At some point or the other, we have been in a situation where we were nervous about our first day at work but were equally excited. Imagine that excitement and enthusiasm fizzing off because of feeling unwelcome at your new office; sounds very disheartening, doesn’t it?
Everyone at work wants to prove that they are capable of their job and that they belong at their new workplace. So here are some tips to make new hires feel comfortable and make them more receptive.
Get in touch with them as soon as they receive the job offer and get all the paperwork filled in. Don’t wait until its their first day at office.
It is advisable to be prepared with all the necessary arrangements like setting up their desk with everything they might need (a computer, phone, notepad, pen, business cards etc.) to start their work. Set up all the electronic devices in advance so that it doesn’t consume much of the employee’s time on their first day.
Make on-boarding fun and exciting for your new hires by welcoming them with a personalised welcome kit. This kit can consist of goodies like:
This makes the new hires feel that they are truly a part of the organisation.
What most HR managers miss during on-boarding is, to introduce the new employees to the company culture. Different offices have different workplace cultures; introduce them to your formal work culture where you need to educate them about the policies and rules as well.
Then introduce them to your informal work culture which includes celebration of events, employee engagement activities, team outings etc.
Asking for help is hard, particularly when it’s your first day at work. Most companies assign a mentor to the new employee so that they can introduce them to the rest of the team and help the new employee get familiar with their new office.
You can do the same, assign them a mentor who is experienced and is not directly related to the new hire in any way.
When introducing the new employees with their team, what most managers tend to forget is, introducing them to the remote employees of the team. The reason being that, remote workers aren’t usually present at the office to be introduced. Now that almost every employee is working from home, it would be easier to remember and introduce the other team members to the new hire.
Be it over a phone or a video call, introducing remote workers to the new employees makes both the remote workers as well as the new employees feel that they are an important part of the organisation.
Do not scare the new employees with piles of work, start slow. Start with giving them smaller responsibilities, this will help them finish it quickly and efficiently, keeping their excitement and enthusiasm on point. This will help the employee feel positive and come back the next day to work with a sense of belonging which helps them stay productive in future.
Also read: Create a Positive Company Culture For Your Remote Employees
Don’t forget to educate them on what is expected out of them. Set short-term goals for the new hires and tell them to focus on completing them. Setting workplace goals gives them a sense of direction which helps them stay productive in their new work environment.
Talk to them and find out how their first day was at their new workplace. New employees tend to have lot of questions, be patient and try to answer them. Help them with any remaining paperwork. This follow-up talk will have a positive influence over the new hires and helps them stay productive in a long run.
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