How to Make their First Day Great

You did it, you have gone through the work needed to find a great employee to work in your business. You are relieved to finally fill that open position and get the work done.

Now it’s their first day, you showed them to an area to work (their desk isn’t ready), you had to give them your log-in as you didn’t have a chance to contact IT to get it set up and you gave them a brief explanation on a project. You walked away feeling happy to have the new person starting. However they are feeling like you didn’t expect them, you don’t plan and wondering – who do I ask if I have questions, who else works here and by the way, what time is lunch?

Is this really the impression you wanted to give the new hire that took you hours of your time (and your team) to recruit? I’m going to guess and say “no”.

You may be thinking, that’s ok, we will get it worked out over the next week or so.  That may be true. Here’s what you need to know. A person’s first day and the following 89 days will determine their engagement and how hard they will work for the company. Including how long they will stay with the company. For example – the new employee mentioned above, how long do you think they will stay? A year if you are lucky, more likely is a couple of months. Don’t rely on luck, have a structure for the first day and beyond to increase success.

What should you do? Here’s a brief list:

• Have their workspace ready
• Have a log-in and email address set before they start
• Introduce them to the team
• Have a conversation on expectations
• Plan any and all training that is needed
• Have a “meet the new team member” coffee
• Talk about what they will be doing
• Give them a purpose
• Understand their role in the organization
• Have weekly check-ins
• Assign them a “buddy”
• Take them out to lunch

A great first day means they will show up for day two, three, four, etc. The best way to ensure consistency with each hire is to have a checklist and a program. You may need to make slight adjustments for each position and that’s ok.

Need help determining the best on-boarding for your organization? Let us help you. Contact us at either [email protected] or 773.531.8199.