The selection process is over, and you’ve chosen your final candidate and convinced her to accept your offer. Her first day will take place two weeks from now, so you have 14 days to arrange an onboarding process that’s efficient, smooth and most important, enjoyable for your new employee.
First impressions mean everything, and your new hire’s introduction to her tasks, her teammates and her work station can leave her feeling satisfied with her decision … or counting the days until she can walk out the door. Make sure she’s happy at the start and you’ll pave the way for a long and productive relationship. These moves can help.
Build some hype.
Before she arrives, make sure your existing employees are prepared. They should know her name, her role and at least little bit about her background and accomplishments before her first day. A warm welcome from peers and co-workers can generate memories that last forever. If she gets a few upward glances and a lukewarm “hey” before each new face turns back to a screen, she’ll feel like she’s having a solitary adventure that begins when she chooses and ends when she finds something better. A warm welcome means she’s now part of a team. Consider arranging lunch invitations for her during each of her first five days.
Avoid hassles and hang-ups.
Welcoming a new employee is a bit like planning a party or an event. Be optimistic but think a few steps ahead and anticipate what might go wrong. If she can’t connect to the network, if there’s an HR holdup with her paperwork or if she has to spend the whole morning standing in the lobby while someone scrambles to find her a desk, that doesn’t look very good. Besides, every hour she spends not integrating, learning and working is a loss for the company.
Be clear about your expectations.
You expect great things from your new employee! But what are those things, exactly? And have you given her the resources to deliver them? How long will her training period be? Does she have a schedule in hand that breaks down who, when and how that training will be delivered? Does she have a clear employee handbook that covers regulations and policies she might otherwise not know about? Does she know exactly who to turn to if she has questions? Get these issues settled as early as possible, ideally a few weeks before she walks in the door.
For more on how to provide your employee with a positive and meaningful experience starting on day one, talk to the hiring and onboarding experts at PSU.