#4 Welcome experience

#4 Experiences at work: Creating a ‘welcome’ experience to remember

In this ten-part series we suggest ways to ‘shift people’s experience of work’. #3 talked the value of lead generation within your business and how to make anyone in your team a business development executive by unlocking contacts, stories and opportunities. In this fourth post we look at how creating a welcome experience to remember will pay dividends for your business.

The way a business welcome’s team members into an organisation has a direct impact on the employer brand and their experience of life at work.

There is evidence to demonstrate that the approach to how someone joins an organisation, will ultimately determine his or her level of engagement. Ultimately they want to know that what was promised through the recruitment process is true, that they will be valued and proud of where they work. Even on day one they want to be made to feel special, and needed. To arrive on your first day and have an experience voucher on your desk – or a team experience planned – this will greatly add to reinforcing that they made the right choice. In the first few weeks in a new job, employees will be asking themselves, “Is this right for me?” “Is this the job/company that I was promised?”. Employers must make sure the reality of the role and the organisation matches the sales pitch. It’s the old adage, “never overpromise and underdeliver”. In fact, try to do the opposite wherever possible.

Some 87% of new employees will decide in the first 6 months when and how long they will stay in that new job. A 2016 survey from The Australian Institute of Management found four in five Australians are unhappy at work. This number whilst large can be addressed with a few consistent initiatives. But the good news is, it’s something that isn’t actually that hard to change.

In this two minute video  BRG co-founder Naomi Simson offers some advice on welcoming people to your business – and shifting people’s initial experience of work, these insights will have a direct impact on the employer brand.

You can also try these top five tips for creating a memorable welcome experience that will have people lining up to hand you their resume.

1 – Start the welcome before day one. If you can immerse your new employees in the company vision, purpose and values before they even set foot in the lobby, you’re already one step ahead. Making sure new people understand what it is you do, but more importantly, why you do it, is key to getting them inspired and engaged to do great work.

2 – Buddy up. It’s been proven that having a work ‘bestie’ is good for you. In fact according to Gallup, people who have a best friend at work are 43 per cent more likely to report having received recognition and praise for their work within the last week. Give your newbies a buddy on day one and help them make valuable connections from the start.

3 – Implement an open door policy. New people need to know they can speak up if they have an issue, so make sure your leaders are approachable and prioritise their people. Book a lunch, walk or roundtable with the CEO and the new team members, have it in their diary for when they start.

4 – Say what you mean and mean what you say. So many businesses list ‘integrity’ as a value, but you need to do more than give lip service to this. If you can establish from the beginning that you’re a company true to its word, you’ll be on the fast track to retaining your top talent. Live your values always.

5 – Recognise beyond day one. Make sure you start out the way you intend to continue. Keep the momentum going with rewards for great work or milestones like length of service. You can even celebrate personal milestones for your employees, like birthdays or significant life events.

At The Big Red Group – we shift people’s experience of life and we do that via a number of brands including: RedBalloon (Australia & NZ), Redii.com and Marketics to name a few.