5 Best Practices to Welcome a New Team Member

Don’t underestimate the importance of properly welcoming new team members. The first weeks and months in a new company are critical to an employee’s long-term view of the organization. 

The stats show that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company long-term if they experienced great onboarding.

Therefore, when a new person starts at your business, this time should be used to:

• build relationships with the new team member;
• establish clear roles, responsibilities, and expectations; and 
• foster an environment of loyalty and engagement.

Without a proper onboarding plan for your new team members, you may end up losing a valuable teammate or create an environment where they are unhappy, disengaged, or resentful of the business. 

Follow these five easy steps to give new employees (remote or in-house) a warm and smooth welcome into your business and team, ensuring that they feel valued and respected.

1. Prepare Onboarding Documents  

Arguably the most important step of the onboarding process, it sets the tone for your working relationship and is important to make a great first impression. 

Provide all of the legal information via email and allow the new team member to review it and return it digitally for a smoother experience. 

But the paperwork doesn’t stop there. On their very first day at the office, make sure you’ve prepared all of the onboarding information into an easy-to-use document. 

Consider everything they may need to do their job. From login credentials to codes for door locks, everything should be in one place, including:

• thirty, sixty, and ninety-day goals;
• descriptions of their tasks and responsibilities;
• documents, links, calendars, and login information;
• schedules for upcoming meetings and/or regular ongoing meetings; and
• names and contact information for all team members they’ll be working with.

2. Use Communication and Project Management Tools

Nowadays, teams work across departments or locations, so a ton of tools are used to enable communication and collaboration, such as Gmail and Slack for external and internal communication and Asana or Trello for project management. The list goes on. 

This can work, but it may also cause issues. Most tools are disconnected from your inbox where most of your project and client communications begin. This constant need to switch between apps, causes your team to spend too much time searching for information while forcing them to learn and manage a complex web of tools. And it might be especially hard for a new team member.

Gmelius recognizes this and delivers a solution that turns your emails into flexible channels designed for team collaboration. 

As a result, no matter which platform your teammates prefer to work from, Gmelius ensures all your team’s data, their tools, and the actions that follow are synced across the entire team.

3. Schedule a Team Get-Together

You may be busy, but it’s important to take a step back and schedule a time for the team to meet the new employee. 

Organize drinks, lunch, or even just coffee for the whole team. Be sure to give people plenty of notice so they can add it to their diaries. 

An informal get-together can encourage your team to bond with co-workers and see that there’s life outside of work. Try to keep the conversation on non-work-related topics!

4. Find an Office Mentor

An office mentor is a great way to help a new employee feel comfortable. The mentor will be able to answer questions, explain any rules, and offer support. Consider which of your existing team members would be a good role model and think about whether their personalities, work style, and roles would complement each other.

5. Keep Them Busy!

This is imperative. There is nothing worse than running out of work when you’re at a new workplace. You need to find your manager, ask for more work, and keep your cool. It’s a surefire way to make your new team member feel awkward and nervous.

Particularly in the first couple of weeks, make sure you’ve planned specific tasks, meetings, and training for them. It should be meaningful work that keeps them busy!