When someone new arrives at the office, the first thought that goes through everyone’s mind will either fall under the “who is this” category or the “how well can I work with this person” camp.
An everyday office unit can be hard to penetrate, especially if it is a highly organised and closely-knitted one, where everyone works together as a single corporate organism. Take a moment to step into the newbie’s shoes, and understand what is considered appropriate (and inappropriate) when it comes to welcoming another.
DO's
Do take time to “break the ice” and find out more about them. There is nothing more uplifting than the feeling of being accepted and acknowledged by others, especially during the first week. Take this time to also assert who has the potential for growth in the company. Invite the new colleague out with the usual work crew, and as the rules state: the newbie always foots the bill.
Do establish a sense of company culture and/or rules from the start. This is helpful if the company upholds a strong sense of individualistic culture — new colleagues have new ideologies that may or may not add value to the company. It is also easier to fix the ground rules before something happens, and they have to be changed.
DONT's
Don’t confront them directly. Direct confrontations during the first week can seem like a personal attack, or unfriendly warning, to the new colleague. It can also escalate if the newbie retaliates the confrontation with an aggressive front — creating an impression that can be irreversible. This can create a downhill slide of relations in the office, where the primary misunderstanding can never be cleared for a better working relationship.
Don’t spread stories about their personality or personal lifestyle. It is hardly surprising that the newbie is recognised in the same field previously, but avoid using these past impressions to form a present judgement. People constantly change, and it is not fair to benchmark a person by looking back, instead of going forward to create a new impression that is concrete to the person today.
Don’t take advantage of their newbie status in the company. This can backfire very quickly once the newbie catches on, and the tension will never really go away. Sending him/her to get a cup of juice is fine, but getting 10 cups of juice throughout the day is an abuse of power. There is never a restart button once things sour, so instead of trying to take advantage, aim to work together and share the workload.