Welcoming The New Person

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I would take on some part-time work just to keep me busy. My local grocery store had quite a few openings and I applied, interviewed and got a part-time gig in the home department. This all happened in less than a week.

From my past experience, I truly know that welcoming the new person to the department and company is the very first critical piece to successfully expediting the transition for the person and the team. Being the “new” guy, I can relate to what makes success or a slow start.

4 ways to insure a speedy and success welcoming of the “new” person:

• Develop a welcoming strategy for your group… We should know when the first day an employee is starting! As the manager, you must review your welcoming strategy and get everything in place before the person starts. My thoughts on a good welcoming strategy are – introductions to the team on hand when the “new guy” starts, sit down and overview the standard operating procedures for the group, discuss expectations of what the “new guy” should be doing first week, month and so on. If you don’t have a welcoming strategy yet, it is very easy to do… Spend some time with your team and ask them –  “What was it like for you on your first day and week?” and “What could others have done to make you feel more comfortable, accepted, and appreciated?” Start with what your team needed and fill in the gaps.
• Team photo with area assignments… This can be a simple collage or an organization chart, but all should include photos. The “new guy” will be meeting a lot of new people, remembering everyone is not going to happen. Giving a simple tool to help remember – will definitely speed up getting to know each other.
• Develop a mentor or buddy system… Whenever a “new” person comes on board – always assign them someone to work with. Someone that can show them what needs to get done, how they go about their day or just someone to help with questions.
• Immerse the “new” person into the culture as quickly as possible… Every organization has a culture or pet peeves that need to be addressed. Getting the new person up to speed on that will make them feel like they can contribute quicker.