Training your new team member

“Make sure the employee feels like [he or she has] joined something important, something special,” says Pau, “so that you get value for the time [and money] you’ve invested in hiring.”

Here are four tips on what to do when a new team member arrives at the office:

1. Follow a plan
Create a formal training plan to help your new hire feel comfortable in his or her role.

Use a step-by-step training plan, says April-Lynn Levitt, a coach with the Personal Coach in Calgary, so that the experience isn’t a “trial by fire.”

The training program should be about 90 days in length, she says, and should cover such issues as who is responsible for training the new team member, what he or she will be doing and important deadlines.

2. Stay in contact
Talk with the new hire regularly to avoid mistakes and to make sure he or she is settling in.

A new employee may not feel comfortable coming to you every time he or she has a question, Pau says, and as a result may complete tasks incorrectly.

During the first week, talk with the new team member briefly in the morning and at the end of the day, Pau says, to see how things are going. Ask the new team member if there were any challenges or if there’s anything he or she may need help with.

3. Find a balance
While you should check in regularly with a new team member, it’s also important that you are careful not to micro-manage.

People want a clear outline of their responsibilities and your expectations, Levitt says. However, they also want the freedom to work on their own and not have you hanging over their shoulders.

“Find a balance,” she says, “between not giving enough instruction and giving too much.”

4. Arrange a get together
Set up a social event to make the new hire feel part of the team.

For example, you might invite the whole team to lunch, Levitt says, to help the team get to know the new hire.

This is the second in a two-part series on integrating a new member into your team.