How to successfully welcome a new employee ?

Once you’ve finished recruiting and have hired the perfect candidate, your work is far from over. Far from it – in fact, the introduction and orientation of a new employee is an essential step in the hiring process that paves the road for future collaboration. The goal ? Start off on the right foot and make the new recruit feel heavily invested in their new team! Follow our advice to succeed in welcoming a new employee.

Properly welcome each new employee !

Imagine for a moment: you’ve just been hired and you’re looking forward to getting to know the business you’ll be spending most of your time in from now on. Well-rested and ready to work, you report to your boss on your first day on the job. But instead of being warmly welcomed, you’re given a quick overview of the business and the building. Next, you’re briefly introduced to your coworkers (forget about being able to catch their names or getting to know them), and are escorted to your office on the other side of the building. And that’s that. Not the ideal first day, huh? This scenario is more common than you think…

If you don’t want your new employee to be disappointed by a short and hurried welcome, you should welcome them the way you’d like to be welcomed. Keep in mind that a worker correctly integrated into the team will perform better, be more loyal, and will speak more positively of their company !

Ready, Set, Go !

Welcoming a new employee takes preparation. Improvising the day-of is out of the question !

It’s often stressful to come to a new company with new colleagues and tasks. In order for their integration into the workplace to go well, you must, before all else, put your new recruit at ease. Make them feel special.

Organize a small welcome program for a couple hours or over the course of several days. And, of course, let the new recruit know about the plans in advance; this will reassure them of their first day before they even arrive! Thanks to this extended welcome, your new recruit will be able to settle in at their own pace, meet their colleagues, and learn about future projects, the inner-workings of the company, etc. Don’t forget that these things, while intangible, are what make us comfortable at work. So don’t settle for a hackneyed welcome; be different !

Welcome to the team !

Every employee should be on board when welcoming a new person to the workplace. Let them know about the arrival of their new co-worker well in advance.

Here are some ideas to make the first day on the job less stressful and more enjoyable :

  • Bring the whole team into the meeting room with the new recruit. Try to have the manager or CEO there to welcome them personally. In addition to showing the new recruit that their arrival was anticipated, this small, personalized welcome celebration reinforces the cohesion of the team.
  • Next, have everyone informally introduce themselves (name, age, seniority, goals, hobbies, etc.) to help break the ice. The human factor is important; it’s what will weld the team together.
  • Take a picture of the completed team and share it on the company’s social media pages. This small detail reinforces the new recruit’s sense of belonging.
  • Plan a team breakfast, ideally outside of the office.
  • Did something stand out to you when you read their resume or when you interviewed your new recruit ? Add a personal touch to the welcome by adding a thematic decoration to their office !

Welcoming a new employee is the perfect occasion to validate them, integrate them to the company, and gain their loyalty. For that, you need to show them that they were anticipated and put them at ease through organizing a warm and personalized welcome…. the same way you’d do for a customer !

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