First impressions are so important. That rings especially true for your business when a new employee arrives for his or her very first day of work.
Take a minute to think about what the typical first day of work is like for a new employee. If you are like a lot of managers and business owners, the new employee might get the standard introductions and tour of the facility, but what happens past that? Does the employee just mindlessly follow other team members around “shadowing” throughout the day while you “figure out” what to do with them or while you take care of your own affairs? If you don’t have a plan in place before your new employee starts their first day, you could be setting them up for failure!
It is important to instill a new employee with the tools necessary to succeed on the job and in your office environment. That process should start on that first day.
How do you conduct an orientation for a new employee? Studies show that this initial orientation is crucial to the success of a new employee as part of a professional team. A well-structured orientation program helps encourage retention of employees and diminishes the chance your new employee will feel confused, alienated, or unconfident about their new job. During the orientation, allow time for questions to be asked. Your new employee (or employees if you hire more than one at a time) may have questions, and orientation is the perfect time to addresses these.
You must make the orientation process of a new employee a priority, no matter how hectic it might be in your office on a given day. Consider providing each new employee with a list of things that should be learned by the end of their first day, then go over that list at the end of the shift. This will make sure that no areas of training have been overlooked. Moreover, completing this list of tasks will help boost the confidence of your employee, and allows you an opportunity to assess how well the new employee performs each task.
The biggest mistake many managers and business owners make is not preparing themselves for their employee’s first day. You, too, must prepare your workday ahead of time. Avoid scheduling meetings or important events on these days if it means you will be taken away from orienting your new employee. Plan ahead so that you know exactly what information will be delivered to the new employee. By being organized yourself, it provides your new employee with a level of expectation for how they should organize their day.
Need help on determining the most effective way to acclimate new employees into your business? Bryant Consultants offers a variety of aids, ranging from seminars to training tools to on-site consultations. Our services can help you realize your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your business. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799.
We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your business so that you can provide exceptional results to your customers. No office is out of reach for us; we will even come to you!
