The first few days at a new job can be stressful for any employee since there is so much to learn. It can take some time to adapt to a new environment and learn about the company culture, but hiring managers and staff members can make an effort to provide enough onboarding support to make the transition that much smoother. You want your employees to feel like they are in the right place and can be productive. Here are some effective onboarding strategies help employees be productive from day one on the job:

Provide an Employee Handbook

Many employees will be able to learn the ropes quickly in written form. While it’s always a good idea to do some type of orientation presentation with slideshows or videos, make sure employees also receive an employee handbook. This should include all company policies, expectations and other information the employee needs to perform well at their job.

Get the Team Involved

Round up managers, mentors and any other employees the new hire will be interacting with on a regular basis so they can get comfortable with their team members. Even though some roles may only require the occasional in-person meeting with the majority of the interaction happening over email or the company’s messaging system, it’s still important for new hires to have some ‘face time’ with the new recruit. This will help the new hire feel like they are part of the team and make a new professional connection.

Prepare the Workspace

Make sure the employee’s email account, computer, office space, access cards and other items are prepared for the first day. You don’t want the employee to be waiting around for these items or worry about how to get everything together when you’re organizing orientation and taking care of other duties. Having all of these items ready to go will help employees get right to work and situated in their new space as quickly as possible.

There are several things you can do to make the onboarding process as simple as possible for a new hire. If you need more tips on how to manage new recruits, talk to the professional recruiters at Morris Bixby Group.