How to smoothly onboard new employees? Guide for the employer.

Finally, after the recruitment process and rejecting hundreds (or even thousands) CVs, you managed to find an appropriate employee. Soon, he or she will start a first day in the new team. So, how to plan onboarding well in order to prepare our new employees for upcoming responsibilities as thoroughly as possible? How to make them feel welcomed and well-received? Here, we will discuss how to organize the first day at work and how it affects the employee.

Before the first day at work

New employees know the address of your company and when signing the contract, they were told what time the workday begins. However, this is not enough – they will certainly be wondering how the first day at work will go. Therefore, it is a good idea to send an email to your new employees a week in advance and once again state the address and time to start work, provide – even a framework – day plan and tell who they can talk to right after arriving at the office. Thanks to that, they will feel more confident.

And that is not all: your “old” employees must also be prepared for the coming of a “new” one. It is advisable to introduce a new member of the team during a group meeting. Then, you can appoint an attendant of the team, who will be ready to answer all questions of new employees, introduce them to the rest of the team and accompany them during lunch for the first few days. This custom introduced by the manufacturer of John Deere agricultural machinery in the Asian branch of the company is fortunately becoming more and more popular in larger and smaller businesses around the world.

It is today! Where to start?

First of all, begin by showing the office to new employees, tell them about local customs (for example: which cups in the kitchen they absolutely should not touch :)) and introduce them to others.“New” ones will not remember all names, that is for sure, but thanks to that they will not feel excluded.

Next: make sure that equipment is ready to use already on the first day. If you order new computers for new employees, do not do it at the last minute. If they get one of those you already have, give the equipment for service one week earlier. Why? Stress connected with starting a new job will initially upset and unhinge the new team member, so it is better not to add any technical problems to it.

We have a computer, is it time to assign tasks? Not yet, but be prepared in this regard too. Give your new employees tasks that will please them and go smoothly or will not discourage them, as well as those difficult, so you can check in practice how the new team members cope with challenges.

Going back to the point: before the new employees start to perform their duties, make sure that they take part in all the necessary implementation training. You will need those regarding the brand’s policy and values, as well as those teaching how a particular work should be done in your company. So is it a good idea to organize such trainings in one day? No. An employee may forget some of the provided information. It is better to plan these trainings for the first week or even two and let new members practically check the newly acquired skills after each training.

What’s next?

Feedback will be essential. You will not be able to summarize and evaluate the attitude of the new employee only on the basis of the first day at work, a week or so will be necessary. It is a good idea to constantly inform new employees about their progress, achievements, and mistakes so that they can celebrate positive aspects of their work and avoid negative ones.

Summary

The first day at work revolves around feelings. New employees made a good impression on you during the recruitment process – now it is your turn, avoid making them feel uninformed, ignored, or excluded. It may seem that there should be no place for such feelings at work – in the end, we are all adults and everyone should take care of themselves. Nevertheless, the beginnings in a new company are connected with strong emotions, sometimes very negative ones. Invest your effort in new team members to build a sense of security, trust, and affection. This will result in greater involvement of the new employee in performed tasks. In the end, this is what it is all about – to work effectively in a good atmosphere.