New Starters… During a Lockdown

In these crazy times it has been difficult for many people to adjust to working from home. What’s even more difficult is if you are starting a new job and your first day is at home.

Across the world people are currently facing their first days this way …..a very weird concept! Companies are now facing another challenge (to add to the list) which is making a new starter feel welcome whilst being remote and in lockdown.

While onboarding is often bespoke to each business, there are some essentials for any new starter starting a company. We need to:

· Introduce them to the team

· Give them a tour of the office and building

· Introduce them to management and key people in the business

· Making sure they have all the equipment and log ins for their first day.

This is essential both in the office and working remotely and If the above aren’t done, you may find the employee will not be invested and resigns quite swiftly! Before you know it, you are back to square one and have wasted money, time and created low morale within the existing team who are picking up the pieces. Its vital we get this right from the off!

So with this in mind and working remotely make sure your new starter has the following:

A video call on their first day

This is going to take some time….block out a lot of the day to go through everything with them via a video call, share screens so you can demonstrate the work. Make sure they have everything set up, contacts, systems, logins and make sure IT are on hand for anything missing or any issues.

Set them up with a timetable

Structure is key! Make sure the timetable includes:

· A video call with each member of the team individually – maybe set out a “getting to know you” question sheet with work related and non-work related questions so they get to know each other

· Goals and objectives to complete each day

· Getting them familiar with certain systems and reading guides on the system so they know where key things are

· Catch ups with the manager and buddy

· Reading material for any the quiet periods

Keep in contact

Make sure your new starter knows who to call and where to ask for help. Suggest maybe calling them in the morning and after lunch to make sure all is ok and to answer any questions they may have.

Socialising

Add a lunchtime group on teams or zoom for your team to bond with the new starter and get to know them.

Here at HR180 we have decided that even though we are on lockdown we can still have fun. Our lovely Miranda is organising quizzes for after work so we can still have fun and a laugh with our peers. Get creative with virtual social events!

Feedback

A catch up at the end of each week is so important to discuss how they are feeling, what is going well and what can be done better. Some feedback for them would also be good but bear in mind that they may be a little slower getting to grips with things than previous starters who have been in the office.