees, your workload has increased significantly. If a hiring freeze prevents you from replacing employees who resign, mention this fact. Indicate how business is being negatively impacted...Describe how each of the requested employees will enable your department to complete work on schedule. Explain in detail what type of work each new employee will perform and how completion of the work will help the department meet goals and deadlines...State your current departmental budget. List the proposed salaries for the new positions and provide a new yearly total for salaries that includes the proposed new positions. Provide details of your plans for covering the expenses of new employees, such as relying on increased profits to cover staffing costs...Describe the impact on the department if the request is not approved. If your department will not be able to meet a crucial deadline, mention this fact. If lack of manpower will cause a significant slowdown in your department, describe how this slowdown will affect other departments in the company. Provide facts and figures if possible. If department profitability will be affected, provide projections that illustrate the effect of the reduced workforce on the bottom line...Inform your manager that you appreciate his consideration of your request and would like to meet soon to discuss the matter in more detail."