Is Your Office a Foreign Country? (Tips for Onboarding New Hires)

Imagine stepping off the plane into a foreign country. The sights and sounds are unfamiliar: words written in a language you can’t decipher, people pushing past you spouting off strange colloquialism, and you may even find yourself surrounded by sideways glances and awkward stares.

Well, for many new employees, they carry these exact sentiments around with them their first week at work. As you seek to onboard new employees, keep in mind that they are outsiders fighting their way into this seemingly unknown territory.

Here are a few ways to make the transition a little easier for your new hires:

Make an Announcement

Don’t leave it all up to your new employee to make friends. Make an announcement on their first day. Maybe link to their LinkedIn profile and explain who they are, the position they are filling, and a little background information. It will provide a great jumping off point and give your current employees a reason to stop by and say hello.

Be Careful of Office Jargon

Listen, here at PerkSpot, we are just as guilty as the next guy at throwing around office slang. From perxicons to perkalerts, half of what we say needs to be filtered through some sort of strange decoder. But, when it comes to new hires, be sensitive to the fact that they are wrapping their head around a new product, business and environment. There is a lot to learn and part of that means learning a new language. Make sure to explain unfamiliar terms and steer clear of words that could be described in another way. Oh, and maybe just remove these from your vocabulary altogether.

Have Fun

My first day at PerkSpot was seamless thanks to some friendly coworkers taking me out to lunch. There is a delicate balance between making new employees the center of attention but also ensuring they are welcomed and included. Casual lunches or happy hours are a great way to get to know them in a low pressure environment. Plus, if you’re anything like our friends over at Southwest Airlines, having fun should already be a part of your company culture, so really you’re just inviting them to be a part of it!

Don’t forget, employee engagement starts from day one. Use these tools and more to make sure everyone has an A+ experience.

And if you really want to make them feel at home, check out our perks program. You can thank us later.

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