Does this sound familiar?
"Here's your employee handbook . . . and here's your copy of the safety guidelines . . and here's a one page overview of our benefits guide . . . plus a booklet that goes over our benefits in more detail . . . aaannndd . . . here is a brochure for our employee giving campaign . . ."
There's a lot of ground to cover on a new employee's first day, I know. There's orientation, there's benefits selections, there's going over company policies, and more. But if you're throwing a whole bunch of paper at the new hire, you're wasting your time.
So do not -- I repeat, do not! -- hand your new hire a giant binder on their first day at their new job! They are overwhelmed enough as it is being in a new environment and getting ready to learn about their new job. They don't need a 90 page booklet and several loose sheets of other paper on top of that that they won't ever look at again.
"But wait!" you say. "I also take the time to read over the highlights and ask them if they have any questions! They get lots of paperwork, but we go over it together!"
Nope, that doesn't change my mind. Get rid of the paper handouts.
Go Digital!
Hand them a thumb drive with the benefits guide. Make the employee handbook available on the cloud. Use the technology that's out there! It's less cumbersome and overwhelming for your new hire, and it allows you and your new hire to jump straight into what matters: learning more about their new job.
That goes for office paperwork as well! The Form I-9 can be done electronically, for example. There's no need to have your new hire fill out forms only for you to then take the time to file it away. That time can be spent in much more valuable ways.
No more paper clutter on a first day, no more hours spent hunched over forms before the new employee gets to dive in. If you haven't gone digital yet, this is your sign to do it NOW.
So we just missed it, but October 1st was National Black Dog Day. You have all met our puppy Estelle, but let me officially introduce you to Beatrice... "Bea" ...our nearly 10-year old beauty. She brings some unconscious bias out of folks being black (did you know that black dogs are less likely to be adopted for no other reason that their color), being a pure bred pit bull, but let me tell you - she is one of the kindest, sweetest dogs you (or your dog) has ever met!