Adding a new employee to a fledgling start-up organisation is a cause for celebration. It’s a signifier of growth and a time to look forward to the impact this new element would have on the business. But apart from the obvious upsides, there is a new dimension and personality to manage and integrate. And if you are going to reap the rewards, you need to do this well.
Getting this new relationship off on the right foot has a lot to do with creating a robust and engaging onboarding process that immerses your new employee in the company culture from the word go.
There are countless tools and tactics start-ups employ to make new team members feel at home, but we recommend you bear these 4 concepts in mind when devising your own onboarding strategy.
1. Make it a bilateral introduction
Although your new hire is the priority, don’t neglect the fact that each member of your existing team is also getting a new colleague, too. Ensure that everyone in the organisation has the chance to introduce themselves to one another within a social setting where people will have the time and freedom to express their personalities.
2. Make sure support is maintained
Once the pleasantries and niceties have been exchanged it can feel natural to simply let the new employee get on with their job. This is particularly the case if their role is autonomous or breaking ground on a new area for the business. Whilst it’s great to give new employees freedom to operate in their own way, don’t let this translate into isolation. Check-in with them regularly and, if you lack the time, make sure to assign a dedicated buddy they can go to with day-to-day queries and questions.
3. Scale up the process logically
Day one in a new job is often a blur. With so many new elements washing over your new employee it’s pointless to use this moment for anything more than a light orientation, i.e. meeting the team and beginning to observe the ebb and flow of the work environment. Days 2-7 and 7-14, depending on the nature of the role, should focus on the steady transition from ‘learning’ to ‘learning and doing’, to ‘doing (with guidance)’.
4. Reaffirm their importance in the future, and set out some structure
Between the end of the interview and the start date a couple months could have passed, with a natural dissipation of some of the zeal experienced at the interviewing and offer acceptance stage. On day one (or two) make sure you fire up the enthusiasm with a one-to-one. Depending on the nature of the role this is a good time to set out your vision for the first 90 days in the company, as well as go over some of the minutiae of their first few weeks and the onboarding activities your new hire can look forward to.
At Guided Solutions we are passionate about helping medical device businesses realise their potential through improved talent acquisition and retention.
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