How Can I Make a New Hire’s First Day on the Job Productive?

Rather than leave the new hire with an assortment of brochures and employment forms to complete, and forget about him or her, leaving it to the employee to find work, you should have tasks ready for the employee to complete on his or her first day at work. Once you have "oriented" the employee to the company, then you need to explain to him or to her the work you expect to be done and leave the employee to the assignment.

During the day, you need to be available to answer any questions that may arise as your new hire does the assignment. Since you can’t be there all the time, you may want to assign one of your skilled employees to help guide the new hire through this task and others that may arise during his or her first few days on the job.

At the end of the day, you should visit with the employee to get feedback on how that first day went. Is there more help he or she needs? Is the mentor you selected to help your new hire doing the job you expect?

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Because buddies can have a significant impact on shaping a new employee’s initial impressions and actions, you need to select employees for this role carefully. Here are some guidelines for selecting someone who over the short term will be the new hire’s mentor:

  • Choose those who are doing the same work or a similar job or who will be interacting with the employee frequently. Common ground makes for more productive communications between the two individuals.
  • Select people who are skilled but are relatively new in the job. Employees who have been with your firm for a long time may forget what it was like to be a new hire. Employees who have been with the company for eighteen months or fewer generally can relate best to what the new employee is feeling and what he or she needs to know.
  • Select employees who have a positive attitude about the company and about their work. This is common sense. You want to build the same positive attitude and commitment in your new hire.
  • Select high performers, those who are good at the work. You want as a buddy for your new hire a positive role model.

Before you make the assignment, check with the individual whom you are considering for the role. Be sure that the employee is willing to do this and fully understands his or her responsibility. Those who demonstrate a knack for this role should get recognition for their contribution.