It is a well documented fact that employees decide whether to stay or go within the first few weeks of joining a company. This is your opportunity to provide the best possible start; enabling your employee to succeed, to become productive as quickly as possible and to assist with their retention.
Before you start
- Think about logisitics; ensure desk set up, phone, name plaque, IT equipment (equipment, email addresses, passwords). Notify all relevant parties of your new joiner (Your team, key stakeholders, senior management and external clients if relevant). Schedule in meet and greet meetings as required.
- Communicate to your new starter what time you expect them to be in on their first day and any other information that may be relevant to them joining such as parking arrangements and dress-code; help them feel comfortable. Everyone experiences that ‘first day at school’ feeling; and as much information as possible helps to rectify the concerns.
Your essential checklist
- Take a copy of their passport/ birth certificate on their first day as it is now a legal requirement to be able to prove the right to work in the UK
- Organise their security pass, business cards if applicable and arrange a time to induct them on health and safety/ evacuations procedures etc
- Ensure that you show them the office facilities; toilets, photocopier/printers
- Make sure that they have email and printer set up, access to the relevant folders, and know how to set up their email signature
- Ensure they become familiar with the company intranet site
- If relevant, show them where the expenses policy is that they are aware of what and how they can claim their expenses
- Meet with your new starter within the first few weeks to set their objectives (Refer to ‘How to set SMART objectives’)
- Set up regular 121s and be clear what your expectations are throughout their first few months.
- Schedule in a meeting after a week, and after a ,to discuss how they are doing, explore any concerns they may have, and rectify them. It is better to conduct a stay interview than an exit interview.