11 Top tips for new starter introduction meetings
When a new person starts at your workplace, the last thing you want to do is point them to their desk and tell them to get working. Those first hours an employee spends at your business can have a profound effect on how they view you, and that can influence satisfaction and retention in the longer term.
Here are some meeting introduction examples to work through to ensure your all-important first meeting helps them hit the ground running.
Make time for a quality meeting
You should have an introduction meeting agenda before the meeting introduction is formalised, so you should know roughly how long you’re going to need. That’s very useful because you don’t want to be rushing at the end or padding out the meeting – if you need to go and get your guitar, you’ve definitely overestimated. If having new staff is a regular thing, it’s probably best to come up with a set schedule and just tweak it for different people. You’ll get pretty good at it after a while.
Choose the right place to meet
There’s a trend for meeting in coffee shops or pubs on the first day, and while some people like this, others can find it a little intimidating or even embarrassing. It’s always more productive and less distracting if there are just the relevant people in the meeting room. Of course, if you don’t have a meeting room or office where you can get together, you can hire superb quality meeting rooms by the hour. Since they can be in prestigious city centre buildings with drinks, snacks and connectivity to hand, it’s all very professional and welcoming. Even if you do have an office, an offsite meeting room can give a little extra privacy, especially if you normally work in a shared office.
Get everything you’ll need ready
There will inevitably be paperwork to sign, booklets to read and contracts to look at, so ensure it’s all to hand before they enter the room. If there’s any portable equipment they need, such as tools or passes, now is a good time to show them how to use it.
Be relaxed and as informal as possible
Not all jobs lend themselves to being overly casual, but it helps with your relationship if you keep things light and as informal as is appropriate at this first meeting. You want to let them know that you’re approachable and reasonable, and that will pay dividends in the long term when you need their help on projects or even to come forward after complaints about fellow workers.
Let the new starter meet everyone they will work with
The most important person the new employee should meet with is their direct line manager if that isn’t you. Bring that manager into the meeting, even if it’s just for a few minutes, to do a formal introductory meeting so you can be sure they know each other and what their roles are. If possible, let them also meet any colleagues and subordinates who they will be in daily contact with at the first meeting. It all helps break the ice and lets all parties ask questions and clarify responsibilities in the presence of a senior manager.
Show them around the space
Take a little time to show the newcomer around the office, and factor that into the meeting agenda. There will be essential things to cover, such as fire escapes and toilets, but it’s also good to show them their office, their desk (if they are not hot desking), and introduce them to their new colleagues.
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Listen and learn
Remember that the introduction meeting is there to let you learn about the employee’s abilities and concerns, and what they can bring to the company – it’s not all about them learning about you. Ask questions, let them ask questions, and if you don’t know the answers, write them down and find someone who will know, so they can get the question answered soon after the meeting. It shows you take their concerns and expertise seriously.
Get to know the person
It’s always good to know a little bit about the person outside work – where they are from, their hobbies, whether they have kids and so on. As well as potentially unearthing details that will prove useful for their job, it’s just a pleasant way to break barriers. You might even find you have something in common, and that can create a real bond straight away.
Ask if they would like lunch or an informal meetup after work
If the introductory meeting or introduction meeting is in the morning, it’s not unusual to invite the newcomer out to lunch at a local pub, cafe or restaurant, again to break the ice. Be sensitive, of course. Some people might be uncomfortable or intimidated if there are just the two of you in a strange place, so invite one or two colleagues or managers to come along. Afternoon meetings might tempt you to go out for drinks after, but it can be a little inappropriate and more open-ended, so it’s usually better to do it the following lunchtime. Use your sixth sense to judge what’s appropriate.
Plan hybrid or remote meetings, even as a backup
Covid has radically changed the way all sorts of recruitment and work activities are carried out, and by far the most prominent is online meetings. It’s always worth planning a remote or hybrid schedule as well as an in-person one for a new employee, which will probably tally with the way they’ll be working in the future. It can also be polite to ask if they would prefer to meet online or in-person, with or without masks, indoors or outdoors. You can use this to better inform yourself on the types of technology or meeting rooms that will be required when meeting this new starter. Some people do need to take extra care, so it shows you are starting as you mean to go on when it comes to their welfare – and they will appreciate it.
Plan an induction agenda, but don’t be too rigid
Finally, although you’ll have scheduled time for all the parts of the meeting, leave a bit of leeway to let the meeting go off-piste a little. You and the employee can learn a lot about each other if you just let the conversation flow, and it’s often in those semi-formal meanderings that they can come up with fantastic ideas for the way they are going to go about their business.
That just about covers it for getting the first meeting right. Just remember that the employee might be nervous, so go out of your way to make them comfortable, and the nerves should start to fade away. Then you’ll get to see the real person, not the candidate or interviewee, for the first time.
