How to Create a Welcoming Environment for New Employees

As a business owner or manager, your job is to integrate new staff members into the company. They should feel welcome and learn about the company culture. While remote access has allowed employees to be hired from all over the world, changing the face of the company dynamics, the basic idea of becoming a team is still the same.

A Face and Name Behind the Job Title

One of the biggest human resources challenges for companies today is to get staff members to see a person behind the job title if they never meet them. If your company hires IT staff from India or Europe, employees who are local may never feel the need to get to know the people.

To create a cohesive team, you need to ensure each person is seen as an individual. Team meetings where remote workers call in can help. They should have the opportunity to put their opinions out there.

However, you must do more. If you have monthly birthday lunches for local staff, you need to plan something for your remote workers. Perhaps change birthday celebrations altogether so that everyone is treated the same.

Respect and Understand Differences

People coming from another culture will have their own unique ways. They will speak differently, using special terms or having a strong accent. People in other countries may celebrate certain holidays. It’s important to know about these differences and understand them.

While your remote employees will likely have more flexibility with their schedules and not work a 9-to-5, they will need to be available at times when local employees are working. This situation may mean you need to discuss any needed time off ahead of time. In doing so, you can learn something about the person and their culture.

One of the most important aspects of working with remote employees is establishing communication. For one thing, people need to be able to work together on different time schedules. They also need to be able to understand what the other person is saying.

It’s common for Americans to think workers from other countries are difficult to understand, but it is the same with American workers for those from different locations. You can address this problem by hiring a business speech coach who can teach everyone how to speak clearly and be understood. It doesn’t matter whether you’re from India, Asia or the southern US, an accent can create problems for miscommunication.

An accent reduction coach teaches people how to speak without a strong accent. They can enunciate their words better so they are understood. This is one way to make your entire company work together regardless of where everyone is located.

Once people can understand each other, they can begin to communicate and get past any other differences they may have. Communication is the foundation of all relationships, especially in business, and It’s even more critical when people from different regions are working together. Never overlook its importance when you’re attempting to build a strong company culture.

Claudette Roche is an accent reduction in the Vero Beach, FL area. She teaches foreign and American accents to actors and business persons/executives. In 2010 she was named as one of The Top 5 Voice Coaches by Hollywood Weekly Magazine.

Claudette Roche is a dialect coach who teaches accent coach.