Sunday's gospel reading at church was from Matthew 10:40-42 which is Christ's explanation that "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me."
The priest's sermon talked about our own personal welcoming behaviors at church and asked us to examine how welcoming we are to strangers...including the person who we see every week at church and don't know.
This got me thinking about welcoming behaviors at work.
Remember what it was like when you were a new employee in the office? You feel like the onion in a petunia patch (as my mom used to say). You don't even know where the bathroom is let alone the unspoken important details about the place where you work and the people you work with. You don't get what they're talking about...you don't get the inside jokes...you don't know who's who and how they fit in to the scheme of work or what role they play in the office.
You want to be liked and you want to like them but it's very hard to know what to do or say that won't make you look like you're trying too hard.
I've seen this happen even with employees who transfer from one department to another. They may technically know the people they now work with but they don't know them in this knew role.
This is an opportunity for each of us to allow the light of Christ to shine through us and to go out of our way to be as welcoming as possible towards the new person.
Here are some ideas:
Have a welcome breakfast for the new person. (Why do we have going away parties? Are we happy people are leaving? Shouldn't we be celebrating their arrival?)
Ask questions about the person's work background...what they liked about their former job and what made them choose to apply with your company or department...what do they look forward to about their new job...and whatever other questions can help you get to know them. (Be cautious about asking personal questions...some people are uncomfortable with sharing that information too soon and in today's litigious society you should be hesitant about that stuff).
Have each person in the work group share information about themselves. It would be great if each person could spend a few minutes alone with the new hire to discuss what they do and how that intersects with their new job.
Take time to introduce them to others around the company. (But don't overwhelm the with too much too soon. It can be embarrassing for the person to admit later that they've forgotten names...which will certainly happen).
Have their works space ready with new office supplies and if it's possible have their new business cards ready or at least have blank ones prepared so they can write in their name without scratching out someone else's.
Tell them some of the unwritten things that help people fit in...like who likes to have someone knock on their office door or cube doorway before entering, etc.
While new hires certainly should work to fit in to their new surroundings it's important that the existing work group make extra effort to welcome the person and help them fit in. Think about the things you wish had been done for you...or better yet...ask the person what you could do to help make the transition to their new job a good one.
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