As a owner or manager of a business or have received professional business advice, you probably already understand how important building team work and the development of a cohesive workplace is. Unfortunately, integrating new team members into your team can be difficult, especially if your core group has been working together for some time.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make this integration process easier, whether it be organising a team building event at a venue such as ten-pin bowling, axe throwing, or an escape room; or providing help around the workplace during work hours. We’ve drawn on our experience and first hand knowledge to bring your three of our favourite strategies for making new team members feel welcome around the workplace. These include:
- Provide a Mentor
For us, the very first thing you should do is connect each new employee with a mentor who they can speak with when they have concerns and questions. Additionally, this will help your new employees integrate and become a part of your team, giving them personal and business advice.
When you’re choosing someone to become a mentor, consider the following:
- Pick someone who is talkative and easy to get along with.
- A good mentor is someone who has been with your business for sometime and knows common workplace processes inside out.
- Try and pair new employees with mentors that you think they will get along with.
Ultimately, choosing a mentor for your new employees shouldn’t be too difficult, but it’s definitely worth putting some time and effort into.
- Make Sure Employee Roles Are Clearly Defined
Additionally, it’s crucial to make sure that every single employee within your business knows exactly what their role is and how they can contribute to the team. Creating a sense of purpose among your new employees will help them integrate fast and efficiently.
In our experience, the best way to do this is to create extensive employee documentation. Outline exactly what everyone does and/or is supposed to do, and make sure that you walk through this documentation with every new employee as part of the induction process.
- Reward New Employees for Good Work
Finally, rewarding new employees for good work is crucial if you want them to feel like they’re becoming a valuable part of your team. Ultimately, you should be rewarding everyone, but we’d recommend focusing on the people who have been with your business for the shortest amount of time.
With that in mind, there are a few things you can do to recognise outstanding work:
- Mention it at weekly meetings or briefings.
- Think about promotions and/or giving new employees extra responsibilities when they perform well.
- Give financial or material bonuses.
Ultimately, recognising the work or a new employee is a great way to make them feel welcome and like part of your team.
Conclusion
All things considered, it shouldn’t be too hard to make new employees feel like part of your team, especially if you’re willing to spend a little bit of time. For starters, consider pairing them with a mentor. Make sure that workplace roles are clearly defined and documents, and consider rewarding new employees for exceptional work.
Although it may seem difficult, it’s worth making new members of your team feel welcome – you will see the benefits in the long run!