3 Ways to Inspire From Day One

The alarming sound awakes you from your slumber.  The insistent beeping from your phone or clock won’t let up until reality sets in. Your pulse quickens and palms become slick with fresh perspiration.  Today is the day; your first day at your new job.

Do you remember your first day or first week at a new job?

Stop – take a moment, think back to that very second…

A lot of companies want to have an excellent on-boarding system and no successful company intends to make a new-hire uncomfortable.  So why do so few actually have great on-boarding in place?  It takes time, effort and must be a priority for of the entire company!

At Roma, we take great pride in everything we do, including welcoming new family members to our team.  For us, it is absolutely essential; we’ve brought 16 new people onto our team since January and our success depends upon them being the superstars we hired.

“People will forget what you said.  People will forget what you did.  But people will never forget how you made them feel,”
– Maya Angelou.

Kevin Burke recently joined Roma as our video producer and was amazed by what awaited him on his first day.

“I was blown away by Roma and all they had set up for me,” Burke said. “In addition to an ultra welcoming feeling all my coworkers exhibited, they all knew I was coming and were genuinely excited to have me on their team.”

Are you investing in how your people feel?

Oscar Wilde said you never get a second chance to make a first impression and the adage remains true today.

It’s worthwhile to make on-boarding inclusive and fun.  Having said that you may not have the resources to do everything we can for our new family members; here’s our three easy must’s for any on-boarding experience.

Roma Easy Must’s for a WOW on-boarding experience!

1. Create a solid structure:  A phone call the week prior, a proper and robust orientation package, an itinerary letting them know where they will be at what time.  A little structure will go a long way towards alleviating any “new person” anxiety.
2. Collide with as many people as possible:  By setting up “collisions” or impactful encounters with your best people, your new hire will feel less awkward walking into the lunch room and will enjoy break time with their new colleagues.
3. Create a memorable moment:  Like posed in the first line of this blog, “do you remember your first week?” Of course you do.  You probably don’t remember all the names or what you worked on, but you do remember how you felt?  Roma employees get a parade at the end of their first week.  The Leadership Team dresses up in festive wacky gear while upbeat music pumps from a portable speaker.  We dance in a conga-style line around the office until arriving at the new family member’s workstation.  You can bet the sight of seeing your CFO dancing with a Hawaiian luau will make a positive lasting memory on them.

Check out our video for more fun with on-boarding!  Also, let us know, what do you do to ensure your new hires are happy and welcomed?