My First 90 Days: 5 Things All Businesses Can Do To Help New Employees

Instead of writing about my #first90 days and what I did to make them a success (I'm still here almost three years later so I think we'll call that good news!) I thought I'd write about what the company I work for did to make my #first90 days of work memorable.

1) Provide free massages
I'd been sitting at my new desk for an hour when my colleague Michelle poked her head round the door and told me that it was my turn for a massage.

Now I don't work for Google, so can you imagine how awesome it was to be told I was having a massage that day? I'd just joined a small business - a free massage was not what I was expecting. Now imagine my surprise when she told me we got one every single month. Talk about a great first day.

(And guess what? The first thing I did was turn to Facebook and Twitter to rave about the awesome company I'd just joined.)

2) Be enthusiastic
When I interviewed for Paramount my role didn't exist. They knew they needed someone to do something to do with social media and marketing, but they didn't know exactly what they were looking for. I wasn't expecting them to be overly enthusiastic, and actually presumed I'd face some resistance if I wanted to make any changes.

However when I started I was so surprised by the enthusiasm the directors showed for my role during my first week (and subsequent years). They had so many ideas and couldn't wait to share them, which indicated immediately that I'd be working with a team that shared my passion.

3) Support women
The property industry is notoriously dominated by men. Women accounted for a quarter of staff at Paramount when I started (pretty good for the industry) which was fine, but it was only going to be a benefit if they clearly supported each other.

My #first90 days were spent sharing the CEO's office, which was great but a little lonely at times (the rest of the office is open plan). That's why I was thrilled to be invited to a 'Ladies Lunch' that gave me an opportunity to get to know everyone a little bit better. Having time to foster those relationships outside of the office really helped me feel part of the wider team.

4) Trust their staff
Right from day one I was given the autonomy I needed to get stuck into the role. I remember asking a director if I had permission to do something and he looked at me like I was mad. He said that as long as I thought I was making the best decision I should just do it.

This helped me achieve a lot in a relatively short space of time. I recognised that I could still ask others for advice, but if it fell within my remit and I was confident with my choice, they trusted me to make the right decisions.

5) Create a safe environment
Towards the end of my #first90 days we had our annual summer party. It was a really fun night and I realised that I worked with a really nice group of people who looked after each other and made sure they got home safely at all times. At work parties if someone wants to leave early someone will walk them to the train station. If they're feeling a little worse for wear at the end of the night someone will share their cab home with them - even if it means travelling in the completely opposite direction. Knowing you always have someone looking out for you is rare in the workplace and I realised how lucky I was to have that.

What did you company do (or should have done) in your #first90 days to help you settle in?

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Carla Bradman writes a London lifestyle blog and is the marketing manager at Paramount.

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Image: Jeff Sheldon