How to welcome a new employee

When employees start a new job, they can feel tremendously uncertain, stressed, and nervous. One way to ease their anxieties and make them more comfortable is with a solid first impression and a welcoming environment.

Extending a proper welcome to new hires isn’t just helpful for them—it’s also beneficial for your company. Taking the time to welcome them shows professionalism, boosts employee engagement, and helps retain your new hire for the long haul. A formal onboarding program is vital, but knowing how to welcome a new employee outside of onboarding can create a more positive and relaxed workplace.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through five tips and tricks you can add to your employee onboarding process to welcome your new hires to your organization.

Takeaways from this blog post:

• Welcoming a new employee can help them feel excited and motivated for their new role. Requesting feedback from new hires after onboarding allows them to share their experiences and helps improve the process for future employees.
• Showcasing the company's culture and values through welcome letters, onboarding programs, and support from leaders and teammates can create a positive employee experience and a welcoming work environment for new hires.
• Having all necessary materials and resources ready for a new employee before their start date shows professionalism, organization, and eagerness to support them in their new role, leading to increased productivity and retention.

1. Send a welcome message

One way you can create an excellent first impression is by sending your new employee a welcome message before their first day. An employee welcome message is an enthusiastic note officially welcoming your new hire to your company. The goal of this note is to put them at ease on day one. These messages are typically in the form of an email or handwritten letter with company branding that accompanies details about the company.

Your welcome message should be professional yet genuine and inviting. It should showcase your company’s culture, values, and mission and briefly explain the work environment and the team. The ultimate goal is to make the employee feel excited about their new role instead of anxious so they can reach their full potential.

The following are some ideas you can include in your welcome letter:

• A sincere welcome with personal touches expressing excitement and appreciation for their joining your organization
• A short company overview, including company culture, mission, and values
• Reminder details about their job title, such as responsibilities, salary, direct manager, work hours, employee benefits, and key contact information
• Company dress code
• Onboarding documents
• Training details and schedule
• Any company events or expectations during their first week of employment

Your welcome letter should express excitement, making your new employees feel appreciated and motivated before they begin work. Crafting a meaningful letter beforehand can also create an inclusive and positive work environment, reaffirming their decision to accept the job offer and giving them the confidence they need to excel in their new role.

2. Hype your company’s culture

Employees will first experience your company’s culture during the application and interview process. But you can showcase it even more on their first day and throughout onboarding. Providing a warm welcome to new hires allows you to highlight your company values, culture, and professionalism. By showing what your company stands for from the start, you set everything out in the open, which allows for better communication, understanding, and collaboration.

Sometimes, new hires best experience your culture directly from your current employees and their wealth of experience. A mentorship or onboarding buddy program can create a more relaxed and welcoming environment. A mentor or buddy is a valuable resource for new hires to ask questions and get guidance on their role and the organization.

Ultimately, it’s another strategy you can use to show off your company as a positive workplace with a supportive culture.

3. Have their materials ready

According to Glassdoor, an impactful onboarding experience can increase new employee retention by 82% and productivity by 70%¹. If it’s your employee’s first day and you don’t have the necessary materials and tools ready, it can make the employee feel unwelcome and leave them with a bad onboarding experience. Instead, having all the resources and materials for your new hire shows that you’re eager for them to start and want to support them in their new role.

Whether your new employee works remotely, hybrid, or in-office, take the time to make sure you have everything ready for them before their start date so they’re ready to go on day one. This includes ensuring they have resources like employee handbooks, relevant software and application access, onboarding training materials, fully functioning workstations and hardware, laptops, employee badges, parking passes, and other requirements to do their job correctly.

Preparing the necessary resources beforehand is critical to a seamless and meaningful welcome. Having access to the tools they need immediately instead of waiting for them to show up also makes your new hires more productive. Most importantly, your preparedness shows that your company is forward-thinking, well-organized, and professional, which signals to most employees that you’re an employer of choice.

4. Enroll them in employee benefits

Offering employee benefits is one of the best ways to attract talented workers and increase retention. While many companies have a waiting period of 30, 60, or 90 days to enroll their new employees in benefits, you can enroll them immediately to provide a standout welcome experience and show your employees that you care.

In order to retain your new hires long-term, ensure you’re offering employee benefits that are impactful. According to our 2024 Employee Benefits Report, the most popular benefits that employees value most are health insurance, dental insurance, paid time off, retirement benefits, and vision insurance.

So, having a robust benefits package filled with a variety of perks is the best way to ensure your turnover stays low and your employees are happy and healthy.

5. Make yourself and your team available

Every new hire experiences a learning curve when they start a new job. They must become familiar with company policies, systems, teammates, and tasks, which can be overwhelming. To help facilitate a smooth onboarding process, you and your employee’s direct manager must make yourself available to answer any questions they may have.

Asking questions—no matter how trivial—shows your new employee wants to learn and succeed in their role. So, provide advice and feedback, ensure they know the best way to reach you, and be patient as they work to find their way.

Your new hire shouldn’t only feel comfortable with you and their manager. Their direct team can help ease them into your company culture. Encourage key team members to welcome your new hire through informal chats, company activities, and one-on-ones. Having teammates reach out to them during onboarding can help them feel included and accepted more quickly.

6. Encourage them to provide feedback

Once your new employee is settled, it’s essential to encourage them to provide feedback on their welcoming and onboarding processes. Feedback sessions motivate workers to share their experiences, voice any concerns, and offer ways you can improve your employee onboarding experience for future new hires.

You can collect feedback in many ways, such as anonymous employee surveys, one-on-ones with direct managers, HR meetings, regular check-ins, or informal sessions. Setting a timeline for feedback is also vital as it outlines expectations and provides structure for your new hire.

Feedback isn’t just for your benefit. It’s crucial to offer feedback to your new employees as well. New workers are still getting accustomed to your organization and their new role. They may occasionally doubt their skills as they continue to get comfortable. So, remember to give them regular feedback on their performance, celebrate wins, and explain the importance of their position to motivate them and help them have a smooth transition into the entire team.

Conclusion

How you welcome your new hires is the first impression they’ll receive when starting at your company. It’s vital to put your best foot forward so your employees have the best experience possible and remain at your company long-term. While it may take some planning, creating a top-notch welcoming strategy coupled with an effective onboarding program is the best way to help your new hires feel supported, comfortable, and prepared to start their new roles.

1. https://www.strongdm.com/blog/employee-onboarding-statistics#:~:text=1.%20An%20effective%20onboarding%20process%20boosts%20retention%20of%20new%20hires%20by%2082%25