You’ve received word that your team is getting a new member – a candidate impressed, and now it’s your turn to welcome them and integrating them into the company seamlessly.
You should be as prepared for your new employee as they were for the interview. Here is a collection of 7 easy ways to make your new colleague thoroughly enjoy their onboarding experience.
Welcome your new hire
First impressions quickly paint a picture for the employee and you’ll want that impression to be a good one. Prepare the existing team for the new teammate – more often than not, they’ll be excited to have fresh blood added to the mix. Their warmth and welcome can may be enough to make the new employee’s first week a great one. That said, you should still tap your more experienced employees to be on deck to help with introductions and orientation for their teams.
Getting them accustomed to their job
A brief on the company policies and all operating procedures should happen on day one. Your new hire will appreciate knowing what’s expected of them and who to report to from the get-go. Introduce them to points of reference for the kind of work they will be doing, and if there are immediate goals to reach or important things to note, outline those items clearly. Ensure that your new employee has sufficient time to adjust to all the office dynamics.
Prepare their workspace
Your employee should be geared up to launch themselves into hours of productivity at any point. Their workspace should be clean and inviting, with all the tools they need to work readily available for them. Don’t forget their digital workspace, too! This includes preparing their user credentials for the relevant systems and setting up their company emails and/or any software that they might need, so that they aren’t sitting and twiddling their thumbs as they wait to be able to do their job.
Train your employee
Regardless of whether your new hire has any former work experience, all focus within their first few weeks should be spent on training. Allocate enough time for them to learn the skills they require to satisfy their job role, as well as time for them to ask any questions and receive initial feedback on their first few tasks.
Getting to know the team
Have the team take your new employee to lunch. They’ll be able to get to know one another in a little more depth in an environment outside of the office. This relieves the initial stress involved in joining a new company, and will hopefully make it so that your employee is free to work comfortably while also having access to the people who can offer knowledge and support.
Follow-up
Evaluations, whether timed or on the fly, help in making sure your new employee is handling everything well. It can also be a means by which you determine the level of success of your employee onboarding methods, which will be useful when planning your next round of onboarding. Checking in with your employees is also a nice gesture that sustains the working relationship between you and your employee that doesn’t take up much time.
Employee onboarding should be as much of a breeze for the employee as it should be for you. As far as employee onboardings go, there isn’t much room for error if you have a plan that ensures the best use of your (and your employee’s) time – face your new employee in the direction of success right from the start!
