At the heart of every successful company, you’ll find warm, efficient HR mangers and experienced bosses who know how to get new employees off to a productive start during their first week. Work begins on day one, and so does an employee’s long term relationship with her new company. How you help her navigate the onboarding process can have a lasting impact on both sides of the equation.

Before you begin to focus on specific hires, make sure your company can provide an updated employee manual that contains all general policies and also specific, position related information. In a modern workplace, tasks are increasingly complex and personnel changes happen fast, so it’s becoming nearly impossible for all fundamental employee information to be transmitted by word of mouth. Have a manual ready that supports everything your new hire will be told during the first few days.

Once the new hire arrives, follow these guidelines for a smooth and positive integration period.

1. 
Have her supplies and work area ready and clean. Know exactly where she’ll be placed, make sure her computer is functioning properly, and make sure she knows who to contact for questions about facilities like the copier, phone, and fax machine.  

2. 
In addition to her employee manual and position-specific worksheets and databases, make sure she has a printed schedule for her entire first week on the job. Have scheduled times established for introductory meetings with all of her supervisors and coworkers, and if possible, schedule her participation in meetings related to the projects and accounts she’ll be working on.

3. 
Have all of her necessary new hire materials ready when she arrives. This may include any HR paperwork she hasn’t completed already. It may also include key cards, parking passes, and passwords to all the databases and accounts she’ll need to access in order to begin working. 

4. 
Take responsibility for all introductions. Personally walk the new employee around and introduce her to everyone she’ll be seeing or working with on a regular basis. Assign a manager or peer to invite her out to lunch. Don’t let her navigate first-day lunch plans on her own.

Every aspect of your onboarding process should encourage the new hire to feel warmly welcomed and part of the team. Before you turn a new employee over to her supervisor and coworkers, make sure she’s spent at least a small amount of scheduled time with each one of them. And even after the first few days have passed, stay approachable and maintain an open line of communication so she feels comfortable coming to you with questions or problems. For more onboarding help, contact Merritt and arrange a consultation with our staffing experts.