5 Amazing Ways To Welcome A New Employee

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Employee recruitment and retention strategies have gained a lot of significance over the years. It no more only depends on the employees to make their mark and struggle with maintaining their position at the company. Instead, today even the organizations are under the immense pressure of hiring the right employee and more so retaining them over a longer duration.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, three million employees have left their job voluntarily every month since June 2017. There are numerous reasons why employees may experience dissatisfaction at their workplace. Some of the reasons research has proven to have played an important role in employee churn rate include career advancement or promotional opportunities (32%), pay/benefits (22%), lack of fit to job (20.2%), management or the general work environment (17%), flexibility/scheduling (8%) and last but not the least, job security (2%).

The transition period into a new role can be stressful and challenging. This is why along with focusing on the routine employee onboarding tasks such as required paperwork, staff introduction, and office tours, helping new employees feel welcome can have lasting results. After all, an organization only has one chance to make a good first impression, right?

Here are some tips so that your organization can have a great start to a new employment relationship.

Have a welcome strategy in place

Everyone, from management to those who are directly involved with a new hire can play a great role in helping new hires feel welcome. You can use questions such as “What was it like for you on your first day and week?” and “What could others have done to make you feel more comfortable, accepted, and appreciated?” to get your team started on a brainstorming session and come up with ideas.

According to Trevor McGlochlin, a Research Analyst at Select International, as soon as an offer is accepted by an employee, the welcome party should be unleashed. The organization should not wait until just before the start date to begin the welcoming process.

Assign a company mentor

In essence, most of the factors cited for employee cross over can be influenced or controlled by the management itself. This shows how managements and organizations can play a critical role in employee retention as well as engagement just by improving their approach towards onboarding, professional development, guidance as well as providing the optimum work environment.

You can start by assigning a coach or a mentor. Did you know that 80% of learning takes place between mentors and mentees?
You can also involve your current staff in the process through a mentorship system between veteran and rookie team members. More experienced persons can offer guidance and insight while both parties can benefit from the relational connection.

Go out for lunch

Managers have a considerable impact on staff engagement and morale. In fact, according to Gallup research, managers account for 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores. Getting that relationship right at the start can go a long way and it can begin at lunch.
Why lunch? Founder and CEO of SELECT, Carlo Cisco explains why he always makes a point of having lunch with a new employee on their first day. He finds this act helps put them at ease while providing them an informal atmosphere for questions and excitement. This helps develop a more personal relationship.

Get them a gift

A good way to show your employees that they’ve come to an amazing place is to get them a welcome gift. Receiving a gift on the first day can help employees feel noticed and cared about, especially while adjusting to unfamiliar surroundings. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive; even just a small token or handwritten note can do wonders in alleviating stress for new hires. Plus, a lot can be accomplished just by getting creative.

Take Warby Parker, for example, a retailer for glasses and sunglasses. At Warby Parker, new hires are welcome with Martin’s Pretzels because that is a favorite snack of the company founders. A good tip would be to think of ways to connect your culture, industry, leadership, or city to the gift. GUILD Media Solutions, a creative marketing firm, gives their new hires a personalized, “Essentials Box” with a branded coffee mug and practical office gadgets.

Follow up

Last but not least, it is important to keep a follow-up. A good way would be to get feedback on your welcoming process.

You can do this by setting up a meeting with the new employees at regular intervals. These intervals can be between one week and one year. You may invite their coach, mentor or supervisor and take their opinion on what worked and what did not the company values and culture and ask for first impressions that they had had during the first week.
This will help review your onboarding process which is very important to ensure continuous improvement at your workplace.

Tell us about your first day at work experience. What would you do to make other employees feel more welcomed? Let us know in the comments below.

Fred Wilson
15+ years of experience working with Agile teams. I write about what inspires me, explore how great Agile teams perform, and avidly read about tech that has the potential to disrupt.

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