By Brooke Chaplan

As a small business owner, you’ll likely be onboarding many new employees over the coming years. Developing a solid plan to help them get integrated into your business environment is a must to ensure they stay for the long-term. Effective team collaboration is one of the major indicators of success in a business environment, so the faster you get new hires on board, the better your collaboration will be. With this in mind, here are three ways you can assist new hires in becoming a member of the team faster.

Get them a buddy

It’s much easier to start in a new place when you have a buddy or partner by your side. You have someone to turn to when you have questions and you can get a quick answer. Find a buddy, or partner, for all your new hires so that they have someone by their side for the first few weeks at your business. When choosing a buddy, pick an existing employee who has good communication skills and a welcoming personality. This will help your new hire feel more comfortable in your environment. You may be surprised at just how much having a buddy in their first few weeks will make a difference in how quickly a new hire adapts to your culture.

Ask for their insight on topics

Many times, when new hires are brought on board they tend to stay quiet until they assess the culture. Most of the time this leads to new hires not sharing great ideas about the topics at hand. Show them that you value their opinions and insight by asking them about how they feel on a topic when it’s up for discussion. By encouraging them to put in their opinion, you can allow them to feel more comfortable so they can actively participate in the event. Everyone likes to feel like their input is valued, so this is a major way to make new employees feel ownership and loyalty towards the company.

Use pre-engagement communication

You don’t need to wait until the employee’s first day on the job to get them integrated into your culture. You can communicate with them in a variety of ways to show them the core values of your company, what you’re currently innovating, and any processes they need to know. Infographics and videos are great mediums for communication with new hires. By using pre-engagement communication tactics, you can lessen the stress and length of the onboarding period. This will help your new hires know what to expect before they ever step foot inside your building.

When it comes to hiring new employees, you want to get them onboard as quickly as possible. Integrating them into your existing culture can be a challenging feat if you don’t have the right methods for doing so. The above three methods should assist you in getting those new employees integrated with your existing staff sooner. The sooner that new employees feel part of the team, the sooner you’re going to benefit from their presence at your company.

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Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan or Twitter @BrookeChaplan.