Five Steps You Must Take to Make New Hires Feel Valued

The world has changed and it’s forcing us to rethink our usual ways of running a business. With the overnight shift to digital work environments in the wake of the global pandemic, business leaders have had to change their strategies for hiring new employees and integrating them into the company culture. For example, a straightforward process like onboarding has suddenly become more complex and fraught with issues. How can new employees feel immediately embraced, cared for, build relationships with ease and learn on the job when most employees are working part or all of the time from home?

This article in Fast Company provides useful guidance on how business leaders should adjust their mindset and approach to more effectively integrate new hires during these changing times. Here are some of the interesting tips shared in the article.

1. Start with the interview

Your new employee’s “onboarding” process actually began the very first time they spoke to you or someone at your company.

This was their introduction to your “culture.”

If you showed up late, they noticed. If you showed up on Zoom wearing a suit, they noticed. If they talked to a manager within the company, and that manager was especially nice, or unusually rude, they noticed. If communication was fluid and easy, or if it was slow and disjointed, they noticed.

2. Aim to create partnerships over processes

Especially if you are a company of five, ten, or twenty people, your onboarding process will never be (and should never be) the same as a company with ten or twenty thousand people.

They’re totally different environments and there are reasons that people choose to work in a small, entrepreneurial company versus a large corporation.

3. Consciously eliminate confusion

An employee handbook isn’t enough. In fact, do people even read employee handbooks? Being effectively onboarded into an organization is all about communication: how you communicate the inner workings of the company, how you communicate standards and expectations, etc.

4. Strive for humanity every step of the way

One of the biggest benefits of a digital-first approach to work is the amount of freedom it unlocks. Freedom to hire people from anywhere in the country (or world). Freedom to work in different time zones. Freedom to work while traveling. And so on.

5. Prioritize both scheduled and unscheduled check-ins

Building on the above, a good way of ensuring humanity is at the center of your company culture is finding a balance between structured interactions and unstructured interactions.