When you join an organization, there’s always a feeling of anxiety and discomfort. You try to understand the people around you, the organization, and how things work in that organization. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first job or your 10th, but it takes time to settle down and find your bearings in a new environment. In the middle of all this, you are expected to start working and start producing results. “The first impression is the last” things like these keep on going in your head and you want to make the best first impression.
After you onboard, you have to get to know a bunch of things, and it might take a lot of time knowing it all. However, here are a few things that you should immediately try to know or understand to make your path in the organization smoother:
- The First Line of Contact:- The first set of people you get in touch with is the HR personnel. Get to know who is handling your onboarding and orientation from HR. Get their emails, IM, contact number, available time, etc. This person will be the key to unlock the gates of the organization. Make a friend in that department. Also, get to know the second in command or the primary HR contact’s absence who can help you with your questions.
- Details & Documents: When getting into an organization, you need to provide many documents and certificates. Several documents are needed as per the organization’s policies and for legal compliance. Often these documents are to be provided multiple times to different people. Check if there is an exhaustive list of documents that HR has during onboarding and keep them ready. Keep a separate folder with all the documents and share that folder rather than sharing documents one at a time. Later if there is a need to add, remove or modify any document, do that directly within the folder. The folder can be easily shared with multiple people any number of times. Also, keep all your personal, educational, and experience details handy in one place, as it’s required to be filled multiple times.
- Administrative Guides:- Get to know the Admin department contact person(s). They will help you out with your several administrative questions and requirements. Things like access cards, transportation, machine, seating, etc are usually taken care of by this department. After HR, this is the department that you will need to contact for the next steps.
- The Assignment:- Get to know the project that you will be working on. Also, get to know the team members that belong to that project. Start interacting with them without being prompted. If you are not assigned to any project immediately, ask HR what training or activities you will have to perform in the next month or two.
- IT Support:- You might get your desk, your machine, and the project knowledge but you are handicapped until you have the required software on your machine to work. The IT support team helps you in setting up your machine according to your requirements. You should know what software is essential for your project and raise a request with the IT department. Also, get to know if there are any approvals required to get the software installed and who can approve. Different organizations have different information security policies, so get to know the Dos and Don’ts before you start opening your Facebook or your personal emails.
- Attendance and Work Log:- The day you join the organization your attendance and time logging has to start. Every organization has some way to capture the attendance and work log of employees. It can be a manual register entry or automated biometric systems or software to capture the work log. This is one of the most important things to know, as your salary would depend on it. Check with the HR or Admin and if you still don’t get satisfactory answers, ask around but make sure you know these details soon. Jot down the work details in your notebook until you you get access to the work logging system.
- Reporting Hierarchy:- Different organizations have different hierarchies. You could be reporting to one or more managers. Get to know your reporting manager(s) and make sure to introduce yourself to them within the first week. If you have trouble getting in touch, send out an email introducing yourself. Provide your contact information in the email and request a time to meet.
- Organization Show and Tell:- Usually there is an orientation process in most organizations. And most organizations have documents that provide more information about themselves. Its history, vision, verticals, hierarchy, policies, key people, etc. are all available in documents. Going through them will help you know about the organization better. Also, you will be prepared to ask any questions that you have during the orientation. Such information can also be obtained in casual conversations with existing employees.
- Your Gang:- Get to know your team members, introduce yourself, talk to them as soon as possible. Getting to know people who are working on that project and that organization before you can make things easier for you. And with their help, you can meander your way across the project and the organization. Even if you aren’t immediately assigned a project, get to know others who have joined with you. Exchange things that both of you know in a short duration. Try and interact with others beyond your team.
- Take the Bull by the Horns:- Everyone likes a person who is self-driven and takes initiative. This doesn’t have to wait until you have started to work on a project. This can start from day one. If you don’t have any details that you are looking for ask around. Don’t shy away from contacting HR, Admin, or any other department if you think they can help. If you approach people with specific questions, they usually will help you out. Don’t just sit in a corner with a question in your head, a pending approval, and wait for someone to reach out to you and help. If your fellow new joiners have a problem help them out by getting information for them as well. The more you get involved, take initiative, and talk to people around you, the faster you will become comfortable. This will also help you start producing results that the organization hired you for.
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