Hey, employers: Employees give their new jobs 10 days before they decide whether they will stay with the organization. What are you doing to make sure they buy-in to your culture, feel a part of the team, and make the commitment to stay?
Your first day of work isn’t much different in principle from any other first day in your life—your first day in elementary school, your first day in a new neighborhood, or your first day in college, for example. However, unlike the aforementioned firsts, your first day at your new job doesn’t come with a free pass to make a fool of yourself—and without a proper onboarding program, that’s exactly what you’ll do.
As a supervisor, your job should always include onboarding new hires to maximize a smooth transition from rookie status to experienced employee. The first few days of an employee’s integration are crucial in deciding how high their morale will be, so your primary goal should be to relax them and make them feel at home. If you adhere to the following list of techniques, they should feel welcome and ready to contribute.
Establish Early Outreach
Don’t wait until their first day to provide them with an itinerary, sign-in resources and information, and basic trivia—e.g., the location of the bathrooms or the coffee station. Instead, send them an email well before they begin work with congratulations, crucial materials, and an open invitation to ask questions as they come.
Additionally, if your paperwork is predominately online, send them the links or PDFs so they can get a head start; otherwise, have your forms ready to go when the employee arrives at work.
Foster Loyalty
If you want your new hire to perform at their full potential, you’ll need to help them feel like an individual sense of importance with regard to the company. Provide them with a custom letterhead, a coffee cup, or a welcome card. Make a point of remembering their name and give the other employees a heads up before the new employee arrives.
Be Visible
Especially for their first day, make sure you take steps to ease anticipated anxiety on the new hire’s behalf. This includes informing the receptionist of his or her arrival, personally greeting them, and making introductions to their new co-workers. Establish a helpful presence and make sure they feel supported, especially during the first couple of weeks. When you introduce them to their coworkers, assign a friendly employee to be their go-to mentor.
Plan a tour that encompasses everything from a walkthrough of their basic responsibilities and daily errands to introducing them to coworkers with whom they will regularly work. No matter how well-versed your new hire is on where the bathroom or photocopier is, they’re going to feel lost if they can’t remember the name of the guy from IT.
Continue to Check In
Your new employee will likely need your guidance well after the initial few weeks—and even if they don’t, they’ll appreciate your support. Be sure to check in with them on a semi-regular basis. You don’t want to seem like you’re micromanaging them by any means, but it’s a safe bet that they’ll have new and challenging questions frequently within the first year or so. Strive to be there to answer them.
Overwhelmed by New Employee Paperwork?
Abacus Payroll’s online HR Help Center has new hire checklists, enrollment forms, sample policies, and more to help you ob-board your new employees properly and efficiently.
For more information on how to successfully on-board your new hires with ease, call Abacus Payroll, Inc. at (856) 667-6225!