3 Tips to Help a New Employee’s First Day Run Smoothly

Since the country has begun to get back to normality after the various lockdowns, many people are now looking for new, or additional, employment. On top of this, businesses may be in a better position to reconsider the expansion of their existing teams. Once you have gone through the recruitment processes and picked a suitable candidate for the role, you may want to consider how to start their experience within your team. By utilising their first day as both a means of educating them about how to carry out their role, as well as helping them to integrate within the team, you can expedite the process in which they are able to work independently, as well as to find career satisfaction.

Onboarding Software

Using employee onboarding software for new hires can be a great way of ensuring that you have their information, including payroll records, as well as confirmed completion of any initial staff training. Something as simple as workplace health and safety information can be viewed and signed off by the new employee, allowing you to keep this information on a digital system, and removing the need for them to need to gain access to numerous amounts of paperwork. This can also be a much quicker process, meaning that their first day doesn’t need to simply consist of filling out the required information.

Teambuilding Activities

Even the most confident of new employees may feel a little wary setting foot in a new workplace for the first time. While the rest of your team have likely had time to build up their working relationships, the new employee may not know anyone at the company. Having small team building activities, or even a welcome lunch, can help them to get to know their new colleagues, and take away some of the pressure of first-day jitters. Even if your team plans to work remotely, hosting these activities via video conferencing can help new team members to put names to faces and feel more included.

Feedback

Keeping communication open with your new recruit can also be a good way to help them to adjust to their new workplace, as well as to see what you, as an employer or manager, could do to make that process a bit easier for future new hires. By asking the employee periodically, throughout the day, how they are getting on, as well as for constructive criticism on your current onboarding methodology, you might be able to continue improving the ways in which you induct new hires, saving yourself work as well making the experience more enjoyable for all.

Looking into ways to improve that first day, as well as all those that follow, not only can ease the pressure on both employees and managerial staff, but can also help with employee retention in the long run. By showing yourself as an employer who genuinely cares about the workplace satisfaction of its team, you may find that your company as seen as one that people aim to work for.