Five ways to combat new job nerves when you hire

August 30, 2023

Having invested so much time and money in your recruitment process, you will always want to give your new hires every chance of success.

While a select few will face any challenge with no fear, instantly sliding into a groove, one survey found that as many as 80% of people get nervous before starting a new job.

You may already have your onboarding process down to a tee, helping new starters instantly assimilate. If you have found people struggling when joining your team, though, or are new to hiring, here are five simple ways you can welcome your recruits so they can hit the ground running.

One: Meet the team
A great way to overcome the initial anxiety which may come with working with a new team is to arrange a pre-start social. In a more relaxed setting, early bonds can be made, and a sense of your culture imparted to your new team members as they get to know their new colleagues. It will prove a good investment if you can get their productivity up to speed more quickly.

Two: Send the induction plan to them ahead of time
Any good onboarding process will have an induction plan, outlining an itinerary of training, introductions, health and safety, a tour of the premises and so on.

You will want to have prepared this in advance anyway, so a useful hack is to send it to your new employee before they start. It will help them to visualise what their first week looks like, removing some of the uncertainty involved, and convey your organisational efficiency.

Three: Create a welcome pack
First impressions count, and for an even greater sense of professionalism why not create a full-blown welcome pack to get the relationship off to a flying start. It is up to you what you include in it, but a mixture of functionalism and friendly gesture is often a good balance.

It could be a good opportunity to use up any leftover branded materials you have commissioned: from keep cups to note paper.

Four: Invite questions
Many line managers and leaders will say they keep an open door policy. If this is you, you can help foster an efficient joining process by encouraging questions before they arrive at their desk. As with some of the other tips here, this could take away both some of the anxiety, and a bit of the workload on day one if they arrive feeling fully briefed.

Five: Arrange a team lunch on the first day
The first day in most roles will be full on, with information overload and, in some cases, even a baptism of fire if they have to get straight on with tasks in hand.

If you have the luxury to do so, try to plan their day so that they have a mixture of quiet time to read up on policies, introductions to key people, and the start of any training. Make sure, also, that they know where to grab a tea or coffee. If you can, a team lunch is a great way to mix it up, combining both a little downtime and another opportunity for them to bond with their new colleagues.

Get a bespoke plan
If you would like to add more structure to your induction process, for instance to combat poor retention or if new recruits are slow to be productive, contact your local HR Dept office. Our experts on the ground can help review what is good and bad about your present processes and help you design an induction plan that works for your business.