5 Tips to Engage a New Hire

With the economy continuing to stabilize, you may have the opportunity to hire more employees to alleviate your exhausted and overworked staff. To help ensure you stay productive and make a smooth transition during an employee’s first few days on the job, here are five tips to engage a new hire from day one.

Be Open and Honest
One characteristic every generation is wanting in an employer is to have open communication and transparency. Set clear cut goals and communicate expectations you have with the position. If there are aspects of the job that are less than glamorous, do not hide them from the employee. Explain what you want out of the position and the importance of it to the overall success of the company.

Ask, Ask, and Ask Again
Often times, a new hire is still leery of asking certain questions or explaining certain wants and needs. The best way for you to know what will keep the worker motivated, engaged, and productive is to ask. Start off by easing the person’s worries by saying that they already have the position, and you want to know what you can do to make this the best fit. Find out what drives, motivates, and encourages them. Ask what the best ways to make them feel appreciated are and what benefits or incentives drive them. And most importantly, ask what they expect out of the company.

Set Clear Cut Goals
Obviously, you aren’t going to tell new employees, “this is what you should do so that one day you’ll have my job.” But still, it is important to show them the company is interested in their future and wants to help them reach life goals. Explain certain learning programs you offer or company-paid-for classes they can attend at the local community college. Encourage constant learning and development. Set goals and find out what you can do to help the employee reach them. Workers want to know they are more than a number and that they bring something to the table. Show appreciation on the front end by offering purpose and vision.

Be Prepared
The easiest thing you can do for new employee engagement is to have everything ready for them when they walk into the office on the first day. Have a workstation set up with office supplies including a calendar and file trays. A simple way to encourage teamwork and emersion is to have a list of everyone’s extension number and a simple map outlining everyone’s office and cubicle. Email the new hire’s resume to everyone in the department so they can be familiar with the person. The most important item to have prepared is the first week’s schedule and agenda.

Lunch Can Go A Long Way…with the Right Person
Whether a new employee or a 20-year veteran, everyone wants to feel important and appreciated. Younger professionals feel as though respect is based on merit and performance, not tenure. So the best way to make new-hires feel esteemed is by having the CEO or other executive take them out to lunch to get to know them. This automatically puts in the mind of the employee that there is transparency and openness within the company, which is an increasingly desired trait. Just taking an hour can mean the difference between a productive, engaged employee as opposed to an apathetic, disengaged worker.

What do you do to prepare for a new employee? Share in the comments section below.

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