When starting a new job, remember that you’re not the only one making a first impression… because, your new company should be stepping up to the pressure plate as well.

Employee “onboarding” or orientation as we used to call in the olden days, has become a major responsibility in most Human Resources departments – and for some very good reasons. Not only are more and more Gen Y’ers breaking on to the work scene (who ahem, seem to require the red carpet to be rolled out – don’t look at me!) but more simply – the faster, more welcomed and well-prepared new employees are from day one, the more successful the company will be!

If you’d like to get your own on a more successful employee onboarding plan, even if you are an employee yourself – here are a few tips:

· The Cocktail Hour: Have all new employees meet and shake hands with every current employee at the company (to put a face to the name).

· Make sure that when going back to the cubicle, that there is a printed-out list of the very same people, with their titles (and perhaps even a brief description of their department & job as well). This will ensure that after a week or so, the new employee feels quite comfortable with their new co-workers (because we wouldn’t want to confuse the CEO with someone else while making small-talk at the water-cooler, now would we?!)

· The Observation Deck: Some employers tend to think that having new employees sit in on daily/weekly meetings might be a waste of time (since they are not totally onboard yet). I believe that this is foolish, and that from day two all new employees should just jump right into all meetings. It will help to make them feel like a part of the team, but even more so – to hear what projects are in the works.

· Just Say No to Binders: So, I realize that when starting in any new position, there is plenty-o-documentation to review, deep into the night. Even though a lot of it will not even register in your brain until the third read, save it someplace (hence, the point of a new employee handbook or documentation binder). I would caution against too many binders or too many documents for a new employee to review, so it won’t turn into paper overload! Even better, go over the documentation with the new employee, instead of just sending them to read it by themselves. It’s called one-on-one contact!

But don’t just take my word for it (and certainly DO NOT take Michael Scott’s lead). Instead, here is a great employee onboarding checklist that I found, available on money-zine.com. Check it out – and jump right into that new office pool with confidence (or at least make sure that you’re getting everything that you need, as the new kid).

Photo by: patrick dentler