Simple ways to welcome your new employees

I am sure that all of us have full of anticipation and nervous energy one night before the new job commerce. Companies have invested heavily on onboarding programs, but might have missed out on simple aspects that could make a new hire feel welcome

SHARE THEIR PRESENCE

This can be done even before their first day. You could send a company wide email to share about this new person and encourage replies and acknowledge of their presence. You could also bring them around the office to introduce new hires to their new team and colleagues.

COMPANY GIFTS

Your company is your own brand. Little bit of things like a note book, office stationery with your Company logo imprinted on it can make a new hire have a sense of belonging. Your trivial things could also provide more common chattering between the new hire in the current team.

KNOW YOUR VALUES

There’s no better day to share about your company values during their first day. This will help them understand the culture of your company and would also ensure that they are aware of your value, so your incumbent actions would align with the values of the Company.

You could also share your company’s process during this period, and this will allow them to see the big picture and understand how the different departments work.

Mistakes to avoid making on your first day of work

You have just recently changed your employment with another Company. The day before you commence your work, you would get the butterflies and anxiety wondering how your first day of work will be.

You ask yourself if you should just be yourself, or should you be friendly. You pause and then think to yourself what if they think I am overly-friendly? Would they have their own usual lunch gang? You start to worry.

Here are the following tips to making your first impression at work

ASK QUESTIONS

You’ll likely be asking your new colleagues about questions at work instead of their own personal life on your very first day. This would be the most interaction that you would have with your new colleagues. It is most definitely all right to ask questions as jargons could be overwhelming an intimidating. If you are concerned that it will make you look stupid, then you will really end up being stupid because even the most experienced people ask questions – which shows you are curious enough to learn.

Secondly, do not even apologize for asking questions. It will just appear very negative to your colleagues. Instead, you can thank them for their time. This will allow you to start on a good start with your new colleagues for appreciating them.

BEING SITUATIONALLY READY

If you feel you are still too shy to ask too much questions, or if you feel that your colleagues or managers are always unavailable because of their tight schedules, you can ask them to divert you to someone who is more readily available to share information with you, or resources. Therefore, onboarding process is crucial for new hires.

ATTENTION YOUR EMAILS ONLY TO THOSE WHO NEED THEM

One of the most annoying thing is clearing emails, obviously. One email do not have to be copied to everyone. Generally, your emails should only be send to someone who you are expecting a response from. The others in copy of the email are basically kept in the loop but need not respond.

If you are replying emails, keep it short but not too short. You do not need to type paragraphs to convey a message across, but it need not just be “noted” as well. Take your time to understand how your email can value add your colleague’s time.

FORGETTING PEOPLE’S NAME

It is perfectly all right if it’s your first day and you forget people’s name. It will not be all right if it is after a week. Secondly, if people correct you with regards how to address them – it will be good to have an apology although you might be embarrassed. People will appreciate that.

PRETENDING TO KNOW YOU KNOW A LOT AND PROVE YOUR OVER CAPABILITY

If you are tasked to do an assignment, it is all right to ask for guidance. What bothers is when you agree to complete to do the tasks, but has clearly taken the wrong direction to complete the tasks. That will be a waste of everyone’s time.

If you share that you are unsure of how to complete the tasks, it shows you are courageous, honest and able to identify your personal strengths. It is also important you understand your flow of work and understand how your work can affect your colleague’s deliverables as well. It is fundamental for you to understand the rationale and the roots of why you are doing what you are doing.

If you are overloaded, talk to your boss about it and assist them to help you prioritize what is more important to complete. Making mistakes and knowing your limitations will help your colleagues respect you better. If you have made a mistake, it is important you acknowledge it rather than hide from your mistakes. Acknowledge the mistake and keep moving forward.

The Do's and Dont's Of Getting To Know A New Colleague

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.