The Art of Welcoming a New Employee
Publié le 3 December 2018
You have finally found your one-in-a-million employee! After all your efforts throughout the recruiting and selection process, you want this new employee to succeed in their job and hopefully, stay in your team for years, right? It is here that your reception and integration process plays a crucial role. However, most employers don’t see proper on-boarding protocols as being a priority and not worth investing in. One thing that shouldn’t be overlooked is that the quality of reception that a new hire receives has a direct impact on their successful integration, performance, and job satisfaction all of which are critical in employee retention.
1.Get Ready to Welcome Your New Employee
Think of it this way, when you are invited to an evening event, you expect that when you arrive all the necessary preparations for your arrival have been made, the same thing can be said for a new employee arriving for their first day on the job. They must feel that they are welcome and the company is happy to have them among the members of its team.
The first thing that should be done when welcoming a new employee is to ensure that their work environment is all set up. More specifically, it is imperative that you ensure that all the necessary documents, tools and equipment that they require are provided for them. For example, things like employee handbooks, technical guides, setting up their corporate account, putting their name on their office door/desk amongst other things are all important things that must be taken in to account.
Next, you have to add some warmth to the status quo, here are some suggestions:
- Before they arrive, announce to the team that they will be having a new colleague join the team. You can take this opportunity to give them some insight as to who they will be working with by providing a brief summary of their career.
- Send the new employee a welcome email.
- Plan a gift. For example, a card containing a short message from each member of the team, a plant or even a cool beautiful coffee cup. There are many free welcoming eCards available online that you can use for this purpose.
- Host a lunch to allow the employee to meet their new colleagues in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
2.The Art of Welcoming a New Employee
Today’s D-Day, the first official work day of the new hire. It is imperative that you make an awesome first impression as you will not be given a second chance! The goal here is to have your employee believe that they made the right choice in accepting the position offered by your company.
It’s important to remember that the new hire may feel a certain level of anxiety and that’s completely understandable as they find themselves in an unfamiliar environment and are experiencing a degree of uncertainty as they think about the challenges ahead. This is where you come in: a great way to ease them in to their new environment is by setting up a personalized program that both serves to guide them through their day to day activities by providing them structure as well act as a resource to refer to if they have any questions. What can you do to get there? Here are some tips:
- Start with a visit of the office, including the staff room, changing room and kitchen.
- Introduce your recruit to each member of the team, briefly stating their role within the company.
- Next, take some time for a one on one meeting with the employee to draw a portrait of the company’s overall structure, corporate objectives, projects and the type clientele served.
- At this meeting, it’s also a good idea to hand them the employee manual and, in particular, the expected behaviors, schedule, breaks, code of ethics, dress code, etc..
- Nominate a senior employee in their department to act as their mentor to accompany the person throughout the on-boarding process. This can last a few weeks, or even several months, depending on the needs. The mentor will act as a trainer for the new employee. They must be available to guide the new hire and answer his or her questions, in relation to the informal rules, the functioning of the company and the technical and administrative aspects of the work.
However, you should avoid providing the new hire with too much information during their first days. It is best to establish and follow an plan that provides them with guidance over a sufficient period of time in order to allow the employee to successfully integrate into their no new role.
3.The Importance of Follow-ups
Do you think you have an excellent integration process? What does your new employee think? After a few weeks, I recommend you to set a follow-up meeting with him/her. You can then evaluate his/her satisfaction, get his/her comments and answer his/her questions. It is also an opportunity to discuss the employee’s growth is better according his/her duties and responsabilities. In order to prepare the meeting, get feedback from mentor. Your respective assessments will allow you to take stock of strengths and identify the training needs of the employee. It is important to remember that a first day of work can make a big difference in the employee’s experience and have a significant impact on the employee’s sense of accomplishment and desire to contribute to the success of your business. It is therefore a paying investment! To begin your reflection, remember your first day of work. This is a good starting point for planning your hosting and integration process, don’t you think?
Karine Boutin, Employment Conselor
