4 Points to Make on Your New Hire’s First Day
Being the new person isn’t easy. Slowly easing new talent into your workforce through an effective onboarding program is a crucial part of actually keeping your brand new hire. Be thoughtful and actively think of ways you can incorporate your new talent into the team. That way, they feel confident and comfortable in their new position.
We came up with a couple of pointers to help you make it easy on your new hire’s first day :
1. Explain Company Goals
New employees should know what the company goals are right off the bat. Brief your newcomer on the end product of their hard work. Give a little background about the company and share insights that you find interesting about the company. Showing your new hire a little bit of your own passion can inspire them to find things that excite them about the company.
Let them know what what role their skills will play in the company’s overall functions while shining a light on their talents. After all, you chose them over other candidates for the job because they had something others did not. Point this out and instill some confidence in your new hire.
2. Inclusion, Inclusion, Inclusion (What Jan Brady Really Meant and More)
Thirty-five percent of workers agree that more opportunities for on-the-job training will entice them to stay longer. Don’t let your new employee feel like the Jan Brady of your work environment. Show them that everyone is a “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” in the company.
Include your new employee by giving them some company gear you’ve got on hand. Whether it’s water bottles, hats, or mouse pads, hook your new talent up with some swag.
Let them in on an (appropriate) company-wide joke. That way, they can jump in and do some socializing with their colleagues, rather than feeling left out.
Forty-six percent of new hires wash out after the first 18 months. Make a game out of getting to know your new employee, with prizes to boot. Organize a company-wide trivia game at the end of the new employee’s first week. This will be incentive for your current employees to get to know your new employee – even if it is initially for a competition (the goal being, of course, that your employees slowly accept the newcomer).
3. Provide a Comfortable Work Environment
Give them an office tour and show them where everything is. The more they know about the company and how things work, the more confident they will feel in their new position. While you’re on that tour, take the opportunity to introduce your new employee to other current employees. Employees can serve as landmarks for remembering where certain things are in the office.
As Inc. Magazine contributing editor Jeff Haden writes, “Your eventual goal is to train comprehensively by breaking large processes down into manageable chunks. That way, new employees can immediately see how their role directly connects to creating value for your company, and you get great opportunities to provide immediate, constructive feedback.”
4. Open the Floor for Questions
Let your employees know that you are happy to answer any questions they might have. It’s also a good idea to designate a few current employers as go-to helpers whenever the new employee is in need of guidance. This will make sure that your new employee knows where to turn when they need help, and it will also enable current employees to engage with the newcomer in a more organic way.
Lauren Moon of Trello says it best : “Important information that falls through the cracks or isn’t conveyed properly means that employees’ knowledge bases are inconsistent. Inconsistencies, when multiplied, can turn into a disparate company culture.”
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Do you have some new talent coming in? Try to get your employee onboarding process right by implementing a few of these tips. Don’t let your new hire leave their first day with a sour taste in their mouth.
A version of this article originally appeared on Clickboarding.