You’ve recruited new talent to your office and their start date is fast approaching. It is in the best interests of both the new employee and the business that he or she can settle in quickly. If they can do this, you’ll be up to speed much faster and they will also feel like part of the ‘family’ from the get-go.
Remember, first impressions are everything and if your new employee doesn’t get the right vibe from their first few days in the job, there’s no guarantee they’re going to stick around. Recruitment costs a business a large chunk of cash and time!
With all of this in mind, how can you help a new employee settle into the job quickly and smoothly? Here are a few suggestions.
Keep in touch before their start date
By having regular telephone conversations or email chats, you can ensure that your new employee feels like they are already part of the office furniture before they even arrive. At this point you can let them know about their induction schedule, so there are no major surprises on their first day, and you can also ask them about any preferences or requirements they have with regards to office desking. For example, if your new employee has a disability of any kind, you will need to know the specifics in order to make working life as easy as possible for them.
Inform your employees about the new recruit
When your new employee has accepted the role and they have a start date, it’s a good idea to let the staff they’re going to be working with know about their pending arrival. This doesn’t have to go into a huge amount of detail, simply their name, their role and the start date. This keeps staff up to date with everything that’s going on and it also means they’ll know to be smiley and welcoming on that first day!
Have everything in place for their start date
There is nothing more disruptive than not having office chairs at the ready, not having their work email and log in details set up, and generally looking disorganised and as though you weren’t expecting them! Sleek offices run smoothly because of preparation and awareness, so make sure their work station is ready for their first date, with general IT and security badge arrangements made.
Source: www.yourcareerintel.com/be-a-leader/five-tips-make-new-hire-love-new-workplace
Set up an induction programme
The first day, or first few days, of your new employee’s working life will be spend in induction, and that means finding out about the business, how it all works, the finer details like pay and pensions, and of course, learning the basics of their new role.
By putting together an effective induction programme, you can ensure that they can learn everything they need to know far faster.
Introduce them to everyone informally
There is nothing worse than walking into a large office on your first day and not being introduced to anyone; take that stress away by accompanying your new recruit into the space on their initial morning and introducing them in a chatty and informal way.
This will help to reduce their nerves and help them settle in quicker. You could also gather everything in the breakout area, if you have one, and everyone can have a ten minutes’ get to know each other session, on the breakout stools before work starts properly.
Pair them up with a buddy
Identify someone who you think works in a similar style to your new employee and ask them to be their mentor or work buddy.
This means they have someone directly to go to if they just want to ask something or they want to talk about something work-related. This will certainly smooth out the first few weeks and help to build effective working relationships too.
Have regular catch ups with them in their first few weeks
Whether you work in a large smart office, or you have a small business with just a few desks, it’s important to have regular one on one catch ups with your new employee. This means that he or she can talk to you about anything which is bothering them, they’ll know you care about their progress and it also ensures that open lines of communication are maintained in general.
These are just a few ways to help a new employee settle in quickly and in a seamless manner.
Here at Calibre Office Furniture we always give a warm welcome to our new talent, helping to create a team environment from the very start.