If you’re looking to create a positive work environment and to take your company to a whole other level entirely, you need a solid workforce behind you.

Not only is it important to make employees feel valued, and to create a positive work environment, it’s also vital that you welcome new employees with open arms, and provide an effortless onboarding process.

New employees will of course feel slightly intimidated when starting a new job and becoming a new team member, which is why as a business owner, it is down to you to make a new employee feel valued and welcome at a new office. We don’t mean that you need to throw them a party or bake a cake on their first day, but you do need to make employees feel welcome at their new job.

Believe it or not, but bringing a new team member onboard can be fairly complex, as you need to strike the right balance between formal and professional. To help make the process easier, we’re going to share some tips on how to make new employees feel welcome.

Here are our top tips on making new hires feel welcome at a new job.

Host a team lunch

One of the best things you can do to make a new hire feel welcome at your business is to host a team lunch.

Hosting a lunch is a great way for everybody to get to know the whole team in a relaxed and formal manner.

A free lunch will allow a new employee to get to know their colleagues, without having to worry about work and being in a corporate environment. It will make them feel welcomed, plus there will also be free food, and who wouldn’t want that, right?

Have a casual chat with them

Before you introduce a new hire to the rest of their colleagues and other workers, it might be a good idea for you to sit down with them and have a casual chat with them.

You can explain their new role and what their first few days are going to entail, before getting to know them.

By talking to them in this manner on their first day, you can get to know them, find out their strengths and possible weaknesses, make them feel welcomed, and explain that as a new employee, there will be multiple opportunities for them if they do decide to commit to the business.

Introduce the new hire to important clients

If your job setting will permit you to do so, another great way to show a new hire how much you value them and appreciate them at your company is to introduce them to important clients. 

By doing this you are showing new hires that they are instantly welcome at your business and that you trust them. One day they will likely be doing business with these important clients, so why not get the introductions out of the way nice and early?

The long term success of your business could one day depend on the relationship your new hires have formed with valued clients so building a strong relationship nice and early is not only good for company culture and morale, it’s just smart business.

Reassure the new employee that necessary training will be provided

No worker wants to be thrown in at the deep end and be given tasks they’ve no idea how to complete. This is why reassurance regarding training is so important.

When you sit down with your new employee, explain what their training includes and who will be providing it for them in the office.

If you wish for them to feel comfortable and to start off on the right foot, it’s important for them to feel relaxed.

Explain that you will provide plenty of training and that if they are unsure about something, they are simply to ask. You could also introduce them to a mentor or the individual who will be providing them with the necessary training.

 Show the new employee where everything is

It sounds so simple, yet it is something that so many employers tend to overlook. Yes, we are of course talking about being showed where everything is.

If you work in a big office building and the new employee needs to use the copy machine, they’ll have no idea where it is as they’ve never been in the building before. This is why it’s important for them to be shown.

By showing them where everything is, if they do need to perform complicated tasks, they’ll know where to go.

Show the new employee how to use everything

Not only is it important for you to show a new employee where everything is, they should also be showed how to use everything too.

If your business has a complex phone system for example, have one of their co workers show them how to use the system.

The same goes for the computers, alarm system, printer, even the coffee machine.

Provide plenty of snacks and refreshments

Even the most passionate entrepreneur can only do so much on an empty stomach.

In order to boost morale, and keep your workers hydrated, happy, and fed, make sure you provide them with plenty of snacks and refreshments.

Coffee and tea making facilities are commonplace in offices worldwide nowadays, as are vending machines, fridges, microwaves, and water coolers.

The food and drink you provide your workforce is entirely up to you, just make sure you give them plenty of options, otherwise employee engagement will be way down, as will productivity and morale, and you don’t want that.

Set them simple tasks to begin with

As mentioned previously, no new employees will want to be thrown in at the deep end and be given a mammoth task on their first day in the office.

To keep them happy and to help boost employee engagement with yourself and others, start them off with fairy simple tasks. By this, we don’t mean putting them in charge of making the coffee, picking up more supplies, or loading the printer with toner, but we do mean giving them roles they should have no problems with at all.

By giving a new starter a selection of manageable tasks at a new company, they can slowly learn the ropes, relax, and build their confidence.

After a while you can give them more complicated jobs and see how they manage.

Teach new employees all about your company culture

How you run your business is entirely down to you.

If you want to host ‘dress down Fridays’ or something along those lines, that is absolutely fine. To help new employees to feel more relaxed and welcome however, it’s important to show them how things operate in your business.

Company culture is all about how individual businesses operate. You can explain to new employees how to dress, your policy on socializing in the workplace, what is and is not acceptable, and anything else deemed relevant to your business.

Once new employees see how things operate and what will and will not be tolerated, this will allow them to determine whether realistically, they feel their personality would be right for your company.

Ask new employees for their feedback

After you’ve gone through the basics with the new worker, before you set them to work in the office, ask them for their feedback.

Feedback from new employees is very important. If employees feel uneasy about something, if they voice their concerns you can take this on board and offer the necessary reassurance.

Whether they aren’t sure what the onboarding process entails, what employee start times are, which employee they should report to in their department, or anything else, by taking new employee key points and feedback on board you can reassure them and show them that they are indeed valued.

References:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/05/27/14-ways-to-make-new-hires-feel-welcome-and-set-up-for-success/?sh=4ea61c3b2a2c