You’ve reviewed dozens (or hundreds!) of applications. You have done your homework with background screening. And you’ve just hired a great employee. Now comes an aspect of the hiring process that’s often neglected: Onboarding a new hire.
Why is the process of onboarding a new hire so important? Even that first hour a new hire spends at your company can shape the future course for your new staff member. Get it right from the get-go with these three new-hire how-tos:
- Send an electronic welcome packet, which will ease a new hire’s first-day jitters. Don’t email a novel, but do include instructions on where to go, what to wear and who to go to once the new hire walks through the door on day one. If you also distribute a code of conduct to all new hires, you’re more likely to head off future conflicts in the workplace.
- Pair the new employee with a veteran. Once your new employee arrives, pair that person with an existing high-performing employee — someone who understands the company’s mission and culture. New employees will tend to model the attitudes and behaviors of those first company workers with whom they interact.
- Focus on training. Ease a new employee into his or her new job. Take the time now to make sure the employee receives all the necessary training to do his or her job successfully and safely. Set aside time so that the new employee can ask questions.