Forethought and planning should go into the first day’s activities for the new hire to ensure everything is smooth sailing for their start date. The more pre-planning the manager does in advance of the employee’s start date, the more the employee will feel they have made the right decision to join the company.
The manager should consider who, what, where, when and how when establishing the schedule for the first day. While flexibility is still important, in the event something interrupts the plans, having a set schedule that’s been effectively communicated to everyone involved will be key to success.
Experience tells us not to try and complete all activities in the first day and instead, spread it out. The first day can be overwhelming for a new employee and ideally, it can be scheduled over the first few days/weeks, to include a combination of structured and person-facilitated instruction with time spent allowing the new employee self-study time, as well.
