When a new employee starts at your place of work, it’s a massive day for them, and it could be significant for many firsts.

Not only is it their first day at this company, but it could be their first day of a whole new career, it could be their first day in their first-ever job, it could be their first job in a new country or location, their first day back to work after having children, there are a number of reasons why anyone is starting a new job so it’s important to remember what a big day this is for them and what you can do to help them, welcome and ease them in. 

Start Before They Start

You can start welcoming your new recruit before they even set foot through your front door. First off, connect with them on LinkedIn, as you’re going to be working together closely, let them into your professional network. When you request to connect, include a nice note along the lines of: ‘Hey, I just wanted to say I’m really excited to work with you and can’t wait to reconnect in person!‘ Or ‘Welcome to the team! We’re all thrilled to have you join us.’

Also, for you, you probably have a load of questions for your new employee or a load of ideas and opportunities, so rather than forget everything, start a document to jot down anything that comes to mind. You may find you won’t need or want to address them when the person starts, but having them on paper will make you feel confident you’ve covered everything.

Create an Onboarding Document

This is probably the most important step to take whenever you hire someone new, as this document can be like their bible for the first couple of weeks.

Make sure it includes their goals for the next 30, 60, and 90 days, an outline of the tasks you expect them to own or take over, any relevant documents, links, calendars, or logins they’ll need, any meetings they’re expected to attend in their first few weeks or regularly, names, contact information, and background of team members and colleagues they’ll be working with.

It’s also a good idea to give them a map of where everyone sits with their photos on as this can be a lifesaver when they’re learning names. 

Send Them An Email

Sending an email before they start to convey how happy you are that they’re joining the team will make them that much more excited for their next adventure. It can cover some important stuff, too.

You want to welcome them to the team, but you can also use that note to confirm their official arrival date and time, discuss company dress code or culture, request any relevant documents like their passport or ID, or even provide an outline of their first-day schedule. Of course, you should always end by letting them know that you’re happy to answer any questions they have before they start.

Organize Their Desk Space

This may require some IT help, but make sure everything technical is sorted; there’s nothing worse than starting your new job and sitting for an hour waiting for a computer or email address to be set up. Getting this done now saves you from spending even more time on day one figuring out how to turn your new recruit’s laptop on.

Make sure the computer is ready for them and that it’s charged and updated. Make sure their email account is set up, and if you use an internal chat system or other important programs, then get these ready too so they can start working right away.

• Is their desk space clean and empty?

• Are you sure you’ve moved out everything belonging to the last person who sat there?

• Is there any other equipment—a keyboard, mouse, USB, extra monitor, extension cord, or filing cabinet—they may need that you can provide?

This is most likely your new employee’s first stop when they arrive, so make it a welcoming space and even get them a welcome pack, not with just the boring onboarding document, but how about getting them their own personal mug to use for tea or coffee, or a dynamic gift with some company branding, a notebook and pen, their favorite snack, and even a card signed by the team to welcome them.

Send Over Any Relevant Documents

These may be included in your email before they start, but it also makes sense to share any documents you want them to review beforehand in an email to their new work email address. Give your new employee some context so they know why you’re sharing these documents, what they mean for their role when you expect them to look them over, and if they need to prepare anything.

Find Them An Office Mentor

If you don’t already have a buddy system, maybe you should think about setting one up. Pairing up the newbie with someone from another team that they can go and grab coffee within their first week to talk about the company culture and mingle outside the office can be a nice thing for them to so.

It’s nice to put them with someone they may not work with directly, or someone in a completely different department as this expands their circles and makes it quicker and easier to get to know everyone and have other people know them and understand what they do. 

Schedule a Team Outing

It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, just coffee, lunch or drinks will do the trick. It just gives everyone a chance to meet outside of the office and breaks the ice a bit. 

Announce Their Arrival

There are many ways for you to announce your new hire, so why not do them all? A quick email to the whole company, including all the relevant information, such as employee job designation and title, their name an a little bit about them will do the trick.

Then you could also announce your new starter in your newsletter and then finally get it out on social media too so that all your customers and clients can see you’re hiring and expanding.

Put their photo on there with a bit about them, and whatever social media platforms you have, put it on there. Even though the employee may feel embarrassed by this, they’ll also feel a bit special too.

© New To HR