The first day sets the course for future success.
Do you remember your first day at your job? Do you remember how excited you were? You arrived at the front of the building and thought about the possibilities ahead.
Then you wonder — where the heck do I go? Right?
How many of us have been excited to start a new job but have no idea where to start?
Did you get an email giving you instructions for the first day? Did you have somebody greet you at the front desk, or if you are virtual did somebody call to chat first thing in the morning? Did you get a tour? Or an overview of the company?
It is surprising, but all too often I have met leaders who are concerned about team performance or engagement but also do not have an onboarding plan.
They invest months of time in finding the right employee. They read 100’s of resumes, interview 10, 20, or even 30 candidates. They invite the final candidates in person, and host full-day interview schedules with their teams.
Then on day one, the new hire arrives, and there is no plan. Sometimes no workstation. No computer. No phone. It is clear to the candidate you are not prepared. And you have clearly signaled that you do not care about their success. After weeks or months of time invested to hire the right candidate, they are disengaged on day one.
Preparing an On-Boarding Plan
Instead, as managers and HR leaders you can invest a few hours of your time to map out an onboarding schedule.
This does not need to be complicated. You simply need a few things:
1) Getting them Set up Before the First Day. You will want to order their equipment. Set up access to programs and shared folders. Do they need a credit card? What about a cell phone? Did you set up their email and calendar, so you can start to book an onboarding schedule? If they are virtual, did you make a plan on how to get them their tools?
2) Set Time for Them to Meet the Team. This should be a mix of 1-on-1 meetings and group meetings. This enables people to meet who they work with and learn what each team member is responsible for. This will help them navigate and work with others as they get up to speed.
If they are in the office on their first day – make sure one of these meetings is scheduled over lunch. Nothing is worse than trying to find the cafe alone or the best local spot to order from. If you really want to make somebody feel welcome, you can set up lunch with a co-worker each day during the first week. This gives them informal time to connect, build relationships, and share their work. It does not require much time from you, simply ask each team member to set up lunch at their favorite local lunch place. It is a team-building activity and onboarding all in one!
3) Meet with their leader. This meeting should be their first meeting. It should include a tour if appropriate. Then an overview of the company, the team, strategy, and how their role fits in. This is where you can also set the expectation for them to outline draft 30–60–90-day goals. You will obviously help them hone these goals, but giving them the first pass after their onboarding process allows you to gauge their understanding of how their role will support team success. This meeting may be the most important 2-4 hours you will spend with your new team member. It is an investment up front, but this half day will give them context for the rest of their meetings.
4) Assign a Mentor or Buddy. Questions will come up. Assigning a mentor or a buddy gives each new employee a person to go to with questions. As the new person, you don’t want to have to ask your boss where the pens are or how to find the intranet.
5) Set up Cross-Functional meetings. Make sure each new team member meets with HR to review all needed paperwork and policies. Also, so they can get answers to their questions. How to request time off, when their first paycheck will arrive. Will it be paper or direct deposit? Everybody has these questions so just offer the answers to save them from thinking about them on their first day. Then IT to ensure they know how to access the system, log into their email, etc.
Learn More
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