how not to alienate your new staff member

by Alison Green on February 21, 2012

Have you ever had the experience of showing up on your first day at a new job, excited to start, only to discover that your new office isn’t at all prepared for you?  Maybe ended up telling you to sit and read company materials while they figured out what to do with you on your first day?

If you’re a manager and have ever done this to a new hire, you must vow right now never to do it again! Not only is this a waste of a new employee’s time, but it sends a damaging message about your culture. Instead, the message you want to send from day one is that you’re organized, efficient, and running a tight ship.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for a new staff member the right way.

1. Create a Training Plan

Before the employee starts, create a training outline laying out what will be covered, in what order, during the first week. In addition to job-specific information for each component of the job, your training outline might include:

  • an overview of the department and its team members, including any recent relevant history
  • goals for the first month and first quarter
  • tips for working with other departments
  • how to handle particular personalities outside the office and things to be sensitive to
  • common problems they’ll encounter and how to handle them
  • what kind of communication you expect and how often
  • approval process for work
  • how to locate important files and other sources of information
  • expenditure authority and approval
  • confidentiality policies

Plan to spread this out over several days, since most people can only retain so much their first day on a job, when everything is new.

And on the staff member’s first day, give her a copy of this training outline so that she knows what to expect.

2. Ensure Logistics Are Ready In Advance

Make sure the staff member’s computer, phone, and email accounts are set up and working before her first day. Have a list of passwords waiting for her so she can immediately log in, set up her voicemail, and so forth, and ensure that her workspace is clean and stocked with supplies.

3. Check In Regularly

Check in regularly, not only to provide more detailed feedback than you’d give someone who has worked with you longer, but also to see how she’s adjusting.

You might even conduct an “entry interview” after a month or two, to catch issues early and get the fresh perspective of someone who isn’t already steeped in “the way we do it.” Ask questions like:

  • Did your job turn out to be as you expected it would be when you were being hired?
  • What improvements could be made to the way you were oriented and trained for your role?
  • What areas would you like additional training or help with?
  • Do you have a good understanding of what all our other departments do and who to go to for what?
  • Are you getting enough feedback? Are you clear on what’s expected of you and how you’re doing?
  • How’s your workload?
  • Are there any obstacles that make doing your job more difficult?
  • Is there anything that would improve your quality of life at work?

Prepare this way, and you’ll maximize your chances of your new hire’s success.

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{ 103 comments }

{ 103 comments… read them below }

  1. Barbie Hall*

    Great info here! If only my boss had read this before I was hired. For the first 2 weeks I sat at a temporary desk until we ordered my computer – which I then set up. I mostly read manuals on how to use their programs without being able to get in the program because I had no computer.
    Everything outlined in your “Training Plan” I had to learn on my own. If only I knew then what I know now …
    I would have run for the hills. No being organized for a new hire sends a clear message about how the company is actually ran.

    1. Anonymous*

      I had this same experience at my last job. I sat there for two weeks while they slowly gave me access to things. At least they gave me Internet access after the first week so I could read work-related blogs. The last day before I got my full access and could start working they gave me access to the Intranet. WTF? I could have been reading manuals and processes (and they had a zillion of them). It was boring but I figure they paid me about $3000 to read stuff I would have read anyway on my own time. That’s not bad work if you can get it.

  2. Anonymous*

    This happened to a coworker at my last job. She didn’t have a computer for about a week because the manager of that office forgot to tell anyone that we had hired a new person and that they would need a workstation. When she finally got her computer, he walked by and asked, “Oh, did you get FORMER EMPLOYEE’S old computer?” because her desktop wallpaper was the same stock Windows background. *forehead smack*

    Neither of us work there anymore.

  3. Suzanne*

    So glad you touched on this. I’ve had several different jobs in the past 5 years, and none of them seemed at all ready for me when I showed up. At one, I had to call the director several times to even get a start date and when I showed up, I had no computer log on information because I had no desk and no computer! About a week later, when I had failed to do something, I was told that I had been sent an email about it, at which point I had to remind my supervisor that I had no email because I had no computer. Gah! The next two jobs weren’t any better. At the last one, I ended up asking my supervisor if I could just go home after sitting in the lobby of the building for about 3 hours doing absolutely nothing. Again, no desk, no computer, no nothing. I still have no idea why I was told to come in when it was painfully obvious that there was no way for me to begin working.

    I’d tell people to run for the hills if they find themselves in an operation like these I’ve mentioned, but from my experience, this is common practice in many many organizations and what you run to will likely be the same. I’m beginning to think that the one question to ask in the interview is “Will you actually be ready for me to start working when I show up on the first day or can I expect to spend a week or so twiddling my thumbs and trying to stay awake?”

  4. Sara*

    This is really great info, especially the training plan suggestions. This has happened to every single new hire we’ve had for the last 6 years. For the first few days, they usually don’t even have a network account because no one bothered to submit the paperwork early enough, so they sit around reading prospectuses. For the last few years, the managers have spent a lot of time talking about training plans, but nothing actually happens. The new hires end up getting shuffled around to all the other employees, who “train” them on their own tasks. It is terrible!

    1. Jamie*

      “The new hires end up getting shuffled around to all the other employees, who “train” them on their own tasks. It is terrible!”

      This. Not only is it rude to the new employee, but also all the other employees whose schedules are getting hijacked.

      Give me some lead time and an idea of what is to be covered and I’m happy to schedule time to train anyone. Pop into my office with someone I’ve never met and after introductions leave her with me without any regard to my schedule or deadlines and it’s a different story.

      As bad as drive-by training is walking a new employee from office to office asking people “to find something for her to do.”

      Just because I’m busy and would LOVE help sometimes, doesn’t mean anything currently on my plate can be easily tossed to someone on day one. Again, ask me ahead of time and I can probably come up with a list of some tasks – but no notice just gets the deer in the headlights reaction as the new person is walked around from manager to manager like a toddler for whom their mom is desperately trying to find a sitter.

      Whether they’ve been working at a company for two hours or twenty years, employees deserve better. It’s just about respect.

      1. Sandrine*

        At my company, sometimes new hires sit with people like me, who’ve been there longer, for an hour or two to get an idea as to what the job means (call center / customer service) .

        I actually LOVE it, because I can take authorized breaks between calls to explain things to the new hires, and so far they’ve assigned me at least four or five new people with tons of potential. Today they even had a future team leader (heh, he could be my boss one day XD) who was hired externally sit with me, and I laughed and told my boss it wasn’t nice to traumatize new leaders like that (my main issue, that I’m working on, is that I do excellent work, except I take too long :P ) .

        My boss laughed and the new guy laughed too, but I got a nice relaxing day out of it, and I also got to share my experience, and that made me realize that despite thinking the job sucks at times, I love it XD .

        Of course it won’t be the same in every job, but I love love love working with new hires XD (besides, it’s double bonus for me : the break as mentioned above AND when they’re operational, we might have to take less calls and might get time to breathe between calls, haha XD) .

  5. Chocolate Teapot*

    First day at a new job. Arrived, hung up coat, and was presented with a gargantuan quantity of Chocolate Teapots to sort. It took me most of the day as I was unfamiliar with the details.

    Several months later, dashing around, trying to get everything done, when thankfully 2 new employees would start and handle some of the same tasks. They arrived on their first day, and I was told I couldn’t ask them to help with the Chocolate Teapots as “They needed time to settle in and read their company handbook”.

    I forget when I finally got round to reading my company handbook!

  6. Heather*

    so many times I’ve had people not ready for me on the first day. Makes me crazy. Yes because I’d really like to sit for 8 hours doing nothing. Remember how you told me in the interview that the company was so busy and you needed me sooner than asap? For what exactly?

    1. Anonymous*

      ^^this. I walked in the first day of my new job, and one of my new co-workers says, “We are so happy to finally have someone filling your position! We are swamped.” They were apparently so swamped that every time I asked them if they needed help with anything, there wasn’t anything for me to do. I think I read every brochure available about 20 times in my first two weeks there (although, at least I had a computer.)

  7. Jaime*

    Also, remind your employees not to say things like “I don’t bother to learn new peoples’ names until they’ve been here at least three months” or “Hi, I’m ____, you’ll probably think I’m an asshole, everyone does. And this is _____, he’s also an asshole.”

    You would think it could go unsaid, but no.

    1. Ornery PR*

      Oh, this would be so nice! Wouldn’t it be great to know who the ass is on the first day? This way, you wouldn’t have to waste time learning the hard way!

      1. Jaime*

        lol, yes, that’s true too. Turns out all 3 are good guys, easy to work with for the most part. A little offputting the first day though and some of my coworkers have been here 4+ years and still think “what a jerk” about the one who said he didn’t bother to learn peoples’ names.

    2. KellyK*

      Wow, that’s awful. It’s one thing to say “I’m bad with names, I’ll probably be asking yours several times until I get it,” but to say the new person isn’t even worth bothering to learn their name? Ouch.

  8. The Other Dawn*

    I’ve been with the same company for 15 years so I haven’t had to be on the receiving end of this, thankfully. However, I’ve unfortunately been in the position of not being ready for an employee a few times. Not as the person’s manager, but as the IT person having to clean up the former employee’s computer, get it ready for the new person, set up the network account, permissions, email, etc. Each time it was because no one told me we had a new hire until either the day before the person was to arrive, or the morning the person arrived. Yeah, I can get all that done in a half hour. Sure. It was awful, because I knew what the new employee was likely thinking about our company; however, if the employee’s manager doesn’t tell me they hired someone, what can I do?

    1. Jamie*

      “Not as the person’s manager, but as the IT person having to clean up the former employee’s computer, get it ready for the new person, set up the network account, permissions, email, etc. Each time it was because no one told me we had a new hire until either the day before the person was to arrive, or the morning the person arrived. Yeah, I can get all that done in a half hour. ”

      This resonates with every IT person who has ever had to scramble because there was no lead time given. And I think that’s pretty much every IT.

      For the non-IT managers – please remember The Other Dawn’s words. To prepare a computer properly takes a little time and we can’t always drop what we’re doing because you forgot to send an email. Even worse when the machine needs to be purchased, and no lead time means higher costs. For an engineering workstation that can be a difference of as much as $700 – that’s how much more it can cost to get something overnight as opposed to ordering custom builds to spec.

      And when you explain to upper management that your new hire isn’t productive because she doesn’t have a computer, finish the sentence with “because I didn’t inform IT until today.” Because if you don’t – we will.

      1. The Other Dawn*

        What’s even worse is that my company is small, only 14 employees. There’s no excuse for not telling me that someone new is coming in. For the front line staff it’s pretty easy to set up the computer and their access accounts since they really only need the network login, email, and a login for the core processing system. It becomes a royal pain in the ass when it’s a new admin office employee, since most of us use many different programs, websites, etc. Some programs require access be granted on the specific PC by IP address by our core processing vendor and they have a turnaround time of a few days. It’s embarrassing to always have to call them to expedite the request for same day access, and knowing the whole time they are likely thinking, “This woman can’t get her shit together.”

        1. Jamie*

          Although I don’t think you should be embarrassed, I get that, because it is embarrassing.

          A proper set up will have very few non-user issues. When you try to cobble something together in a hurry without all the information stuff gets missed, or you have to keep tweaking and adding stuff…which wouldn’t be necessary if you had lead time.

          Logically, it’s not our fault – but who wants to look inefficient and assbackward in front of a new co-worker?

          1. The Other Dawn*

            Exactly! It makes me look like I’ m just sitting around reading AAM all day without a care in the world. ;) I wish I could do that; it’s quite entertaining lately.

  9. jones*

    Hallelujah!

    I started a contract job in December and I had nothing near what you’ve outline, despite asking, repeatedly, for a more formal orientation. I had a terrible start — I had to meet people on my own, figure out where to access/save files, clean my cubicle, and find the bathroom. (However, I did have a laptop and phone right away – thank goodness!)

    What’s worst: it’s not that I had no work; on the contrary, I had several project on which I had to start immediately. It was difficult to work within crazy tight deadlines, under extreme pressure, without knowing the basics of where, how, who, and why.

    Being set up for success starts day one, minute one.

  10. ChristineH*

    Excellent information! I particularly love the idea of an “entry interview”. Oh, and #2 almost never happens! Drive me insane.

    My only quibble is with #1 (training plan). I absolutely agree that new hires should be properly oriented to the job and company. However, I’m not sure how realistic it is to have such a comprehensive training plan. In my last true job, I was given over two weeks before beginning to take actual calls (I provided information & referral to callers with disabilities). While the information given to me to look over was very comprehensive, a large percentage of my training was self-directed. It was a relatively small office, and the staff probably didn’t feel they had the time or resources to really sit down with me and prepare me for the job. I was laid off after less than a year. I had the appropriate background, but I think I ended up biting off way more than I could chew. A very humbling experience indeed.

    1. ChristineH*

      Two clarifications on that post:

      1. I meant “drives me insane”, not “drive me insane” in the first paragraph.

      2. In my comments about the training plan, I was generally referring to companies / organizations that have a small number of staff and/or few resources.

  11. Anonymous*

    It’s not fun being a new hire that nobody is prepared for. I worked in the same company and in the same division twice within the last year as a contract researcher (I was in college at the time, and both jobs where when I was not in school). Both times they were not prepared for me. The first time, I had a computer, but everything else, including the paycheck folks (not HR, because I was a contractor), was not set up at all. The second time, the first two days I did not have a computer (a great help when you’re supposed to be researching digital records), but I was able to carry out other responsibilities. My paycheck was also not set up, even though they had given advance notice of over a month (and it took me three weeks to get into the system). There was also the problem of the office manager starting work there shortly before I did (as in, not more than a month), and he was in charge of getting me set up. This should have been a good clue about how communication didn’t really work there, but it didn’t. It wasn’t until the week before I left when one of the people that I saw almost every day walked over to me and said “Oh, you’re [insert my name here], [insert Dad’s name here]’s daughter. How long have you been here? I thought you were just an intern, so I never introduced myself.” So awkward. My dad had gotten me the work (he is on a board of a trade association that my boss worked for, and I babysat my boss’s kids the previous summer), and had been on the phone with this coworker and clued her in about me working there. That was when I realized that I was glad my contract ended in a week. While I loved working there, the lack of communication really stunk (just getting basic information to and from the people that I worked with was a mess). I wish there was a way to anonymously send these articles to former and current employers.

    Thanks for being such a great resource!

    1. Anonymous*

      I meant to add that it took me a week to find the bathroom, and the second time there (months later), during a real emergency, to find the emergency stairs.

  12. Malissa*

    One place that hired me was a very small office. Nobody informed my coworkers that I was hired, where I would sit, or what I would do. I sat in a chair in a very small lobby getting stared at for my first hour on employment because the office manager wasn’t available to get me settled in. Awkward!
    Thankfully the coworkers forgave my part of the situation after I brought in cookies and let them play 2,000 questions with me. The office manager wasn’t as lucky.

  13. Julie -- OP #4*

    I was once hired on a trial basis as a receptionist for a medium-size company (about 100 employees). When I walked in, I was given a list of extensions (and no instructions on how to forward calls/voicemail/etc.) and three months of backlogged filing to do.

    I saw my boss exactly once, when she came out for 30 seconds to double-check I knew how to do the filing. Despite trying to poke my head into her office several times over the course of the day, she was always too busy to see me and answer even the most basic question like “How long are you planning to hire me?” (I was temping at the time.)

    In the end, I left at the end of the day and said I wouldn’t be coming back. I wrote about my experience at the time on my blog: http://eveglass.livejournal.com/901608.html

    1. Julie*

      And, naturally, I really need to double-check my settings to make sure I don’t use the same name as last time, when I was OP #4. Just ignore that part, please.

      1. Julie*

        I attempted to ask my new boss how long the contract would be for, and whether it was supposed to be a temporary or permanent thing. I hadn’t had a chance to speak with anyone other than my recruiter before showing up on day one. The sum total of knowledge I had was, “They need someone to come in tomorrow! The position hasn’t been filled in three months! They’re desperate for someone and you’re really good! Will you go?”

        Or something to that effect, anyway. It was a year ago. Honestly, I had very, very little information about the position and the person who was supposed to be my boss didn’t have time to sit down with me for 10 minutes, even on the first day.

        1. Anonymous*

          Yeah, that’s a pretty pushy thing to say as a temp. Get whatever info you can from the recruiter/agency, but for godsakes don’t bug the new boss about it. Looks very weird, especially when they’ve made it plain they don’t have time for you.

            1. Anonymous*

              The same thing every other temp does: treat it like an extended job interview, and hope for the best. There’s no guarantee anyone can give you in a temp situation unless you have a contract… in which case you wouldn’t be asking the question in the first place.

              1. Laura L*

                Actually, Julie didn’t ask her new boss when they’d be hiring her full-time, she tried to ask how long her temp assignment was expected to last. Very, very different questions and the latter is definitely legitimate.

                Although, I’ m surprised the recruiter didn’t mention it before she started, but it sounds like she started quickly. I’ve also never temped, so I’m not sure how those things usually work.

              2. Jen M.*

                Laura, a good temp agency WILL give you that information. If they don’t have it up front, they will either say it is open ended, or they will call you later with the information.

                It sounds like she was put there in a hurry–which she said was the case–and the agency just didn’t have all the info.

          2. KayDay*

            Full disclosure, I have never temped. But asking, how long the work is expected to last (which would be discussed up front with any external consultant) seems 100% legitimate to me. I’ve generally found that being honest and straightforward has worked pretty well in the workplace (and when that doesn’t work, it is time to run).

            1. The Other Dawn*

              I agree. I don’t see what the issue is with asking how long the assignment is expected to be. Most of the temps we’ve had in the past have asked the same question.

            2. Anonymous*

              Sure, for an external consultant with a sought-after skillset… but your average receptionist-type temp job is a totally different kettle of fish. They want somebody who will show up, do the work, and not cause problems. Easily replaced within 24 hours.

              This is the why there’s a temp agency as the liaison in these situations: the company doesn’t want to deal with hiring, firing, or acting as HR for the particular role. Again, perfectly fine to ask the question, but not smart to ask the new boss. Ask the temp agency instead.

              1. Mike C.*

                It shouldn’t matter what the skillset is or how in demand it is. It’s simply a matter of respect.

                You shouldn’t personally treat temps or contractors any differently than you would regular employees of the company.

              2. Piper*

                What Mike said. Sadly, this isn’t often the case. Having worked as an office manager temp waaaaay back when I first graduated from college and couldn’t find a job in my field and now working as a contractor in a specialized field, I can say I was treated like a second-class worker in both instances.

                I absolutely hate being a contractor because the lack of respect I’ve gotten here has been insane. The general attitude is that contractors are idiots and all contractors are “entry-level” and interchangeable with interns regardless of what career level they are at, what expertise they bring, and what their payscale is. I can’t figure out why a company would hire people with specific expertise and then tell them that they are just a robot and they do not have a right to an opinion. True story and I don’t know why this is okay.

              3. Long Time Admin*

                I hope I never have to work with you, Anonymous. With your attitude, I’d transfer every incoming call to your phone and page you innumerable times when you don’t answer the latest one.

                It’s never a good idea to piss off the receptionist, an admin, or a janitor. We can make your life hell.

              4. Suzanne*

                I worked for several months as a temp. Yes, we were treated like dirt only a level lower. I needed the money and needed to keep something on my work record, but I would never do it again unless I had no other choice. I have been working for nearly 30 years and have rarely had a job as bad as the temp one. I, and I am fairly certain the people that I temped with, will never recommend this nationally know temp agency to even the family dog. I tell anyone and everyone I know who is seeking employment to avoid them like the plague.

      2. Adam V*

        It’s a perfectly legit question when you’re “hired on a trial basis” to want to know how long the trial is expected to last. And similarly to a job interview, both sides should be using the trial period to determine whether it’s a fit – and it sounds like Julie realized that this company was going to be uncommunicative and her boss unreachable, so she knew it wasn’t going to work out.

        We can debate whether only lasting one day was a great move, or how best to word “How long are you planning to employ me?” when speaking to a potential future boss, but to me, asking the question makes total sense.

        1. Anonymous*

          Perfectly legit, but not strategic or intelligent in the slightest. Employer take on temps because they can’t predict the workload or want help that’s easily fired. There’s no scenario in which a boss taking on a new temp wants to have to deal with that question on day 1.

          Perhaps this is why Julie is stuck filing, and you and I are not.

          1. The Other Dawn*

            Why would a boss not want to deal with that question? You either now the time frame or you don’t. Whenever I’ve been asked, I’ve answered. If I’m not sure, I say so. I don’t always know the time frame. I don’t have an issue with a temp asking how long he or she might be here.

            1. Anonymous*

              I’ve seen a few different places that treat temps very differently to what you’re describing, which I agree is way more reasonable. But based on the way Julie described the situation, certainly doesn’t seem this boss was of the warm and fuzzy sort. Just saying a more perceptive person would probably realize this boss does not want to hear it, especially from a temp.

              I’m glad this blog has so many eminently reasonable managers, but that’s not the real world where most temps work.

          2. Julie*

            There’s no need to be snippy. For the record, I am no longer filing or temping, and before I was temping as a receptionist, I was an editor, and before that, a research assistant. Because I had taken on this position at the last minute, I had no idea whether it was a temp-to-hire position, a short-term contract while they looked for somebody else, or a long-term temp position to replace someone on, say, mat leave. I see no reason to think that clarifying the employer’s desires in regards to my position was “not strategic or intelligent.”

            1. Sarah G*

              Like Julie says, no need to be snippy. And like AAM has been saying lately, “Play nice!” Not to mention that I did some admin temping at one point, and there was no tacit (or spoken) rules about not asking the boss how long the assignment is expected to last! Julie wasn’t asking for guarantees, just to get an idea of what to expect, and I’m sure even an estimate would’ve been helpful. She’d clearly started in a hurry, and maybe she’d already asked the temp agency, and they didn’t know. At any rate, it was by no means an unreasonable or demanding question. And no need to pick on people and be snippy and self-righteous. This blog is about helping people, not insulting them!

  14. Anon1973*

    My very first job out of college I had no computer, no phone, no desk, and believe it or not, no work to do, for 11 months. No, that is not a typo. I had nothing to do for 11 months, as that’s how long it took me to find a new position.

    This was a major corporation with thousands of employees. A few years later it filed for bankruptcy and was bought by a competitor.

    Sadly for me, this turn of events changed my entire career path. Not knowing any better, I thought it was indicative of the industry as a whole so I switched industries. Now that I’m older and wiser, I realize it was really just poor management by the one corporation. Oh well.

    1. Anonymous*

      I’m currently in the same situation! The position I took on was newly created and my boss had no idea of what the yearly cycle of the position would be. After being busy for about a month (doing a lot of organizing and standardizing procedures) I’ve found myself with NOTHING to do. I regularly approach my manager indicating that I need more work only to be told there isn’t really anything for me to do, but if I just “hang in there” she’ll find something for me.

      Obviously, I’ve started looking for a new position. When I do find something else I intend to let my current manager know that they should either restructure the position, downgrade it to part-time, or eliminate it entirely.

  15. Anon.*

    Know what’s fun? When your new manager doesn’t tell HR that they have a new hire coming in and therefore HR can’t take your picture and create your badge because the lady who does that is out for the day. And then, for the next 5 months, you continuously ask your manager AND HR if you can come down and get your picture taken for a badge and the woman is always mysteriously out of the office. I lived my entire internship on a “guest pass” at my former place of employment. The front desk guards and I became acquainted really quickly as I continuously had to repeat that I wasn’t there to see anyone, I was a paid, full-time intern who was coming at 9 am every MWF and 6 pm ever TTh, and here is my first pay stub, and here is a photo ID and yes you can call my manager, but he’s out on an assignment and no, I wouldn’t like to sit in the lobby while you try to verify my identification with someone else in the office when I’m working on deadlines and need to pick up the docket of court cases I’ll be covering that day which is upstairs on my desk and make it over to the court house in time for the first trial.

    They then harassed me for two months after my internship ended because I had “never turned in” my badge and I was suddenly a security risk because I could get into the building after hours with my invisible ID.

  16. Ellie H.*

    I’m lucky never to have had this problem. To be honest, the closest to this “right” approach (TONS of feedback and handouts) that I’ve experienced was my worst new-job experience ever, that they “fired” me from after two days because the manager didn’t like my personality for the job. All the other jobs I’ve taken, they told me about the job in advance, but then also told me what to do in a situation as tasks came up that were required for me to do. I don’t think it’s helpful to read handouts about how to do your job without being able to actually do the functions, I don’t know how you can learn to do anything without doing it yourself. I think that I’ve worked jobs with much less “protocol” than seems to be the case for the scenarios described in the article – I’ve never really worked for a “company” except for a coffee shop, but I sort of feel like the best way to learn how to do a new job is to have someone explain how to do a task, leave you alone to try and do it yourself, check to make sure you’re doing it right/don’t have any questions, repeat for the other job functions. I don’t think this needs to be too time consuming and is better than having the new employee sit there reading instructions that likely weren’t even written in a clear way (because everyone has a different idea of “a clear way”!).

  17. Amanda*

    Yes, this is so important. I had a job offer at a company that told me over and over again in the interview process how the company was “like a family” and they trained new hires for ” a month at the least” before unleashing them into their role alone. I arrived on the first day and everyone was unprepared and though I was giving a training schedule, no one stuck to it, including my boss, who was “too busy” to train me many days.

    I also watched them critique another new hire’s Facebook page who was starting the week after me, making comments about her hair and her face and how she seemed “fake” and made fun of her clothes and where she went to college. The whole office, including my managers took part in this, in an open cubicle style office, so everyone heard. It made me wonder what in the world they said about me days before I started.

    Training and family they were not. I was turned off on the first day, and left three months later. It was the worst experience I ever had and was a complete 180 from what they represented in the interview process.

    1. The gold digger*

      But Amanda – that is just like family! The first time I met my husband’s parents, they spent the entire afternoon trashtalking one of their daughters in law! In front of a stranger! Who became the next DIL!

      In some families, being mean is the tradition.

      1. Amanda*

        LOL- very true! Especially my own experiences with my future in-laws, I should have been wary of the “family” reference. Shame on me for expecting it to be positive.

  18. Piper*

    This happened to me at my current job. I didn’t have a computer for a month and I didn’t have a desk for nearly two months. I didn’t have access to the systems I needed and I was borrowing random people’s laptops, using my own, and squatting in empty cubicles. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that the whole job was a bait and switch, and the job I was hired for never actually existed. Gawd, I can’t wait to get out of this place.

  19. Natalie*

    Oo, oo, I have one! Don’t get bizarrely, irrationally suspicious of the new hire and warn a co-worker to watch what she says because you don’t think the new hire “can be trusted”. And definitely don’t do this for 3 new hires in a row (in an office of 7), or the co-worker you keep warning is going to start realizing that you are a crazy person.

    1. Anonymous*

      Actually, there might be some gravity to her refrain. I have a new coworker who has gone running to the new boss (both came in two months apart) on the things us co-workers talk about or comment. How’d we find out? The new boss sulked and told us that “x said that you were saying this about me.” So now the team dynamics has been shifted. Maybe AAM should do a post on what new managers should NOT do! Like complaining about the work quality and attitude of 2 colleagues to me on her 2nd day at work. My thoughts: You just came, why such quick judgements and more importantly why are you gossiping about this to me? I am not a fellow manager!

  20. Anon*

    This happened to me at a multinational company who is known for being well organized. Go figure. Hahaha. And no, I’m not there anymore. :)

  21. kris*

    I work for the state of Oklahoma and I’ve been on the end of the unprepared trainer a few times unfortunately. Just a few weeks ago we had four new people start in my office. While my office’s director new the hiring decision had been made, our office of personal management neglected to tell us that we had new people starting that Monday. Luckily a few years ago I devoloped a detailed training manual as well as some powerpoint presentations to get them started with and thus they were unaware that we didn’t know they were starting that day.

  22. moe*

    One thing I found useful at my old job were one-on-one meetings. New employees would meet with each person in the department for half an hour (an hour with managers) in the first week, for introductions and general “this is what I do here” talk. I found it very useful when I started there, and was impressed that no one seemed to consider it a burden to do this.

    This also helped fill some of the dead space because unfortunately, getting a computer and network access set up by day one was sometimes impossible. Not for lack of preparation, just a rather byzantine employee system setup process that could take 2-4 weeks from initial request to completion.

    1. Jamie*

      This is really nice and that kind of interaction up front is so valuable.

      I’ve had people nervously pacing outside my office until they poke their head in and ask if I’m the one they should see about their computer.

      We don’t have names on our doors and I feel bad when they have to scurry around wondering which office to to peek into…kind of like a weird game of hide and seek.

      Introductions – they go a long way.

    2. Piper*

      I had a job where they did this and it was really the most helpful thing. I figured out who I needed to go to for what and what everyone did. Plus, like Jamie said, it helped take up some extra time because even though I had a computer and they were prepared for my arrival, I still didn’t have a ton of work to do those first few weeks.

  23. Anonymous*

    I didn’t mind much when it happened to me because I still got paid to sit around and do nothing. Their loss on company productivity! Plus, I think this stuff happens to almost everyone b/c most employers don’t want to overwhelm you on your first day anyway. You have to get use to the culture and be settled first before you start on your first big project.

    1. Julie*

      The best task I ever got on a first day was editing minutes from a recent Board of Directors meeting. I got to feel useful and actually put my skills to work, familiarize myself with the company and recent initiatives at my own pace, and figure out which acronyms and concepts I was going to need help with, all in the first morning. It was very helpful!

    2. Piper*

      Agreed that a slower start versus a pile of work can be helpful, but not having a desk, phone, computer, any kind of introductions, and just being treated like a piece of crap (speaking from experience here) is not the best way to start a job.

      I’ve definitely started places where the work trickled in slowly over the first few weeks, which is fine, but where I am right now, I feel as though I was treated with outright disrespect and it was clearly indicative of the way the whole job experience at this place has been (ie, absolutely miserable).

  24. Bonnie*

    We are a small office of 20-25. We tend to hire two at a time to made trainning easier on us and so that the two staff members get a chance to learn together and are not the only “new person” in the office. Once without realizing it we hired two employees and our boss gave them different start dates a week apart. When the first one arrived we weren’t prepared because we thought we had another week. Luckily the employee was a former intern and had already been through most of the trainning so we just put him to work for the week. But it was hard to explain to the second employee why the first one had already been working for the week.

  25. Anonymous*

    I’ve had several jobs where the person training me the first few days looked me dead in the eyes and said “just don’t quit”. I do mostly contract work so I know I will probably be walking into a mess but please don’t do that. That just confirmed my suspicions that this was going to be the job from hell and made it hard to be positive.

    1. ChristineH*

      Something similar happened to me on a job a number of year ago. It wasn’t the person training me, but when I came in on my second day, a staffer joked that I’d come back (i.e. not quit the first day). Yes it was the job from h-e-double-hockey-sticks, and I was let go after just two and a half weeks.

  26. Kristi*

    Not to one up anyone but try being the new boss when the old one and their entire team wasn’t aware a new boss was a possibility.
    Talk about awkward..

    1. The Other Dawn*

      It’s also awkward when the new guy shows up for work the first day and you have to go tell the CFO that the NEW CFO has arrived for his first day of work. The current CFO (my boss) knew he was being replaced and didn’t bother to tell me before the new guy arrived. My boss was “reassigned” to a new position. Eventually he was terminated, though.

      1. Anonymous*

        What do companies get out of this “reassignment”? It just prolongs the termination process and sends a message to employees on the indecisiveness of management and the disrespect shown to an employee just tossed off to one side; just too much game playing going on in corporates nowadays, no wonder they have no time to get good work done but you can be sure they will be shouting about PRODUCTIVITY in the very next quarter!

        1. Anonymous*

          I think my company does it to CYA. We have a very toxic culture, and there are a number of people in management–upper and middle—who are known to be outright abusive, yet, because of their work reputations, areas of specialty, industry pull, etc. the company refuses to do anything about it.

          Instead, what the company does when an employee (lower level) comes to them with a legitimate complaint is they transfer the complainer. I really think it’s to prevent that same person from suing or blowing the whistle over bad behavior.

          I’ve been with three groups within my company. In the first case, my boss was literally verbally abusive. The second group, I was one of two admins. The other admin was literally a psycho–I feared for my safety around this person, but they wouldn’t get rid of her. Instead, they transferred me again. The group I’m with now, they are all passive aggressive assholes.

          Third time’s the charm. I’ve been actively looking for work, and now I’m starting to wonder if the reason I’m not getting responses is because my company has a reputation?

          1. Evan the College Student*

            If they transfer you to a position with any disadvantages relative to your previous position, isn’t that illegal retaliation?

  27. Suzanne*

    I quit one crazy job after not quite a year because it was impossible. I started with no desk and no computer and my last day, no one asked for my master key before I left. I turned it in because I’m a nice person, but seriously. I could have come in after hours and stolen the place blind.

  28. Heartlover1717*

    Thank you for this post, Alison. Reading all the comments it’s great to know I’m not alone in being “the forgotten new hire”. Because of past experience, I’ve been asking questions similar to several of your bullet points under “Create a Training Plan” during interviews (e.g. upcoming goals, how the team works together, any clients needing TLC, common obstacles, communication preferences, etc.).

    So…do you have any suggestions on how to best respond when employers are not ready for you on the first day (mitigating circumstances aside)? In recent experiences for me, this turned out to be a precursor of things to come, so now it’s a huge “red flag”. Is it rude, or good form to walk away at this point (unless you’ve signed a contact or completed other paperwork)?

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      Honestly, it’s soooooo common that making it a deal-breaker would mean that you could hardly work anywhere. It sucks, but it’s true. However, one thing you can do to mitigate it is to make your own training outline — things you know you don’t know, that you need to cover with someone at some point. After a few days, if it’s clear no one is going to be doing this for you, do it yourself and then sit down with your manager to go over it.

  29. Just Me*

    Great info !
    What is really funny is where I am now has a ” new hire plan”. They make you sign all this paperwork for the first day, 30 days, 60 days or whatever is was, stating that you ” learned” XYZ and that you were told about this that and the other thing.

    Your desk was ready, computer was ready, pens, highlighters etc.
    Ok… great right?? Wrongo wrongo wrongo. You are not shown really how to do XYZ. I actually almost refused to sign the one time saying.. No I did not learn this. They made me sign anyway. They give copies of all that and I wrote for my own need that I signed under protest. Not that it mattered.

    The trainees are given little direction and if the work they do is wrong it given back with a sticky note saying.. ” this is wrong”. Or ” Call ABC about this”. And literally that is it. No reasons given, no explanation on the whys, nothing. And literally it can take up to 3 months to get paperwork back. So you have been doing some things wrong for months having no clue and getting into a bad habit.

    This company has very high turnover for those reasons as well as their attendance policy.

    A trainer told me that they do not train new people on the whole process of ” ABC” because it is too much to take in. The end result is a lot of paperwork needs to be redone. I am given a lot of work to be redone from all the people that are fired. I don’t care that I am given the work to do but why don’t they not get a clue and simply train these people better.

    They actually dont see a problem with re-doing the work nor do they wonder why all work done in general is always wrong !! That is really scary !! ( we go though A LOT of stickys !! )

    So the point of my babbling…. my company has a ” training” plan but they might as well not have it. It is just a smoke screen so they can con themselves into believing they have it together.

      1. Just Me*

        LOL…. just today I corrected a newer gals work who still works there. Really ? Giving it back to the gal showing and helping her apparently didn’t cross their minds. Scary….

  30. Anonymous*

    I’ve been on both ends of this one. In one position I was able to create the new hire training program which walked the employee step by step through the process of meeting each department they would be working with, and issuing everything they would need: key card, u inform, etc. this worked because everyone at the organization was on the same page as far as the importance of getting employees to work right away.

    Now, where I work, we are never prepared, no matter what we do before hand, someone drops the ball and neither IT nor HR are aware we have anew employee. Despit the fact they had to pass a background and drug test to get here. I shouldn’t be surprised. I didn’t get a offer until the day before I was to start, and no one showed me where the bathroom was either.

  31. Anonymous*

    Wow. My company has a great onboarding system in place, but they don’t cover ANY of the “personalities” stuff, and checking in? Forget it! LOL!

    They’re good about rules and equipment, infrastructure, etc, but the people stuff? Not so much.

  32. anonymous*

    At a previous job where I was the office manager, the boss and I made sure things were ready for new hires. Once, after a lovable but messy person left, the boss asked if the department secretary and I would go over the items, mainly paperwork, that he left behind and throw out a lot, but keep what the next person in the position might need. It was rather difficult to make those decisions–sometimes it’s hard to know what to keep, and it took the two of us half a day to get things in some semblance of order. We both had a good laugh when one of the last items we sorted, find under a pile of papers at the bottom of a lateral file drawer, was a book on getting organized!

    I once moved into a new office where there were bits of chocolate all over the computer keyboard and nail clippings in the desk drawer! EWWWW!

    2. Liz in a Library*

      Yep. I’d like to call for employers to please make sure that when someone is moving into a workspace for the first time, that it is at least somewhat clean.

      It wasn’t a new job, but at my first “real” job I once got a promotion when a coworker left that gave me a desk all of my own for the first time. My excitement was tempered when I had to spend the entire first day cleaning decayed loose food from the drawers, a thick layer of food-grime and grease from the desktop, and food, nail clippings, and what looked like earwax from the monitor and keyboard. It was the most foul and disgusting thing I had ever done.

  33. Anonymous*

    I’ve been very fortunate in that I have never experienced a bad welcome. However, a friend of mine once arrived for a VP position where they set up a dismal space for him in….a basement. A dark, lonely, damp basement. Yes, like in Office Space.

    It’s amazing what some companies think is appropiate.

  34. Richard*

    “Make sure the staff member’s computer, phone, and email accounts are set up and working before her first day. Have a list of passwords waiting for her so she can immediately log in, set up her voicemail, and so forth, and ensure that her workspace is clean and stocked with supplies.”

    Being in IT, I’m just going to add that your local helpdesk would appreciate it if you could do this too. If you’re in HR and send a request at 5:20pm for a new computer/laptop/login/email/phone for someone who starts at 9pm the next day, prepare for disappointment!

    Though there are worse cases, like requesting all of the above for someone who started work 2 hours ago.

  35. MaryTerry*

    At one job I started, I took the “emergency exit” map off the wall, copied it and had someone write in the names of everyone’s office. Then I kept it up to date and handed it out to all the new hires after me.

  36. Anonymous*

    Been there, done that, and it’s far too common.

    Not only is it rude to the new hire, it’s damaging to the group. A new hire who does not get properly equipped with the physical equipment AND, more importantly, a knowledge of company procedures, may flounder for MONTHS trying to figure out basic procedures and policies that should have been explained in a proper employee orientation.

    I’ve been in my current job a year now, and just recently found out some basic stuff that could have made my last year much easier for me and for my boss.

    I still don’t know who my boss reports to, though.

  37. Cassie*

    I’ve seen this in my dept. New person comes in and nothing is set up. They spend the morning filling out paperwork, meeting people, and then sit in their office waiting for the computer to be set up and ready (which takes a couple of days).

    At least get an email address set up – so often, they send out an email introducing the new hire and include “email address TBD”. Seriously?!

    Another thing I wonder – do new hires usually come in before their first day on the job to complete paperwork? Because that could take care of the issue of getting a company ID (if that’s needed – procedure-wise – for the new hire to get an email address).

    I’ve worked in the same dept for almost 15 years – though I have moved around from group to group, I haven’t been the “newbie”. But because my cubicle is in a centrally located area, I can hear when the new hire comes in for their first day of work and nothing is set up yet. The new hire’s supervisor should at the very least have some concrete plans on what the new hire should do on their first few days, especially if they aren’t able to take the necessary training classes right away. Give them the procedures manual, hand them some examples so they can look over them, show them how to process something (so they have some idea before their training class) – anything! Don’t just let them sit there in their office, while you (the supervisor) work on your own stuff.

    1. Cassie*

      I should mention that, if possible, having the new hire shadow the supervisor (or someone who has similar duties) would be a great idea. I started off as a student worker so though I wasn’t handling the big stuff, I was at least familiar with forms, account structures, knew who did what, etc. Even if the new hire is making copies, it can still be a good experience as the supervisor can explain how many copies are needed, and who gets the copies, etc. (Of course, the new hire might be unhappy doing something as simple as making copies…).

  38. Another Brit.*

    One of the best things I had from a boss when I was a new hire: being reminded to take my breaks.

    Seriously. He kept an eye on me and reminded me to take breaks, that the work would wait to tomorrow and that he’d prefer that report was 10 minutes later on his desk than I burned myself out.

    Admittedly it took about 2 weeks to get my own computer login and email address but I had access and permission to use to my predecessor’s during that time so it wasn’t an issue!

  39. XYZ*

    I wish more companies would be more prepared when newbies show up. New employees want to make a good impression on their first day. It’s important that the employer does the same. At my current job, we’re a small firm (4 people), so it was somewhat excusable a computer was not set up yet.

    At my previous job, I had to bring my laptop in for over a month. It took several weeks for the IT department to get approval to purchase and set up a new computer. It made the company look so disorganized. They knew weeks in advance when my start date would be, but took forever to get their act together! (I quickly learned that this was typical behavior for the company though.)

  40. another brit*

    I started at the Company about 4 years ago. They had got rid of the Accountant and set me on as the Book-keeper (cutting cost exercise). They should have told staff members that it was only the title that was different. I still should be respected for doing the same job as the accountant. From day one I have felt alienated. When I asked in my first week where to find something the person I asked was so unhelpful. The problem is that all the staff live in the same area and they all know eachother out of work and a lot of them went to school together even. I have NEVER been asked to the staff xmas drink or any other staff outing after work and when the MD is away they never speak to me. It is complicated even more my the fact that the junior member of staff is the daughter of one of the Managers. I asked her if she is still doing a certain job bearing in mind she has been reminded 3 times in as many months to do this job. I did not raise my voice but the Manager stormed into my office and accused me of picking on her. Laughable really that you cannot ask a civilised question without being accused. I was left feeling quite intimated and felt that I could not leave y office or open my mouth for anything. The problem is I cannot just walk out as I have bills to pay as you may appreciate. What would you do???

    1. Jen M.*

      I would definitely move heaven and earth to find a new job. That is really terrible, and the stress WILL make you sick!

      :(

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