We have two new assistant counselors starting in our Irvine office this week (Chelsea and Nicki—you can read about them here). Our director, Allison, has spent the last six weeks totally overhauling our assistant counselor training and preparing for their first day. Everything, from the schedule for the day, to the handouts for the training, to the lunch they’re ordering in, has been thoughtfully considered and planned. We want new employees to know from their very first day on the job what kind of organization they’ve joined. We want them to see from the attention we’ve paid just how important we think their roles are here. We want to make a great first impression.
The first day of anything new–a job, a club, a school–is like the first date. Both parties should work a little harder than usual to make a good impression. And yet I see a lot of organizations treat the first day like a tired relationship that’s going nowhere. Employees show up to their first day on the job and have to fend for themselves. The first club meeting of the year starts 15 minutes late because the leaders weren’t organized. The new student at school has to find her own way to all her new classes because nobody bothered to show her around or explain how the campus is laid out.
If you’re in a leadership role, what could you do to make the first day memorable for new additions to your team? Whether you’re the head counselor at school, the PTA president, or the editor of the school newspaper, think about ways you could pleasantly surprise people on Day 1. Most people have been beaten down by the frequency of bad first days and have low expectations, so you’ve got a built-in advantage.
Sure, you’ll need to keep working hard to make good follow-up impressions. But your chances of forging a lasting relationship increase exponentially if you get the first day right.