Starting a new job is full of a cocktail of emotional experiences. Joy, nervousness, excitement, anxiousness, pride, are just a few examples of what likely goes through people’s bodies as they are transitioning from the interview and hiring process into the actual start of a new job. While this is certainly true of those people being hired, it is also very likely for the business and the individual employees who are in charge of that process.
Thoughts of whether this new employee will be a good fit, how fast will they pick up the skills they need to do a good job, how is the rest of the current team going to feel, are normal and responsible to consider for the sake of pre-existing employees, the company’s future, and the new hires potential.
Being that there are so many details and nuances emotionally and practically, it is a good idea for HR departments and team leaders to have a sound onboarding process by which to help new hires acclimate to the new job. Luckily, there are plenty of resources and ideas that have been honed over the year worldwide which can be researched, accessed, and implemented in order to accomplish just that.
The following are some steps that HR departments can take to ensure that new hires are better settled into their new workplaces.
Helping New Employees to Settle In
Welcoming Teams
There are plenty of cliches that have long accompanied the role of an intern or new hire at a company, particularly if that person is of a younger age. The tendency of many organizations to have an unspoken hierarchy of respect in relation to experience or job position while necessary in some ways— like ensuring work gets done and the right people are held accountable— can sometimes turn sour.
The level of competitiveness that can arise internally in any community or company is inevitable. Wholesome competition, when compounded by established employees being overlooked in past promotional opportunities, can become tense with internal bitterness and gossip. These types of attitudes, while understandable to a degree, are just not healthy or helpful to anyone or any part of a company and can damage goals for inclusive work environments.
Team leaders and HR members should do their best to keep any eye out for how a new hire may be thought of and treated for being brought in to fill a role that previously established employees might think they were suited for. Encouraging emotionally healthy and well-respected employees to take an interest in welcoming and offering tips to a new hire can do a lot to make them feel welcomed.
Comfortable Spaces
Companies worldwide have experimented and implemented plenty of ideas in the last century for how to increase productivity and profitability. Perhaps one of the (now) most notorious is that of cubicle spaces. Someone need only think back to the popular 90’s movie Office Space to become familiarized with the cold, calculating, and dreary trends of the 80’s and 90’s office layouts.
The good news is that it’s 2024 and plenty of companies have experimented and adopted much better design techniques and ideas that help to enhance employees’ moods, health, and productivity. The following are just a few ideas that can help new hires (and current employees) better settle into their open work spaces.
- Fewer light bulbs and more natural light: The benefits of natural light to human emotional, physical, and psychological health far outweighs those of electric bulbs, especially fluorescent lighting. This type of light has been linked to more headaches and migraines, nausea, dizziness, and eye pain. Additionally, research has shown that fluorescent lighting may lead to a nearly 12% increased risk of eye diseases. The good news is that using more natural light is a great way to practice sustainability for green accounting.
- Ergonomic Furniture: Human kind is constantly innovating and mixing up the office equipment is not immune to those improvements. There are a variety of benefits that have been shown to accompany the use of ergonomically designed office furniture: reduced muscle strain; prevents eye, back, and neck pain; improved focus and memory; reduced fatigue and greater productivity.
Follow Up
No one likes feeling lost. Whether exploring a new city or just figuring out how to use a computer program, there is a lot of frustration that can accompany learning something new— especially when the rate of performance is being judged. Solid HR departments and team leaders will have already developed a sound system of onboarding by which new employees can be quickly brought up to speed on a number of major elements associated with the company.
While such processes are fairly standard to most companies today, the level of follow-up can vary greatly. That type of inconsistency can leave people feeling under equipped, stressed, and frightened about asking questions so as not to appear dumb or inept. Having a point person or team leader who makes regular and friendly inquiries with new hires as to how they are taking to the job relieves much of the stress that can come from being new.
Supplied and Prepared
Most people might remember how hard their grade school teacher tried to reinforce being prepared for learning by bringing the right supplies to school each day. Well, that concept has never faded and has great application to the workplace, however there can be a major difference between the schoolroom and the office space: equipment.
Most people entering the workforce know what type of office supplies and tools they use to encourage their productivity and effectiveness, but when starting a new job, some companies have unique requirements for equipment that is needed to accomplish the set tasks. HR departments and team leaders should go out of their way to ensure that new hires have all that they need in order to become familiar with company processes as quickly as possible.
