After going through the recruitment process and finding your perfect match it’s a good idea to begin planning for them joining your business.
The hard work doesn’t stop when the recruitment ends! A careful, thought out and planned run up to their start date will set you off on the right foot on their first day. There’s lots to consider and a badly organised run up/start can undo all your hard work finding the candidate in the first place.
Get the offer pack right
It sets things off on the right foot if the candidate has all the appropriate paperwork they need prior to joining you. Many like to have something in writing to confirm all of the details of your offer and your terms of employment. Our recommendation is not to wait to do this on their first day as if any queries come up on the back of your terms these can be discussed and ironed out beforehand, plus a signed and returned employment contract is further commitment to joining you.
Keep in touch during their notice period
It’s a nice touch to keep lines of communication open during their notice period. 4 weeks, or longer in some cases is a long time to not hear from you following the offer and a lot can happen! Some good examples of things you can do during that time are to make sure that handing their notice in went ok – this can be a daunting conversation for some and it’s a good time to show you care, asking them to sign and return their employment contract – perhaps you could couple that up with actually bringing it in to the office and they could meet the team?, if you have a staff social invite them to bed them in with your existing team before they start, a text or even a card the week before to let them know you’re all looking forward to them joining is also a lovely idea.
Ensure their role & responsibilities are clearly defined
Alongside the new recruits Manager understanding the purpose of the new recruit, what their objectives are and how that will fit into the business will make it clear for everyone. We sometimes hear from candidates that when they start they aren’t sure what’s expected, what constitutes great/good/poor performance, what their objectives are and how often they are to be reviewed against them. This causes unnecessary confusion for everyone and in terms of giving the placement the best chance of success needs ironing out from the get-go.
Engage the team and assign a buddy/mentor
Following on from the above ensure that the team know how this person’s role will fit in to the business and the objectives of this recruit. Is it a replacement or growth? Does this person absorb the responsibilities of their predecessor or are you having a bit of a shake up? Clear and open lines of communication will help everyone understand the new persons role and assigning them to a trusted buddy or mentor will help them settle in to your team.
Prepare their logins & working area
There’s nothing worse than starting your new job after your notice period to find that you don’t have a work area set up with all of the things you need to do your job well. This can include stationary, IT equipment and logins to access your database and emails etc. Don’t wait until their first day as they can be left with little/nothing to do which doesn’t create the best first impression.
Plan their induction
What’s the plan when they start and who is taking responsibility for it? On boarding your new employee is another key stage of the recruitment process and getting this right will be key to the success of the placement. Check out our top tips here https://www.glurecruit.co.uk/getting-staff-induction-right/
New staff joining your team is no doubt an important part of your business and growth strategy so why not invest in getting it right first time? Creating a great first impression is key in reassuring staff that they made the right decision to join your business and once you have a process in place it’s easy to tailor it for each additional team member that joins.
If you’d like further advice and support on preparing for your new recruits then drop us a line on 0114 3211873. Our team of specialist recruiters will be happy to assist with a tailored strategy that suits you.