“Dear All” in a Work Email — Six

Alternatives

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Email communication is tricky, especially as it can be

difficult to convey nonverbal elements of speech in
written form.

When the different registers of English (formal,

informal) enter the picture, things get even trickier.

Today we’ll look at several ways to address emails to a

group of people in a formal work setting.

Should you use “Dear all” as a greeting in

work emails?
The phrase “dear all” is one way to address an
email to multiple people. The use of “dear” is
relatively formal, making this a suitable greeting
for work-related emails to groups. Alternatives
include “hello,” “greetings, everybody,” “hi
everyone,” “hi all” and listing addressees by
name.
The meaning of “dear all”
This short salutation is made up of two words:
“dear” and “all.””Dear” technically means that
something is beloved or important, but the word
has long been used in letters and other forms of
communication to address the recipient in a
formal tone. You can think of it as a formal
equivalent to “hello.”

The word “all” means everything. By extension, it is

also used to refer to large groups of people or to
everybody in a specific context.

Put together, then, “dear all” is a formal greeting at the

start of a communication addressed to multiple people.

When to use “dear all” in an email

The word “all” should make it clear that “dear all”
should only be used to address groups of people.
Other than that, the register of the word “dear”
makes this greeting ideal for use in a relatively
formal setting like a work email or one to a group
of people you have been collaborating with but
may not know outside of a professional setting.

Examples

“Dear all,
Please find attached the quarterly report for Q3. I look
forward to hearing your thoughts.”
The formal register of “dear” is continued in the
remainder of this short email in the common email
phrase “please find attached” and in the distance
suggested by the email’s final sentence.

“Dear all,

I am helping a patron with a research project and am

having trouble getting results. Please see below for
more details.”
Again, this is a pretty formal email. “Please see below”
is similar to “please find attached” in terms of formality,
making “dear all” appropriate.

Five alternatives to using “dear

all” in a work email

1. “Greetings, everybody.”
If “hello” is of middling formality, the word “greetings”
really ratchets things up.

This tone is best reserved for very formal work settings.

Alternatively, it could be used in situations where it’s
important for you to set yourself apart from the people
you are emailing or establish yourself as some kind of
authority figure.
Examples

“Greetings, everybody.

I hope you are enjoying the first few days of our

month-long work new worker orientation.”
This email positions the person sending the email as
someone in charge, setting a formal tone appropriate
for something like an orientation group.
Examples

“Hi all,

I’ve attached what I have so far for our social mixer

tomorrow. Would love more suggestions!”

This is a casual email, although the phrase “social

mixer” suggests it is still taking place in a work
environment.

2. Using people’s names or other identifiers

If you aren’t sure what salutation to use and don’t feel
comfortable with “dear all” or “hello,” a good option is
to explicitly address your email to the people you are
writing.
The main drawback of this approach is that it doesn’t
work for very large groups of people.

In these cases, an aggregate noun like “members of

the computer science division” or “employees” can feel
more directed than “all” and still appropriate for a
formal email.

This option is also flexible since it can be combined

with “dear” or a more casual “hi” as needed.
Examples

“Dear friends, I hope you are all well and rested after
last night’s party.”
In this case, the writer has used “friends” as a kind of
group noun to show their closeness to the email
recipients.

“Dear Jonathan, Suzy and Aliette,

I apologize for emailing out of the blue, but I have not
heard from anyone at the office about my impending
transfer. Can any of you offer me any insight?”
This email is written in a formal style but the use of
first names suggests that the writer is relatively well
acquainted with the people they are contacting.

3. “Hi everyone”
This greeting is virtually indistinguishable from “hi all,”
although the use of the longer word “everyone” does
make it sounds very slightly more formal.
Examples

“Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all ready for our themed potluck next
week! I’ve attached some recipe ideas to get you
started.”
Again, the casual tone of this email would not make it
appropriate for a very formal setting.

4. “Hi all”
“Hi all” is the informal equivalent of “dear all.”
Although “hi” is a very casual greeting, it may still be
workplace appropriate if you are on friendly terms
with everyone you are emailing or just work in a very
laid-back organization.

5. “Hello”
This is perhaps the vaguest of all possible email
salutations and is not recommended unless you can’t
come up with anything better.
In a pinch, though, “hello” does the job of opening an
email in a manner that is friendly and welcoming, not
too formal and not too casual either.

As an added benefit, it can be used when emailing

individuals as well as multiple people.

Although it can be used in a work setting, it does sound

a bit stand-offish if addressed to someone you know
and work with closely.

It can also sound like the start of a spam email, so be

wary of overusing it.
Examples

“Hello, I am writing to inquire about your astrophysics

program.”
Here, the writer is uncertain on who will be reading
their email. This makes “hello,” which can address any
number of people in a relatively polite manner, a great
option.

“Hello, I talked with you both last week about your

shop’s soup being cold and just wanted to write and
apologize.”

In this example, “hello” explicitly addresses multiple

people.
Sometimes you will also hear the expression “My
dears.” Have a look at our article “How to Use the
Expression My Dears to find out whether this is yet
another viable alternative for “dear all.”

6. “Dear team,”
“Dear team” may also be a great alternative to “Dear
all” in work emails. This particular salutation can be
used when addressing a working party.

The word “team” bears this inclusive connotation that

helps in making the greeting more personal and
compact.

Addressing people using words like “team” or “team

members” also induces camaraderie and affinity among
groups.

Especially when you want the team to do or achieve

something as a group or even simply congratulate them
for a job well done, “Dear team” would be an
appropriate choice.

Just be careful to avoid using this one when addressing

a larger number of people beyond your immediate
members because that might come off as a bit
pretentious.

Here’s how you can use “Dear team” in your email:

Example:

Dear team,

Congratulations on a job well done! We have achieved

our sales for the month of February despite the shorter
days. Undoubtedly, all of your effort and dedication
have paid off. Let us keep showing them how it is done.
We surely are the best when we work together!

Cheers,

Alfred

If you feel like you want to show even more warmth

toward your team, you could use a cozier greeting like
“Hello, team.”

Just don’t ever forget to put a comma after

“hello” when choosing this salutation for your work
email to show writing precision.

“Dear All” vs. “Dear Everyone”

Although the words “all” and “everyone” are largely the
same in meaning, there are a few nuances that we can
watch out for to make our writing even more precise.

This means that there would be some minute

differences that native speakers are able to spot when
we use “Dear all” vs. “Dear everyone” in our emails.

“All” suggests a more collective meaning, focusing on

the reference to the group as a whole. Whereas,
“everyone” focuses more on the individuals that belong
to a referred group.

This means that using “all” is more appropriate for

general messages that are meant to give instructions or
announcements to the whole group.

Example:

Dear all,

This is just a reminder that Elevator 3 is under

maintenance at the moment. Please proceed to
Elevators 1, 2, and 4 for the rest of the week.

Thank you for your consideration.

Management
Meanwhile, “everyone” conveys a similar meaning as
“everybody” or “one and all,” which is great for drawing
emphasis when recognizing people.

Example:

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Dear everyone,

We are pleased to announce that our company has

raised $550,000 from new investors. This means that
the company should be able to last for at least one
more year before we reconsider another organizational
restructuring. Thank you for your effort and dedication!
Sincerely,

Management

“All” can also be used to refer to both living and non-

living things, but “everyone” can only be logically used
to refer to people.

Hence, we had better use “Dear all” for general mass

messaging tasks and “Dear everyone” for a warmer,
more personalized effect.

How to address a group in an

email
When addressing a group of people in general, there
are a few more salutations that can be used instead of
“Dear all.”

All of the salutations listed in this section are relatively

formal because they are meant to be used toward a
larger group of people.
“Dear team members,”
“Dear team members” is a great salutation for people
who belong to one working party within an
organization.

It is great for highlighting the fact that the message is

meant to include all team members, especially to
achieve a particular goal or address an issue.

Example:

Dear team members,

We regret to announce that one of the best people on

our team is leaving the company for a valid reason.
Dave will be working with us until the end of the
month. For those who want to reach out and thank him,
please feel free to send him a personal message. He
will appreciate your messages beyond doubt. Yours
truly,
Conrad

“Dear colleagues,”
“Dear colleagues” is meanwhile meant for more
generalized recipients including those who are outside
of your immediate team.
This is something you would use, for example, when
you want to sound a bit formal. This is suitable for
emails that may have moderate to serious implications.

Example:

Dear colleagues,

We regret to announce that the planned year-end party

will be postponed for a week. We currently have some
budget and logistics-related constraints, and we need a
little more time to finalize everything.

Thank you for your continued support and

understanding.

Yours sincerely

Management

“Dear [department name],”

If you’re making an announcement on a department
level, “Dear [department name],” would be a great
choice.

Depending on how big your department is, this

salutation may change its effect. That is, a large
department may treat this normally, but a small one
may think that something important is going on.

Example:

Dear IT department,

Please be advised that there will be an internet

interruption with our main provider tomorrow
afternoon. In this regard, kindly notify everyone about
the news and let them use our backup network.

Thank you for your attention.

Kind regards,

“Dear fellow members,”

Suggestive of a polite connotation, “Dear fellow
members,” can also be used when certain matters of
concern are involved.

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Using this particular salutation also suggests that the
writer of the email is a “fellow member” rather than a
“group leader.”

Example:

Dear fellow members,

Thank you for raising your questions and comments
through the link we provided. We sincerely appreciate
your feedback on the new policy. Rest assured that we
will do what it takes to consider all of your suggestions
and address your concerns by the end of the week.

Sincerely,

Neil

How to address everyone in an

email
When addressing a group of people with whom we have
already developed an affinity, we meanwhile tend to
soften our language use.

This means that the greetings listed in this section

generally bear a warm tone and are meant for those we
consider close enough.

“Hello, everyone.”
When sending email reminders to people we work with,
“Hello, everyone” could be a great choice.
This greeting can act as a soft email opener for
lighthearted messages and regular updates of any sort.

Example:

Hello, everyone.

We are pleased to announce that all the non-winning

entries will be reconsidered for a do-or-die round. We
will be selecting one finalist who will be joining the
championship round.

Best of luck!

Board of Judges

“Hi, everyone.”
Another great salutation with a warmer tone than the
last one is “Hi, everyone.” This one may also be used
with simple emails that are meant for a large number of
people.

This greeting, for instance, may be used when sending

goodwill or motivational messages to a large group, like
in the next example:
Example:

Hi, everyone.

As we wrap this week up, I would just like to remind

you that you have done a great job. Let us continue our
promising performance and break a leg again next
week. Don’t forget to have a moment to thank and
praise yourself for all your hard work.

Warmest regards,

Management

“Good day, everyone.”

Another simple, cozy greeting would be “Good day,
everyone.” This is something you would use for emails
that are to be sent during the day.

Should you want to make the salutation even softer,

you may also change the full stop or period into an
exclamation point.

Example:
Good day, everyone.

This is just to let you know that the details of our

upcoming charity event have already been
finalized. Please see attached for more details.

Kind regards,

HR

Greetings, everyone.
One final casual greeting that we could use in work
emails is “Greetings, everyone.” This is great for any
email bearing positive or at least neutral kind of news.

To achieve a lighter tone, feel free to use an

exclamation point rather than a full stop or period at
the end of the salutation.

Example:

Greetings, everyone.
Thanks for attending our weekly team meeting. This
email is just a quick reminder that this meeting will be
completely canceled next week due to the holiday
adjustments.

Please enjoy your time at home or wherever.

Cheers,

Marketing Dept.

Frequently Asked Questions on

“‘Dear All’ in a Work Email”

Is “Dear all” formal?

“Dear all” is relatively more formal than “Dear
everyone” and “Dear team.” This salutation should be
reserved for when addressing a huge number of people
rather than a small group. That is, a small group may
likely think that the greeting is slightly emotionally
distant.
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What are some other words for “dear” in
an email?
Instead of “dear,” other greeting expressions like
“hello,” “hi,” and even “greetings” can be used in an
email. The choice, though, will depend on the overall
email context, which includes the relationship with the
recipient and the type of message to be conveyed.
Is it “dears all” or “dear all”?
“Dear all” and not “dears all” is the grammatically
correct email salutation. The word “dear” acts as an
adjective for “all” and cannot be pluralized. To make
things easier, “Dear all” is a shorter form of “My dear
all” that is popular in mass messaging contexts.

How should we address all staff in an

email?
A typical salutation used to address all staff in an email
is “Dear all.” But, “Dear team” or “Dear team members”
might be better choices when the goal is to achieve
camaraderie or teamwork because of their warmer
connotations. “Dear all” is more suitable for a larger
variety of individuals.

What is a good alternative for “Dear

colleagues”?
“Dear coworkers,” “Dear team,” “Dear team members,”
and “Dear fellow members” are possible alternatives for
“Dear colleagues.” To lighten the tonality, “dear” may
also be replaced with “hello” or “hi.”
Marcel Iseli
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud
owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my
passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational
Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my
utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know
about languages and linguistics in general.

Related Posts:
1.“Dear Sir or Madam” — 10 Great
Alternatives
2.14 Best Alternatives for “I hope this email
finds you well”
3.24 Alternatives & Synonyms for “Thank
you for your email”
4.Comma after Salutations like Hi, Hello or
Dear — Answered!
5.10 “Welcome to the Team” Alternatives to
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6.“Please find attached” in Email Writing
and 19 Alternatives
7.How to Write a Thank You Email after a
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8.How to Respond to a Job Rejection Email
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9.How to Respond to an Unhappy Customer
Email — 3 Full Answers
 10. How to Write a Great Follow-up Email
after a Career Fair

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