b'company culture, while not overwhelming them.First day in the office Share these plans with your new hire and discussWith paperwork already completed during pre-board-what success will look like for their first week. Sinceing, your new hires first day can focus on meaningful their first few days set the tone for their work ex- introductions to their new team, early learning, and perience with you company, plan to manage everyfeeling welcomed and celebrated. Think about who part of the day. will welcome them, show them to their desk, intro-The wrong way duce them to the team, and take them to lunch. A re-laxed team meet with coffee and donuts in the break The minute I arrived on my worst first day, I feltroom is much less intimidating than a formal intro-likeanafterthought.Mynewbossusheredmeduction in a conference room, and one-on-one inter-into my cubicle, handed me a list of training vid- action with the people who they will depend on for eos to watch, and, after logging me into the com- help gets the relationship off to a strong start. And panys CRM software, told me to play around andplan an informal debrief at the end of their day to find get comfortable with the system. He had his ownout how their first day went. The new hire should go work to get doneso I was on my own. At thehome with a smile and stories of a great first day to end of the almost unbearable day, I left the officeshare with friends and family. doubting my decision to accept the offer. This isnt what I expected at all; is it too late to ditch this?Virtually The right way At the start of the day in a virtual environment, plan a welcome to the team group meeting. Have ev-Iwalkinthefrontdoorandthereceptiondeskeryone bring their coffee, tea, or smoothie and join hasgiantscreenofTVsandhadpicturesofmean informal, get to know each other video call. En-[accompanied by the word] welcome.I wascourage the team to share their favorite part of their overwhelmed. I wanted to be in a place that appre- job, how they most effectively work virtually, and a ciated me as part of the team, part of the family.fun fact about themselves. As the day goes on, plan When the CEO sends you a personal note the firstperiodic check-ins, but also open a real-time line of week there, this is great, this is fantastic. No com- communication,instantmessaging,ortexting,so plaints at all [The] whole team went out to lunchthe new hire has real time access to their manager myfirstday,therewerestreamersonmydesk,and team. End with a one-on-one video call to dis-welcome signs and it was all organized, had pens,cuss the day and offer praise for a successful first pad, it was a great way to start a job. day. Make them feel as welcomed virtually as they In a survey by CSS in early 2020, we compared sur- would in person!vey responses of new sales hires who had a strongFirst week on the job onboarding process to those with little or no on-boarding,andthedifferenceisstark.NewhiresUseanonboardingchecklisttosetoutkeytasks who began their job with poor, or no, orientationthat need to be accomplished in the first week. Give and training used the word frustrating most of- a clear, detailed plan that sets out expectations of ten. They were confused on expectations, stressedwhat they should accomplish in their first week and by a first day where they were told to come findallows them a sense of control as they cross off each their manager, and often felt that they were notitem. Plan out how to share important information, prepared when the directive was given to get outbreaking it into bite-sized pieces so the new hire there and sell. In direct contrast, those who hadcan better learn the processes they will need and strongonboardingfeltembracedbytheirnewbetter retain that information for a shorter overall team, knew what to expect, and were impatientlearning curve. Create a plan to share the company to get out there and sell because they felt ready.culture, mission statement, and core values, along Time spent preparing for a new hires first day iswith the tools and systems they will need to use and always time well spent. resources available to them. Think about assigningThree Phases of Onboarding 101'