There are few events more stressful to a new hire than the first day at work. Welcoming a new employee properly can not only reduce their stress, but it can lead to them being more productive.
Let's face it, first impressions are important, so we're sharing a list of 9 ways to make a new hire's first day on the job a success - for both of you!
Nearly every first day starts out with a tour of the facility, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. Don't just point out the water cooler and the copy machine, show your new hire where people get together during breaks, show them a good place to get some quiet thinking done, and give them a sense of what your office is all about. This will help them adjust to their new surroundings right away.
It's not easy being the new hire. Everyone else already knows each other, and new people never feel like part of the group at first. The sooner you can help them assimilate, the sooner they'll feel comfortable and start producing their best work. They're going to have a lot of new names and faces thrown at them on that first day, so create multiple opportunities to get to know everyone.
Give your new hire a clean, stocked, and organized place to work right from the start. They'll appreciate it, and they'll feel like they can start being productive right off the bat. Give them everything they'll need to get started, and show them where they can get more supplies if needed.
Start small, but give your new hire some tasks to get moving on right away. Your new hire wants to demonstrate their value to the company, so let them! Give them a light workload the first week, and run through a general plan for the first month or so. When they go home that night they'll not only feel like they accomplished something, but they'll have an opportunity to digest the next few days of work.
You should already be working to make your office feel like a community, and the sooner your new hire feels like a part of it the better. Don't forget to give them an email list, and invite them to join the company's social media and networking groups. It's also a good idea to make sure you new hire is invited to any upcoming company gatherings, and added to any Slack channels or similar team collaboration environments. All of this helps to showcase and feed your company culture.
This is one of the best things you can do for a new hire on their first day of work. Not only do you get a chance to chat outside of the work-environment, but people love free food. It also helps to show them some of the local lunch options. Most important, let them know ahead of time so they don't waste time worrying about what or where they're going to eat.