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    Create a welcoming start for lasting success

    A good first impression is a good first step toward creating long-term loyalty and retention. Since effective onboarding is about making people feel welcome, appreciated and comfortable, you might want to ask yourself a few questions. How welcoming is your organization’s culture? What are you doing to ensure long-term success for new employees? What’s your new hire experience plan?

    To help you get started, take a look at our tips on how to create a positive Workplace Culture or consider these action steps:

    1. Beforehand: Get ready, set
      1. Taking certain steps before new employees start can make a big difference in how they feel their first days on the job:
      2. Before Day 1, mail company swag to the new employee's home. That step can make them feel valued even before they set foot in the building, along with pumping them up to start working. 
      3. Make sure they have the right tools and equipment on Day 1
      4. Let coworkers know when someone new is starting and explain their responsibilities
      5. Consider who to involve in the person’s orientation and training
      6. Set up welcome lunches during the first few days

      7. Ask a colleague to serve as a friendly “work buddy” to answer any questions that arise 

         

    2. Day of: Paint the big picture

      1. Orientations often include a blizzard of information ranging from vision, mission and values to benefits, policies and procedures. But sometimes they miss the most important stuff. Consider talking about:
      2. Your organization’s culture—what makes it a great place to work and how they can get involved, including any activities or groups they can join
      3. Fellow co-workers and teams—talk about the team and consider adding photos to names and titles. Provide an organizational chart to learn names and understand structure
      4. Provide them with a social media toolkit to have sample language to update their LinkedIn

       

    3. Early and ongoing: Provide clarity and direction
      1. Don’t hesitate to delegate specific, doable tasks right from the start—it helps people feel successful, engaged and excited
      2. Provide clear direction on duties, deadlines and expectations—greater clarity leads to higher productivity
      3. Talk about an employee development plan early on—it will help develop, sharpen and grow needed skills and competencies. Discuss how you define and reward success
      4. Check in on a regular basis to see how new employees are doing, if they have any concerns and if they have creative ideas for improvements
      5. Your customers—try to provide opportunities for employees to understand from customers what really matters, appropriate to your product or service

     

    See more resources to help develop talent: