3 Must Do Tips for On-boarding a New Employee

Induction? On-boarding?…. These strange concepts generally refer to making people feel comfortable in your business when they are still very green. I believe we should always surround ourselves with great, like-minded people in our business. People who believe what we believe, people who will go the extra mile and help your business succeed. But what do we do when we find them and secured them as employees? What’s the next step?

That’s where our friend on-boarding comes in. We often find ourselves quite excited about our recent recruit and want to get them working as soon as possible so they can start achieving all the things they said they can achieve. But this can be where we all drop the ball….

People need to feel included and somewhat liked and what better way to do that than ensuring they are catered for and all stations are ready for their arrival. I’m not saying we should throw a huge celebration showing off our new recruit. I am simply very passionate about making sure people have all the necessary tools and information to complete their job efficiently and effectively.

Some key ways we can achieve this

1: Preparation. Sounds simple enough but this first step is crucial. Plan as much as you can. Think about where they will sit, what they will need, who they will need to speak to, where will they park their car, do they need a security tag? And so on… First impressions count so make the time!

2: Introductions. Make sure you introduce the new person to all key members of staff and to the business in general. Remember their research and the interview is their only source of info on exactly what your business is about. Make them feel included; don’t hold back information because ‘it’s on a need to know basis’.

3: Handing over to top performers. Once you have the formalities out of the way introduce the new employee to one of your top employees (this person has had prior notice) and let them show him/her around. These top performers have already adopted your culture, your work ethic and your passion as a business and who better to pass it on. The new employee will quickly pick up what needs to be done to succeed and the minimum standard you require. Let them field the questions of how things work around the office. Now, if your new recruit is as good as you thought they were then they will be off to a flyer!

Now this won’t fit every business and is not an exact science but if you invest the time here you will see the rewards. People often say they don’t have time or they are too busy but its not a real excuse in my opinion. I am a firm believer that information is a powerful tool and if you can give any new starter all the necessary information and tools to get the job done, you can expect results.  Finding out later that the bathroom on the left is ladies only will leave you asking ‘’I wish someone had told me before’’