A great onboarding process will boost team-work, culture, proactivity, output and your employer brand (amongst other things). So make sure you get it right!

1. 10 Tips For Successfully
Onboarding A New Employee

2. 1. Warn your staff

3. There is nothing worse than
showing up to a new workplace and
being greeted by confused, blank
faces…
“Umm – who are you? Can I help
you?”

4. It’s just REALLY awkward and will
certainly not help a new starter to
feel valued.

5. Communicate with your staff, get
them excited about the new arrival
and they’re bound to give them a
more warm welcome.

6. 2. Be prepared.

7. You should have everything up and ready
for your new starter from the moment
they walk through the door.
That includes:
• Any documents they may need to fill out.
• A computer, workspace and stationery.
• Logins, passwords and software.

8. If they show up and you’re not ready
for them, they’re bound to feel
undervalued and you’re going to come
across unorganised and lazy.

9. 3. Let them start late.

10. I personally always advise you to let
new starters come in a little late on
their first day.

11. Firstly, it gives YOU a chance to
prepare; you don’t want them waiting
around while you check your emails,
catch up with staff and prepare
yourself for the induction.

12. It will also limit those awkward “early”
moments.
New starters will probably show up
early; you don’t want them to have to
sit around for you, awkwardly
wondering what to do, where to go and
who to speak to.

13. 4. Use “The Buddy System.”

14. This may sound childish, but
nominating a buddy for your newbie is
a great way to ensure they stay happy
and on track.

15. The buddy will be there to answer any
questions and reveal all the written
rules, like dress code and lunch times,
as well as, unwritten ones, like brew
rounds and what NOT to cook in the
microwave!

16. I would recommend you choose a
buddy of a similar seniority, personality
and possibly even age to your newbie;
they’re more likely to get on and there
won’t be any awkward hierarchical
issues.

17. 5. Introduce everyone.

18. Especially in a bigger business, it’s
important to introduce a newbie to the
WHOLE team.
It will help to remove those awkward
“who are you again?”
moments that we mentioned earlier.

19. 6. Do “lunch.”

20. On your new starter’s first day, don’t let
them lunch alone!
Either ask someone in your team to
take them out (their buddy) or put on a
team lunch

21. This will give a better impression of
your company’s friendly, sociable
culture
(as opposed to a solitary, silent lunch
break)
and will give your new employee a
chance to get to know the team better.

22. 7. Keep them busy!

23. You absolutely MUST keep your new
starter busy, during their first week.

24. There’s nothing worse than having to
chase down a new boss because you’ve
already finished all of your work and
have just been sitting around for the
last half an hour
(while they were in a meeting).

25. It makes new starters feel awkward and
nervous
(that they’re going to be seen as lazy).
If anything, plan too much for your new
starter, from inductions and health and
safety talks, to getting stuck in with
their work and training – but do make
sure it’s meaningful activity.

26. 8. Do an end-of-week review.

27. Feedback is SO important to a new
starter.
There will be a million thoughts
running through their head and they’ll
definitely want to know whether you
think they’re doing ok and settling in.

28. Be positive with your feedback;
remember, it’s a lot to take in and your
employee isn’t going to be perfect from
day one.

29. 9. Friday night beverages!

30. To end the week on a great note, invite
your new starter out for drinks/ a
celebration of some kind.
You could even shut up the office early
(if you can) and show them how fun your
office really.
(This is a great little perk, if you’re
interested in engaging your whole team!)

31. 10. Write up a formal Induction
Programme.

32. The tips we’ve mentioned in this
SlideShare are all about making your
new employee feel welcome and as
part of the team and should always go
hand-in-hand with a formal induction
programme.

33. Your formal induction programme will
include things like…
• Welcome packs, health and safety
documentation and training.
• Signing of contracts, reading the
employee handbook etc.
• Formal discussions about expectations,
performance metrics and reviews.
• On-the-job training.

34. Make sure you don’t overwhelm new
starters on their first day, bombarding
them with boring documentation; get
them to do the necessities and then
break the day up with more interesting
tasks.

35. Of course, don’t just stop caring when
a “newcomer” becomes an “old
hack.” You need to make sure your
employees are engaged all the time
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