We talk a lot about about helping new graduates make the transition to their first job by getting them onboard smoothly. Don’t forget, though, that the same goes for experienced workers who are joining you…the sooner you get them through all the administrative hassles of starting, the sooner they will be productive.

When you hire a new employee at any level you need them to get into “productive” mode, and quickly; that is what you hired them for, and the sooner they start focusing on doing their rather than fitting into their job, the better it is for you. You need to minimize the time it takes them to get through all their initial paperwork and orientation. You also need to understand that the first impression you make on them will be important, and if the onboarding process is disorganized, or seems to be sending the wrong messages, you are liable to have a disgruntled employee early on, and you will probably never get them back. If the situation gets too bad, they may still be listening for the phone to ring in response to one of their CVs still floating around. from both a performance and retention standpoint, onboarding can be a value-adding process.

One thing that will help get them through the process quickly is a simple checklist showing everyone they need to talk to and everything they need to do. Dealing with salary, health benefits, IT support, parking…all those things they need to get out of the way can be listed on a nice, simple checklist they can use to get quickly around the organization and see the right people, and not get too stressed by wondering if they have done everything.

The folks who provide that support should be aware when new employees are coming through so they are ready to help them out. Their processes should be as smooth and efficient as possible; the new employee should not have to worry about things, but should instead should be confident that the staff responsible for different issues will handle them.

Some planning on your part will help make that first impression a good one. As soon as you advertise a position, you should be thinking about how this new person will fit into the organization, not only in terms of responsibilities, but also in physical location. When a new person walks in the door and is told “we will find a place for you to sit,” that sends the message that you do not look very far ahead. It is also hard for your employees to be productive if they don’t have a place to work, or if they are in a temporary location and know they will be moving. In one of my government positions, one of my colleagues arrived to find that the cubicle he had been assigned had been used for storage and it was left to him to clear it out before he could use it. Needless to say, this set the tone for the rest of his time with us.

Your relationship with your employees, and their attitude toward their work, will be shaped in large part by their early experiences. If they come in and can get right to work with minimal hassle, they will be much more excited about being there, and it will show in their results. Once you hire the best people you want their best effort, and you will only get that once they feel they have what they need to do it.