We all know what it’s like to be the new person. Starting a new job can be tough, and it’s a daunting experience for anyone. As an employer, it’s your job to make your new employee feel welcome and to help them settle in as quickly as possible
Help give your new recruit the best start with these five tips for welcoming new employees.
1. Be prepared
A disorganized office makes a bad first impression, and when you know a new employee is starting – make sure you’re ready for them. A new starter can feel like a spare part if they have to wait for their desk or phone to be set up, or if there isn’t a schedule for the day. A new starter checklist is a good place to begin, and you can add in things that are relevant to your company.
2. Help them get to know people
While those first introductions are important, you can expect a new recruit to forget most people’s names instantly. By having them spend a bit of individual time with different people around the office, they can get to know people better and get a clearer idea of the organizational structure and what everyone does. For people in their immediate team, get them to wear name badges for a couple of days – this will help a new employee to learn everyone’s names without having to ask all the time and will make them feel more at ease.
3. Introduce a buddy scheme
There are many benefits of having a buddy system in the workplace, allowing new starters to develop a relationship with one colleague who they can ask questions to and get a better feel of the business and the people within it. Choose the buddy wisely – someone who’s friendly and a large part of office life is a great candidate. This person will take the new starter for lunch, introduce them to others and show them things like where they can make coffee and so on.
4. Help them find what they need
Every workplace has a different system for organizing and storing files, which can be daunting to navigate when you haven’t got a clue where to start. Keep those basic templates like letterheads and document templates in an easy to find place. Templafy offers a fantastic online storage system for branded, coordinated elements like email signatures, https://www.templafy.com/templafy-email-signature-manager/ that will make it easy for a new starter to find what they need. Have someone sit down with them to talk them through the various local folders so that they can begin to get to grips with what they need for their job.
5. Organize a social activity
While it’s great for a new starter to learn about everyone’s role and where they fit in the overall office structure, it’s also important that they get to know their new colleagues in a relaxed setting. Organize an activity such as lunch or post-work drinks that will give a chance for a new starter to get to know their colleagues more personally. This helps your employees to bond and can help them settle in much quicker.
It can take time to find the right candidate for a job, so make sure you don’t scare them off before they’ve had the chance to settle. Put a plan in place to welcome new starters and give them the best introduction to your business.
No comments yet.