The first day of an employee in a company is critical and sets the tone for their association with the company. It is a day of transition for the new hire in terms of new location, office, colleagues, boss - and much more. It is the company’s responsibility to make the transition a smooth one and make sure that the employee does not get overwhelmed on the first day itself. Here are the steps to create a great onboarding experience for your new hires.

Make them familiar with their would-be colleagues

Make the team aware that someone new would be joining and have preparations to welcome them on their first day. It also helps if the new joinee is sent a brief introduction of the team that they would be joining and vice versa. This helps the employee in being better prepared on the day of joining. Also, it is very important that the employees connect well to their team on the first day itself. If the team size in your company is more than 10, then make sure that the employee is assigned a “buddy” for their joining day.

Send a “Carry with yourself” checklist - one week before the day of joining:

Employees have to carry a lot of documents with them for the joining formalities. It is normal to miss something which was an essential element in the joining process.This creates a lot of hassle - for both - the company and the employee on the day of joining. Send them in advance, a checklist of items and documents that they are supposed to carry on their first day to avoid confusion.

Acquaint them with the new location:

The joining process is made further difficult , if it involves a city change for the new hire. They have to look for accommodation, arrange for their basic necessities, look for travel options and get acquainted with the culture of the new city as well. In this case, connect with the new hire at least a week before joining, to help them out with the basic requirements that they would have when they arrive in your city. It helps to send the list of economical accommodation options, local general and household need stores and hangout places near the office. Most importantly, send them directions on - how to reach office and the public transport options available for the same.

Keep the paperwork minimal 

There are a lot of legal and HR formalities to be done on the day of joining. The excitement of joining a new company and team dies down among piles of papers. Remove the unnecessary documents from the onboarding process and try to finish as much as possible over email - before joining. 

Have a simple start:

The work given to the employees should start with simple and small tasks in the beginning and then increase gradually in terms of complexity. If the employee gets overwhelmed by the work on the first day itself, they would end up getting demotivated.

Post joining touch points:

Most companies finish the joining formalities on the first day itself, after which the new hire is left with their work team. However, even after the first day, employees face a lot of questions and keep getting confused with the mixed responses that they get from their colleagues. Ensure that you touch base with the new hires frequently in their first few days to answer their queries, check how they are feeling and if they are settled well in the new location and job.