Bringing on a new hire can be an exciting time for you, the company and the employee. Unfortunately, it can also be a stressful time with all that needs to be done. Starting a new job usually requires a lot of paperwork, training and general meet-and-greet-here’s-the-coffee-maker kind of stuff.
Thankfully, there are some easy steps you can take when onboarding a new hire to make the process less stressful. Whether you’re bringing a new hire on for the first time or you’re a seasoned pro who wants to make the process easier, below are some tips:
Checklists are efficient tools to organize complex tasks. Consider creating a new hire checklist before bringing a new hire into the fold. Your new hire checklist should be tailored to your business, but it can include things like scheduling orientation events, setting aside time to complete paperwork and familiarizing the new hire with your company’s systems and processes.
You can also make the onboarding process easier by getting some work done prior to your new employee’s first day. Taking care of things like background checks, tax forms and account creation can save you time on the big day. Additionally, these steps can also make the onboarding process less stressful for the new hire, and who doesn’t want to have a smooth first day at a new job?
In all that you do during the onboarding process, try to think about things from the new hire’s point of view. You may feel comfortable with how things are done around the office, but from the outside looking in, your processes may seem overwhelming. When you ignore the fact that you already know everything and start thinking like a new hire, you’re more likely to approach the process slowly and with more care.
To make this process easier, consider spreading out your orientation and related activities over a longer period of time. Instead of trying to cram everything into one day, try taking things slowly for a week or two to ease the new hire into their role.
