On an employee’s 1st day at a new job, it’s very important to ensure they are not lost in the shuffle and forgotten about. The first couple of weeks at a new job will be crucial to an employee’s level of future engagement and commitment.
Here are 5 tips to ensure your onboarding process is engaging your new employees:
1) Meet & Greet- Ensure that you have someone in management (maybe the person who the new associate will be reporting to or a senior associate in their department) available when they arrive. This person should provide your new employee with a site tour, showing them things like the lunch room, bathrooms, where to find key people in the organization, and they should make introductions along the way. A great place to end this tour is the employee’s office or work station.
2) Workstation Work Ready – Make sure that the employees workstation is ready to go. Have all their log ins and passwords readily at hand, have their email set up, and make sure they get started on any training videos, Health & Safety training, and have all the paperwork required to start any applicable benefit or employee programs.
3) Lunch out- We always try and treat our new employees to lunch on their 1st day. One of the members of our management team leaves the office with the new associate and treats them to lunch. It’s a time to get to know the new employee, have them ask any lingering questions that may not have been answered and it’s a nice way to welcome them to the team.
4) Staff or Team Meeting- Be sure to have them attend a staff or team meeting during their 1st week. This is a great opportunity to have them meet other members of their team and learn about some of the ongoing projects and responsibilities they will be taking on. When we have a new member join our meeting for the first time, each of us introduces ourselves and informs the new associate of what our role is in the company.
5) Be Available- this is key! Be available to the new associate and be ready to answer any questions they may have as their start their new role. You want them to feel as welcome and supported as possible.
Your new employees are the future of your company, provide them with information, give them training and be available for them during their first few weeks with you and your company.
Vanessa Burns is the Director of Business Development at Lucas Professional Search Group. She ensures all new clients are transitioned over to the recruitment team, she is the co-founder of the Emerging Leaders network in Windsor, ON and is an active member of the Windsor Roseland Rotary Club.