It’s important to invest time in getting new employees up to speed fast, which means that they are able to quickly and efficiently contribute towards the business. It also dramatically reduces the errors made and increases employee retention.
The starting process is to take care of the basic such as documentation, compliance training, office space, support and technology.Most firms do this reasonably well, but the real work begins with integrating the new employee into the business.
Starting a new job is challenging and even the most experienced new employees can struggle as they are unfamiliar with the business, the culture and the systems to name just three. New employees have a lot to learn and may be feeling quite overwhelmed, even when they seem outwardly confident.
A direct manager or the business owner has a vested interest in training their new employee effectively. They need to coach their new employee and check with them regularly and be ready to intervene if things go off-track. This does involve an investment of time and energy but can take the new employee that much further and create a positive outlook which can boost their confidence, their credibility within the firm and increase the likelihood of succeeding in their role.
New employees need to build an effective work relationship with their peers. The arrival of a new employee should be communicated to the whole team prior to the start date to ensure that everybody in the firm knows who the new person is, why they have been hired and the role that they will fulfill.
Once the new employee has joined, a team lunch or social get together is a good investment as it helps to connect the employee with others in the team but in a more relaxed setting.
From the beginning, a manager should explain to the new employee what their expectations are and set some key objectives for the first week, month and quarter. They should be clear on what they need to know, how they should be doing it and the purpose of their role within the context of the wider business.
This will then become part of their Annual or Bi Annual review
As you can see, investing at the very beginning will reward you in the long-term.
