Adding a new employee to your team is a huge change that can bring mixed emotions from your current staff. You want them to be warm and welcoming to the person from the start, so it’s important to prime them for the arrival of their new colleague.

It’s pretty much a given that your team will not have a favorable reaction to a new person if you don’t mention them until they’re physically in your office. Make this new addition to the team a positive one by gathering everyone together to discuss the situation as soon as the person accepts your job offer.

How to Prepare Your Staff for a New Hire

• Highlight Their Strengths. Explain what stood out to you about this person that made you choose them over all the other applicants. Share some background information on them, including some of their previous employers and a little bit about their personality.
• Explain Their Role. Make it clear from the start exactly what the person was hired to do, so everyone understands how they will be impacted. This is especially important for newly created positions and small teams, where people might start to feel threatened by the addition of a new employee. You can expect a much warmer reception when there’s no confusion as to why you hired this person.
• Assign Roles for Onboarding. As the boss, you should be in charge of all onboarding efforts, but that doesn’t mean you have to be hands-on for every activity. Instead, assign each team member to help with the process, to alleviate the burden placed on you and help them become better acquainted with their new colleague. Everyone benefits when this process is completed as a team, instead of a solo effort by you.
• Open the Lines of Communication. Your employees will probably have questions, comments, and concerns about the situation, so make yourself available to address these issues. Rumors start and resentment begins to simmer when management is closed off; don’t let your team to fall victim to this type of behavior. Once the new hire begins, encourage your team to give you feedback on the person to make sure everything is going smoothly when you’re not around.

Contact Barrington Staffing to find the right fit for your team every time. We’re proud to say that more than 75 percent of our regular staff have been with us for 10-15+ years, so we know a few things about hiring the best person for the job.