First Impressions: How to Have a Successful First Day with a New Employee

It is the day before your new employee’s first day of work. You are excited to see what the new employee will bring to the table and how they might contribute to the success of the company. In an effort to give your new employee a successful first day and a successful career in the long run, prepare an employee onboarding process that will help him or her understand your company and their new position.

How to Make Sure Your New Employee Has a Successful First Day of Work

The day is here, and your new employee just walked through the door. They are excited to start working at their new job. You are excited for them to meet their new coworkers, learn about the company, and start their new position. But so many things can go wrong. Being unprepared for the first day can give off the first impression that you are not interested in them. Keep these in mind when preparing for your new hire’s first day.

Read the fine lines

Be sure to inform your new hire that they will be going through onboarding with the company so that they can put you into the company system.

Send them an email and remind them to bring the following with them on their first day:

• Driver’s license or identification card
• Another form of identification, passport, or social security card
• Blank void check for direct deposit

A reminder will keep them from holding up the onboarding process and keep them from valuable time that they can use to train for their new position. Also, remind them to bring additional items that you will require for their onboarding process.

Getting started

To organize and optimize your new hire’s time on the first day, make sure to have a new hire procedure. This will help the employee have more time to truly understand what he or she was hired to do.

Consider these options for a successful first day:

• Always make it clear what the new hire will be doing on their day-to-day. The new hire may still be confused on what exactly his tasks will be.
• Remember to let your staff know about the new hire. Let them know of the new hire’s resume and have them let the new hire know of their positions and what they do.
• Give your employee your attention. Make sure to leave time in your day to check up on them and asking them how they are feeling.
• Prep the new hire’s workstation. Make sure that they have any essentials in their workstation so that they are prepped to start their new position. Let them know if you will need them to bring their laptops so that they can bring it in with them on the first day.

Let the new hire know about the company culture. Be sure to give the new hire your employee handbook and ask them if they had any questions regarding the company rules and regulations.

Dress for success

Your new hire may not know what to wear on their first day. When you are sending them an email that reminds them what to bring for their onboarding process, also add information about the company dress code.

Take these into consideration:

• First day activities: If you are planning to do an active icebreaker or another activity on the first day, inform them of your plans. That way, they will dress accordingly. You would want to have a new hire wearing uncomfortable clothes for a field day.
• Define your company style: Let your new hire know the style that the company has on your day-to-day. Let your new hire know if you are more business casual or if you are more laid back.
• No exceptions: Your dress code should be enforced in your company. Remind your other employees of the dress code so that the new hire will know that there aren’t any exceptions to the rules.

Simplify Your Onboarding Process for The First Day

Want to give your new employee a fantastic first day? Discover the onboarding software by Building Blocks for Business to help with the first day procedures. Request your demo today!