Hiring new people can be beneficial for any company, as new talent can bring different experiences and knowledge to the table. On the other hand, every new employee needs some time to adapt to a new work environment. Whether you’re a small company with only a few employees or a multinational corporation with hundreds of workers, there are 6 important things to do when you have new hires in your company.
1. Onboarding Technology
Onboarding is a process that helps new employees adapt to their new work environment. It can include an explanation of the company’s values, an overview of daily tasks, instructions on how to use particular software or tools, etc.
It’s usually the job of Human Resources to provide onboarding training. However, regardless of if they are going to work on their own or in a small team, it’s a good idea for new employees to go through self-onboarding software online in order to catch up to everything quicker. A lot of business owners have found that this makes integrating new people into the team much easier.
While the HR team or their team manager is still responsible for training them, the software makes everything easier to navigate, and directions become more clear because of it.
2. Set Clear Goals
New hires are not expected to perform at 100% in their first few weeks or months with a company.
This is why it’s important to set goals specific to them. Make sure that the goals you set are achievable and challenging at the same time, so new employees can learn as much as possible in a short period of time. If you expect them to do as much as a more experienced person, they might get discouraged and feel undervalued.
By creating personalized goals, you show that the company cares about them even though they are new to your team, and you will be able to follow their progress more easily since you will know exactly where they are in their development.
3. Provide Ongoing Feedback
Even if everything is going smoothly, it’s still important to give your new employees feedback regularly – preferably on a weekly basis.
It doesn’t have to be an in-depth talk every time, but make sure that they know what they are doing good and where they could improve. You need to make sure that new employees stay motivated, and getting feedback is great for that. Regular feedback will help new employees learn faster, hopefully, become more comfortable with the work they are doing, and grow into full-time team members.
Being a mentor is an extremely rewarding experience, especially if your mentees are just starting out in their careers. Taking on that role for new hires also increases the chance that they’ll stay with your company for a long time.
4. Part Of The Team
A cohesive team that works together is often much more productive than a group of people who barely know each other’s names. Although it might be difficult to integrate new hires into an existing team, there are certain things you can do to make them feel valued and appreciated by the rest of the company.
The first and most important step is getting to know each other, especially if you work in a team that handles client accounts or deals with customers every single day. One-to-one lunches, group activities like bowling nights, or after-work drinks can help everyone get to know each other better.
Besides being more approachable to other team members, new employees will feel part of the group much faster if you make the effort to learn their personalities and interests. This creates a professional yet casual atmosphere where everyone can be themselves which helps ease stress at work.
5. Set Boundaries
Every employer has their own expectations of what employees can or cannot do outside of work. It’s important to make sure that you communicate those boundaries to new hires. While having a pleasant and friendly work environment is great for any business as it can make people value their jobs more, it’s also important to set boundaries. Making it clear what is and isn’t acceptable in your company may seem unnecessary in the beginning, but it’ll save you from a lot of trouble later on.
It’s also important to make it clear that work needs to be done during work hours even if employees are part of a fun team. Not all new hires will understand that at first, especially if they’re accustomed to working in more casual environments, but it’s important to make sure everyone stays productive during their shifts.
6. Give Them The Necessary Tools
Another important step to take when hiring new employees is making sure they have everything they need for the job. From software and hardware to office supplies or specific clothing, make sure you go over everything with your new hires and provide them with what they need the first day on the job.
This will help them focus on work, not be distracted by figuring out what they need or where to get it. Providing them with the right tools to do their job will also save you time that you’d have to spend training them how to use everything – especially if your office uses specific systems and software.
Keep in mind that they might make mistakes at first, and take a while to learn how to use more complicated programs if they’re unfamiliar with them, but that’s all part of the learning process. It might be a good idea to let them know that they should feel free to ask questions about anything they don’t understand and encourage them to do so.
Whether you’re hiring someone to be a new member of your team or an intern for your company, it’s important to keep certain things in mind. From providing regular feedback and mentoring to telling new employees what is and isn’t acceptable in your company, these are all great ways to make sure they stay productive and happy while working for you.
An employee that feels valued and stimulated is more likely to stay with you for a long time, which is why it’s important to make them feel included in your company culture. Make sure you take the time to get to know new hires on a personal level and hone their skills so they can perform well at their jobs.
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