When someone starts a new job, they want to feel like they’re worth more than a staff email and a quick mention in the company meeting. By giving them a proper welcome, you can help them settle in easier, improve employee engagement and increase your retention rate.
Let everyone know there’s a new starter joining
There’s nothing worse than starting a new job and nobody knowing why you’re there or what you’re doing. “Are you the guy who’s come to fix the air con unit?” is not the ideal greeting you’d want! Make sure everyone knows when they’re starting, what department they’ll be joining and what their job is so there aren’t any surprises when they turn up!
Prepare their workstation
Ensure their workstation is organised, tidy and well equipped before their first day. You should also make sure they are connected to the right printers and their email address is sorted and set up on their machine. Ensure they have access to the correct systems and they have a licence and login for your recruitment CRM. It will save time on their first day, show you’re prepared for a new starter and reflect well on your company.
Give them a starter pack
Following on from the previous point, you could also leave a little starter pack on their desk for when they arrive, filled with anything and everything they’ll need. The essentials would include a company branded pen, notebook and anything else you have with your logo on (if you have them) as well as a handbook filled with all the information they need about the company. You could also include a pack of biscuits, stress ball, water bottle, mints or anything else you can think of!
Let them start a little later
You could let new starters begin their first day a little later to give you a chance to prepare and iron out any problems before they arrive. It might also make them feel more comfortable if they’re not walking straight into a bustling office!
Organise an introduction meeting for every department
If you don’t already do this then it’s definitely something you should incorporate into your welcome strategy. It allows new starters to meet other people in the business, get to know more about processes and learn how they will be communicating and working with other teams. You should also try to organise these short meetings when department managers aren’t too busy to avoid rushing and making the new starter feel like an inconvenience.
Team lunch
What better way is there to welcome someone into your team than taking them out for lunch? It will give you a chance to talk to them informally and get to know them outside of the office in a more relaxed environment. Alternatively, you could invite them for drinks after work if it’s more convenient.
Immerse them in your company culture
If you have a strong company culture like we do, then it is important to try and immerse new starters in it as soon as you can. You could do this by inviting them to your next event whether that’s a team building exercise, charity quiz night or Christmas party so they can start building relationships straight away and feel a part of the company.
Make sure they know the little things
You want to try and make a new starter feel as comfortable as possible when they join so don’t forget to let them know the little but important things. Let them know which printer they should use, how the coffee machine works, what time people normally take lunch, where to stock up on notepads or plastic wallets and where they can go for cigarette breaks.
Keep them busy
Try to keep your new starter busy with an induction programme so they spend less time sat at their desk re-reading your brochure or handbook for hours on end. We ensure anyone who joins itris is occupied with numerous workshops, training, department introductions for the first couple of weeks so they don’t find themselves getting bored.
Every company will be different in the way they welcome new staff, but these nine pointers are a good place to start if you haven’t already got a welcome strategy in place. Don’t forget that the new starter liking you is just as important as you liking them so try to make them feel as welcome and comfortable as possible!
