Introducing New Employees To The Company

People come and go, and eventually, you’re going to have a new staff that will require some time before the employee can be accustomed to the company culture. In the eyes of an applicant, getting in on a new job is stressful, being submerged to a new and unfamiliar culture, wondering whether or not he can prove himself to the management.

The first few weeks in a new company is critical in deciding whether or not he will get accustomed to his work. You, as the business owner or manager, have a critical role in helping him get through this early period with your company. Here are a few tips on how to introduce your new employee to the team:

1. Be clear with your company’s recruitment procedures. Training and regularization are most of the time not mentioned in the job ad; the applicant just learns about it when he is already accepted in the company. Most applicants are already too rattled by the screening process to ask about this, so take it upon yourself to inform him what happens next in the event that he is accepted.

2. Make sure that your newly hire knows what his status is in the company. Is he a trainee or a regular employee? If trainee, what is required from him to become a regular? How long is the training procedure? What are the tasks and documents he needs to furnish in order to be elevated to a regular position?

3. Prepare his workspace. This is something that you are supposed to have done right after the position was vacated or made, but before showing your new employee his work desk, make sure that the remnants from the previous employee have been removed, and the place is ready for occupancy. Just as how your new employee is trying to make a good impression that you have made the right choice in hiring him, you also need to make a good impression that he has made the right choice in applying to your company.

4. Provide a copy of the company policies. If you don’t have a company manual, then it would do best to communicate to him what he needs to know in your day to day operation such as what time he will have his break, if there are any dress code for companies who don’t have uniforms, what time he will end his work, is there work during the holidays, what and when are leaves available, and more.

5. Prepare definite and easily understandable instructions. Every company has its own unique system and tasks. A secretary in office A might be someone who acts as a receptionist in the front desk, while a secretary in office B might be someone who is in charge of inventory management. You will also have a unique take on one function. In order to properly acquaint your new employee with his life in your office, make sure that you provide him with the specifics in his daily responsibilities, and not rely on the job title you gave.

In giving his tasks, see to it that you communicate them in the most understandable manner — in a way that cannot be easily misunderstood. By “answering client inquiries through phone calls” does it also mean he holds the account for that client, or does he have to forward it to someone else if it is not an inquiry? By maintenance crew, do you mean he must repair the tech equipment, or is his work strictly limited to maintaining the office space itself?

6. Offer a partner/mentor. Last but easily the most effective way in introducing your new employee to the company and its culture is to find him a mentor/buddy that can show him the ropes, and let him tag along with the rest of the team. Just make sure you pick a person that you think is the most accommodating and will not provide any bad influences. You don’t want to pair your newly hired to your problem employees.

As a manager, you won’t get the time to personally train and acquaint your newly hire into everything regarding the office and his functions. By offering a mentor, you are not only allowing someone who is closer to the company culture guide him, but also giving him his first friend in the company.

Creating an effective team starts by giving effective office orientation. Allow new employees to ask questions so they can understand what you want them to do fast.

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin, C-4, Sunday, August 27, 2017. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.