Five Not-So-Obvious Things New Employees Need to Know on Their First Day

Starting a new job can be confusing and stressful. The way their first day on the job is handled will go a long way with a new employee in making it an easy transition to- hopefully- a great career.

Ideally the hiring manager or Human Resources (HR) will have a routine checklist of important information to walkthrough with the new employee.

If not: they should!

Making sure everyone gets the same information on their first day is important and eliminates the sigh and ‘everyone knows that’ error that can derail a team.

Add these five things to an existing checklist or use them as the basis for your new one.

1. “Where is the restroom?” This simple but crucial bit of information is one that is often not obvious to a new person. If it is not readily apparent the urgency of finding out the answer can block any new information that you are giving. Make sure that you identify location of facilities and also if they are gender specific or gender neutral. Don’t make assumptions about which facility your new coworker may choose to use.
2. “Are there refrigerators, microwave ovens, toasters, coffee equipment that everyone may use?” Eating costs money, and not everyone can buy their meals everyday. More and more people are packing their breakfast/lunch/dinners and will plan their meal options based on what is available. Be clear about the workplace expectations: Is it OK to eat at the desk/workspace? Does everyone chip in for Taco Tuesdays? Does the company provide coffee or should users chip in for supplies? Is there a ‘clean out the fridge’ understanding each Friday? Don’t overwhelm them, just let them know where to find out more info if they have questions.
3. “Is there an employee contact list?” Who people are, how they prefer to communicate, where they work, and what they do: all important information needed for a new team member. (Even better if that list has a photo so the face and the rest of the information can be associated.) Make sure the new employee has the needed permission and knows how to access it (Slack? Teams? Bulletin Board? Outlook? Google Sheets?).
4. “Is there a company calendar?” The company calendar documents the location of the rest of the team and gives the new employee information about their coworkers. Observing what and how things are recorded adds to the picture they are forming of the way the company/location/division/office/store works. Pro Tip: Take the time here to show them how to schedule a meeting: do you use Zoom? Slack? Teams? Google? Meeting Rooms?
5. “Where do we meet in case of a fire?” Am I serious? Does this need to be covered on the first day? Really? Yes. Yes. And Yes.

• First- it’s important. Emergencies happen, and if you don’t believe me just read the news. Fires aren’t the only reason people evacuate a building, but it is arguably the least frightening. Emergencies happen anytime and any day.
• Second- They are part of your team so they need to know what to do, just like the rest of the team. (You HAVE discussed this with the rest of the team, correct?)
• Third- It tells your new employee that they are important to you. THEY are important, not just the work that they will do, the assignments they will complete, the sales that they will make. Them. Take the opportunity on their first day to send the message loudly and clearly.

( Pro Tip: When choosing a place to meet when evacuating the building; always pick a small tree, where available, on the outskirts of the parking area and away from the building. It’s something they will remember, and it will clear the way for emergency vehicles.)

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Here’s something I WOULDN’T go over on their first day. But, because you read this article all the way through, it’s my gift to you. It’s free to read AND FREE TO DO, and you just might get some money out of it.

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