After a candidate becomes an employee, an HR team’s job has just begun. Sure, your company has gained a new addition to the team, but to welcome that new hire, a member of your community takes effort. Welcoming, educating, and integrating them can happen in one of many ways. As you might expect, some welcomes are warmer than others. 

With the right touch, new employees will enter your workforce with smiles and high hopes. Today we’ll be going over 10 ways that you can welcome new hires — and turn them into longtime coworkers.

Send a Personalized Welcome Email

After a new hire has been approved and they’ve filled out the paperwork, they’re probably going to be nervous. They won’t be sure if they’re entering a job that they’ll be in for a year, or a position that will help them grow over decades. 

First impressions count and sending them a personalized email welcoming them into the fold is a great start. Make sure to offer congratulations on joining the team, and tell them you look forward to meeting them. 

In your welcome email, it is key that you provide key information for their first day of work. For example, including the start date, dress code, as well as the employee handbook will help give your new employee feel prepared for the first payment. Giving them important contact information in case they have any additional questions is also par for the course.

Get Them Everything They Need for Day One

Before your new worker shows up, prepare any administrative work and get them any forms they need to fill out for their employee onboarding. Having more preliminary work sprung on them the day that they arrive will give them the impression that administration is disorganized — and no one likes surprise extra work. 

Give Them a Full Tour

Once you’ve got them in the building, show them around! They’re going to need to learn how to navigate the halls of the office, as well as where their peers and superiors are located. After a good tour, they’ll start to feel at home in your company space, and will know where they can go for support. 

Provide a Mentor

Providing new employees with a mentor is one of the best things you can do to make them feel secure. A mentor isn’t just a person who can answer questions and better your incoming worker — they’re a safety net. With a teacher figure easily accessible, your recent hire will be more willing to ask questions, more open and genuine in the workplace, and most importantly they won’t feel alone in their new workspace. 

Introduce Them Formally and Gradually

A formal introduction accomplishes a couple of things. It makes your current staff aware of a new member, and it makes your new employee become cognisant of your current staff. 

Make sure that you don’t move too quickly when introducing them to individual team members. Throwing too many names at the new hire at once will just confuse and/or overwhelm them.

Fun and Interactive Icebreakers

Traditional icebreakers are severely overrated. Going around in a circle and telling someone a tidbit about yourself isn’t a particularly memorable experience. When holding an icebreaker for new employees, make it fun! Party-style card games are a great way to get people laughing and involved, as are games like two truths and a lie. 

Assign Them a Task (However Small)

Feeling a bit lost is par for the course when beginning a new job. There are lots of different things to discover about the company and your place there — and that can lead to indecision. Instead of just having new employees meet new people and learn about the building, consider assigning them a basic task relating to their job. Doing this gives them a chance to meet the people they’ll be working with, and install a sense of purpose from the get-go. 

Give Them a Small Gift

A little something from the company goes a long way, so consider giving your new employee a small gift! Some company swag that they’ll actually wear, like a shirt or sweatshirt, makes a great present. It’s practical and acts as free advertising. No one turns down free clothes!

Provide High-Quality Training/Onboarding

A good onboarding process is the key to new hire productivity and retention. Getting them situated in their space, training them, and setting them to task needs to be done proactively. An organized onboarding process is much more likely to be successful than an unorganized effort, so take the dive and invest in tools to aid your process. 

Integrate Them Into a Healthy Community

The greatest thing you can do for a new hire is to have a healthy company culture in place from the get-go. Invest in your people, work on your work environment, and create a workplace of understanding and respect. 

Invest in Great Hires with AI

Finding and welcoming new hires is essential for the success of any company and human resources team. That’s where AI comes in. By giving you and your team access to a variety of job boards and candidates, AI technology helps you recruit the right talents with ease and precision. 

With platforms like our own pandoIQ, it’s possible to create the perfect job description in a fraction of the time it would normally take. Alongside our toolbox of AI software options, you’ll have everything you need to find more great additions to your organization.