Human Resources: How to Make Everyone Feel Welcome

Have you ever felt uncomfortable at some point in your life? This could be when you were told to give a speech in front of you class. Or when you were told you work with a new group of people at work. At these moments, there is a natural tendency for humans to feel some sort of discomfort or awkwardness. Most managers have utilized great methods to make new employees feel home. But this is not the same case at every workplace. It is the job of HR managers at every company to make sure that new employees are adjusted to the company. However, even sometimes, they might not even know what exactly to do. In this article, we will teach a few methods that HR managers can use to make their employees to feel more welcome at their jobs.

Firstly, HR managers should consider setting up an unanimous reporting system where they can have their employees express their opinions. This can be something as simple as a box, where employees can place a note to show their concerns. Invariably, this can be a highly effective method as not all employees are verbal. Some are quite expressive of their opinions, but many new employees are quiet for some time. Nonetheless, HRs should take into action immediately and find a solution for these issues. Given that this is non-verbal, employees will be able to get their ideas out without having to actually talk. Once there are less and less complaints, it means that the HR manager has done an effective job. This method can resolve workplace issues for new workers and create a more hostile environment.

Next, managers should conduct roundtable every two weeks. As mentioned earlier, not all employees like to talk. But for those that do like to talk, this method will be effective. In these meetings, employees can talk about the issues that they feel are still looming at work. Their complaints would be stated in an unanimous manner, but the point would go across. Invariably what this creates is a peaceful environment where everyone feels free to talk to one another. Similar to the roundtable meetings, HR managers should also conduct meetings like the character Michael Scott did in the popular T.V. show The Office. In the show, Michael is the branch manager of Scranton for Dunder Mifflin (a paper company), and almost every week, he conducts meetings in crazy ways. He tries to clear diversity issues, by having diversity day where they celebrate all races. While that is something that managers should never do, the one thing that HR managers should do that Michael does is try various things. Throughout the show, Michael creates a friendly atmosphere for all of his employees. Regardless of whether they are new or not, all the employees become good friends. For any company to be successful, that is something that has to be pursued.

Indubitably, if HR managers incorporate these two methods into their workplace, new employees will feel very welcome. Both these methods benefit all kinds of employees. At the end of the day, that is what the world needs to progress towards: satisfaction of employees. Several statistics have shown that it costs twice as much to train a new employee rather than letting an employee go. These methods benefit many people in the longer run. As common people, we hope that our bosses or teachers work to make us feel less awkward when we are new. However, not everyone seems to take that effort. All in all, if these methods were to be followed, it would result in the overall satisfaction of new employees.

By: Chari Govindarajan

Works Cited

Qureshi, Saqib Iqbal. “4 Tips to Help Workers From All Walks of Life Feel Welcome.” Entrepreneur, 8 Apr. 2019, www.entrepreneur.com/article/331614.