How to Welcome New Employees

The first impression often makes the best impression, so it makes sense that welcoming new employees with open arms can be very beneficial. It’s common for people to experience first-day jitters upon starting a new job, and it can be overwhelming to absorb the full information inside the span of a first workday.

As a business owner or manager, place yourself in their position. What would you like to see in your current company culture? In addition, draw from a time when you were green to a new experience. What would you have done differently than old bosses?

The Welcome Wagon

At the start of the workday, greet new staff members at the door and show them around before they head to their workspace. For example, you may have different departments working together in one office. Provide a simple meet-and-greet so new employees can familiarize themselves with staff, structure, and teammates. Looking for more ways to get your team acquainted? Check out this article by Buzztime for team building ideas.

In addition to having the materials and resources required for the position, it also helps to have their workspace spruced up for the occasion. In an office environment, this could include things like a welcome sign or free swag such as company-branded pens, totes, and notepads. For jobs related to manufacturing and industrial worksites, a personally customized high-visibility safety vest can be a great way to say hello.

Training Tips

It’s best to smooth over any uncertainties in the very beginning by providing a clear idea of how the company operates, and what will be needed from new employees. An informative training session should encompass the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Some information is wholly concrete, while other information is likely to be more hypothetical.

Lay out the tangible ground rules for best practices first, then use the remaining time tending to hypotheticals as they arise. Focusing on “what if” can be an unnecessary time-waster during training, and most employees will have to face the workday before reaching a full understanding of the duties required.

Create a Balance

Don’t forget about your existing employees when welcoming new staff members, too. Before the new members arrive, have a plan in place for how their workload will be handled during orientation and training. Demanding on too much from too few employees can lead to some disgruntled faces, and new employees may fear that there is a problem inside the company. That’s not a very good first impression!

Keep both new and existing staff happy by working together to strike a balance between workloads as new members are still getting their feet wet. Don’t forget to show your appreciation for the extra effort put forth by existing employees by acknowledging their work and thanking them. There are many ways to say thank you, like a nice greeting card or a free lunch outing.

When you happily embrace new employees, new employees will reciprocate by putting in the hard work needed to keep the business running smoothly. At the end of the first day or week, follow up to see how things are going, then answer questions and make simple adjustments as needed.

For information about how Prudential Overall Supply can assist with new employee work uniforms and apparel, contact us at (800) 767-5536.