Welcoming Newcomers

Everybody’s welcome

In addition to the more formal new employee orientation programs, there are a few special touches that a leader can do to make a new team member feel especially welcome. Shoot! You went through a lot of trouble / deliberation to find the right skilled individual who will fit in with your team and raise their game. Why wouldn’t you want to take a few extra measures to make their first day, and even week or month, special?

* Start their day off right with a welcome note – whether handwritten on their desk or in their email queue – it’s nice to know that someone cares enough to take the time with a personal touch.

* Find out what they like to drink in the morning and have that on their desk with the welcome note leaning against it. Perhaps even a new coffee mug or water bottle with the company logo to go with the drink. If you don’t know their preferred beverage, then take a walk together to the team’s snack area / coffee mess, cafeteria, or local café.

* Ensure their desk is clean (inside and out), neat, and fully equipped with office supplies. Have the area vacuumed, trash emptied, and sanitized. These may seem like obvious steps but there have been many people who arrive surprised to find their desk filled with the previous employee’s junk. This is one time where “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” is not going to fly. Take the extra time and make the desk look brand new.

* Update signage with their name (e.g., door plaque, nameplate on the desk). What a treat it is to walk in the door and see your name already on display as a member of the team, like everyone else. You just feel like you are already one of the gang.

* Email a welcome letter to the team introducing the new employee, briefly describing their credentials, what they bring unique to the team, and their new role. This should be announced once the hiring process is complete as well as the week before the new employee’s arrival. The new employee should be included on the distro so that they are aware of how they are represented to the team.

* Work your schedule around so that you can be present for several milestones during their first week.

• - Be the person to meet them at the door and walk them into the office their first day, if possible. Introduce them to the team along the way.
• - Arrange lunch with the team and/or the boss (you or your boss). While “there is no such thing as a free lunch”, during the employee’s first day give them one!


• - Plan a pop-in visit with the explicit purpose of simply getting to know the newbie. I changed assignments about every three years and the one that stands out the most to me is the one where my boss’s boss dropped by just to welcome me. Boy did I feel special. Her schedule was packed, back-to-back, but she took time out (no doubt it was actually scheduled on her calendar ahead of time – hint) to spend a few minutes with me. Her only purpose was to shoot the breeze, learn a little more about me, and to make me feel even more excited to be on the team. It was a simple act of kindness but has lasted 15 years later as a standout career moment.

It’s all about making standout career moments where folks feel connected, seen, and valued.

What’s something you could do today to make your newest team member feel that spark of welcomed belonging?

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.”
- Plato

“From a little spark may burst a flame.”
- Dante Alighieri, Italian poet, writer, philosopher