Guide
Prepare everything before their first day
Make sure a new hire's first day feels organised, not chaotic and improvised.
Set up their tools and access in advance
Accounts, logins, equipment, whatever they need to actually start working should be ready before they walk in, not requested on the spot.
Prepare a simple first-day schedule
A short outline of who they'll meet and what they'll do removes the awkward 'what do I do now' moments that make a first day feel wasted.
Assign someone as their go-to person
A specific colleague to ask the small, obvious questions to makes a new hire far more comfortable than being told to 'ask anyone'.
Send a short welcome message beforehand
A brief note a day or two before, confirming start time, what to bring, and what to expect, calms nerves and shows things are organised.
That’s the whole thing.
Keep going
What to read next
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Build a 30/60/90 day onboarding plan
Give new hires a clear roadmap for their first three months instead of leaving them to figure it out.
- 02
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Set clear expectations in the first week
Make sure a new hire knows exactly what success looks like, right from the start.
- 03
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Avoid the onboarding mistakes that cost you good hires
Sidestep the most common ways a promising new hire quietly disengages in the first few months.