Adaptation in the workplace: types, methods, periods

What is adaptation

Adaptation to a new workplace is the period of familiarization of an employee with a hitherto unknown activity, organization, team, regulation of his behavior according to unusual requirements.

According to statistics, most newly hired employees leave their place of work at this time. Reasons: difficulties in the adaptation process, discrepancy between the real situation and expectations.

For the onboarding of a new employee to be successful and painless, it must be a two-way process. The personnel department, management, and colleagues should do their best to facilitate the “infusion” of a newcomer into their organization or team. Depending on the support and assistance provided, adaptation in the workplace can proceed in various ways:

Preservation of individualism - a new employee does not deny the main values of the company, but ignores secondary ones (for example, corporate traditions, holidays), and tries to stay somewhat aloof.
Mimicry - an employee, on the contrary, supports secondary values, but denies the main ones, hiding it from the team. Such newcomers often leave their new place of work.
Denial - the employee does not hide his dislike for the existing routine in the company. He will call them the reason for his speedy dismissal.
Conformism - the employee sincerely accepts new rules, values, responsibilities, and successfully becomes a “cog in the system.”

Three approaches to adaptation

“Optical” - “you work, and we’ll look at you”

This approach cannot be called successful. Employers who choose it prefer to discuss the employee's salary and responsibilities after looking at him in action. There is practically no training; a beginner gets to work right away. If he doesn't fit, they hire someone else. For a new employee, this can result in frustration and a feeling of uselessness.

“Army” - “hard in training, easy in battle”

The probationary period becomes a real test of survival - the newcomer is given complex and responsible tasks, but is not explained how to complete them. Under these conditions, only the most purposeful remain. The employee who was not suitable is parted with and a new one is hired. This method has negative consequences: after joining the staff, the new employee relaxes or begins to “revenge”. Newcomers in such organizations are treated with hostility or tried not to notice - it is unknown how long they will last. Thus, an attempt to hire the best personnel results in the long term in a bad attitude towards work and conflicts in the team.

“Affiliate” – “we will help”

This approach is the result of an effective personnel policy. The employer realizes that there are no ideal candidates, does not delay the search, but chooses the most suitable person for the position. Entry into work is as smooth as possible - the employee is trained, introduced to the organization, and assigned a mentor so that he can ask him his questions.

Vladimir Trofimenko , General Director of the Mankiewicz representative office in Russia and the CIS countries, Member of the Strategic Council for Investments in New Industries under the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade:

“Our project management system was implemented in a natural, organic way and was based on the desire to achieve the company’s goals. We do not have a department that could deal with personnel adaptation. Instead, a “start-up” system has been introduced. They are formed based on the psychophysiological characteristics of each participant and are based on continuous training of team leaders who monitor balance, clear planning and hierarchy within the team. With this approach, the effectiveness of an entire department is always greater than the sum of the abilities of its constituent employees. Each startup is recruited for a specific project, and its duration depends on the deadline for completing the task. As soon as one startup closes, a new one is immediately formed, with a different composition of employees. Thus, the new employee does not go through a long adaptation process, but immediately gets to work and gets to know his startup colleagues. When the task changes, the newcomer begins to delve into the specifics of the work of another startup and works with other colleagues. It is quite difficult to accept a structure where there are no instructions for staff, a percentage of sales and penalties. But the results speak for themselves: at Mankiewicz, our average employee tenure is 12 years, and there is no staff turnover that plagues Russian companies. Many stay with us after coming for an internship for the first time as students. This means that the system confirms its effectiveness.”

Stages of adaptation

Let’s figure out what stages of adaptation an employee goes through in a new workplace:

External reorientation. It is difficult for a person to accept new values and routines; he painfully perceives what he is not used to and does not agree with. However, at the same time, he strives to hide these negative emotions.
Gradual mutual recognition of the employee by the team and vice versa.
Perceiving the team's values without incorporating them into your own value system.
Gradual acceptance of new rights and responsibilities, corporate culture, as well as restructuring of one’s personality and behavior to suit new conditions.
Harmonious fusion of the individual with the team.

Failure at any of these stages often becomes a reason for voluntary dismissal.

Understand the processes

To understand how to act and who to turn to for help, study the company's internal traditions and business etiquette. Colleagues or a mentor will help you better understand all the intricacies.

“If I go to another employee with a question for the first time, then the boss is with me. We walk in together, but he doesn’t introduce me, because visually everyone is already familiar. Then we discuss some work issue. And thus, in the presence of my manager, I become the person with whom I can continue to work. Next time I know who to go to and at what level to communicate,” says Andrey.

A newcomer who has not yet fully grasped the work tasks may face a biased attitude from more experienced colleagues, says Maya:

“Senior employees in Russian companies initially treated me with distrust and were not ready to assign complex tasks. In an international company, connection to complex tasks occurred already in the first week. I believe that increased attention from colleagues and control from superiors in the early stages helps to avoid such situations. If there is no support, the adaptation process slows down. Because of this, the speed of solving problems decreases.”

The quality of adaptation depends equally on the openness of both the newcomer and the company, says Sergey Rogulev:

“The more rigid and closed one of the sides is, the more difficult the first steps are. Even a very flexible person will gradually tire of having to adapt. Likewise, a liberal organization will at some point begin to demonstrate its limits if the newcomer is too persistent.”

Parts of adaptation

Adaptation in the workplace is divided into two parts: primary and secondary. The first is the appearance of a new employee in the team. Her goals:

getting a newbie into work as soon as possible;
redistribution of work responsibilities;
full replacement of a departing employee;
socialization in a team;
vocational guidance.

Secondary adaptation in the workplace overtakes an employee during promotion, retraining, transfer to another department, workshop, etc. The goals of this period:

stabilization of the collective climate;
achieving full compliance with the requirements for the new position;
adaptation to a new status;
changing your role in the team.

Employee

The first working day is the most important and the most difficult from a psychological point of view.
How you behave on the first day will determine how your relationships with colleagues will develop in the future. It is appropriate to recall the popular proverb: “If you lay down softly, you will sleep hard.” In this case, it reflects well what your behavior should be in a new organization at first, and it should be extremely diplomatic. On the first working day, the manager is obliged to introduce his new employee to the team. Next, experienced employees must bring the new colleague up to speed. There is no denying the fact that there are people who take pleasure in seeing a new employee suffer. Your job is to give them as little pleasure as possible.

However, a new employee should not, in any difficulty, distract his colleagues from their own affairs. Everyone has their own responsibilities, so you shouldn’t constantly jerk someone around, preventing them from working. Try to be observant and take note of how others solve certain problems.

No matter how high a professional you are, good relationships with people in the team play an important role. A newcomer to the team will be scrutinized at first and may be treated with bias. Immediately show that you are punctual - do not be late for work and do not leave the workplace before the end of the working day. Don't hang around the offices unnecessarily.

In the first days, you are required to offer a friendly greeting and short, polite and friendly contacts. Such a start to the working day helps to forget home problems, overcome the painful impressions of transport inconveniences, and make it easier to get into a normal working state.

You should not introduce a new employee into the intricacies of personal relationships between some team members. The form of address of all employees of the organization depends on traditions and on the personal sympathies of each, but it is not customary to address someone by their last name.

Well-mannered people are always interested in the affairs of their colleagues. Their successes should sincerely please them, and their failures should upset them. Personal grievances, likes and dislikes should not affect business relationships with colleagues. You should not bother your colleagues with stories about your worries and personal troubles.

An employee's workplace can also tell a lot about him. A well-mannered person will never force others to admire the mess on his desk. Women should not do makeup in the workplace, especially if there are several people in the office. Don't look at papers on someone else's desk, don't look for anything there. Do not have long personal conversations on your office phone; it is unacceptable to listen to other people's telephone conversations.

If someone approaches you, give that person your attention immediately. Try to remember his name by repeating it quietly to yourself. If you are unsure of a name, ask the person to say it right away. Listen to everything that is said to you, highlighting what is especially interesting to continue the conversation.

If there is nothing interesting in the conversation, try to cling to at least something. If someone is introducing you, look first at the person you are being introduced to, and then at the person introducing you. The only acceptable physical contact in the business world is a handshake. Little attention is paid to the handshake, although in practice it is universal and, moreover, very important for perception.

A friendly handshake is firm but painless; accompanied by eye contact and a smile; carried out with the right hand; lasts no more than two or three seconds. Don't shake hands the entire time you're being introduced, and use the handshake to draw the person closer to you.

A handshake must be performed in the following situations:

if another person reaches out to you;
if you meet someone;
if you greet guests or the hostess of the house;
if you renew acquaintance;
if you are saying goodbye.

During a conversation, you need to not only listen carefully, but also appear to be listening carefully.
This is achieved through body language. Look at the speaker while leaning slightly forward. During the conversation:

Don't slouch, but don't stand at attention either;
do not fold your arms across your chest;
don’t tell long, boring jokes;
don't watch other people move around the room while someone is talking to you;
Do not fill your conversation with incomprehensible and mysterious words.

In the competitive world of business, being polite is not enough.
One must be prepared to manage crises, personal conflicts, criticism and other problems when people gather in one place to do some work. If you are a manager and, according to your position, you have to coordinate the work of subordinates, it may happen that someone does their job improperly. In this case, criticism cannot be avoided. However, here you should pay attention to several rules:

criticize only in private and under no circumstances in front of witnesses;
criticize the problem, not the person;
be specific;
The purpose of criticism is to improve performance, not destroy trust.

When accepting criticism, do not dodge or hide.
If the criticism is unfounded, you have the right to say so, but only calmly. If criticism turns into personal insults, do not respond in kind. A well-mannered person will always note that a colleague looks good today. Again, before you give a compliment, remember the rules:

be sincere;
be specific;
compliments must be given on time;
don't make comparisons.

Accepting compliments:

just say “thank you”;
do not be modest and do not say something like: “What nonsense!”;
don't say what you could have done better with more time;
do not modernize the compliment on your part.

Be considerate of your colleagues.
If someone is sick for a long time, call them or visit them. Try to join the team. If it’s customary to drink tea or coffee at work, congratulate you on your birthday, take part in all events and help organize them. Those who collect money for a birthday gift should not insist if one of their colleagues refuses to hand over the money. In response to congratulations, a treat is usually offered, but it is not advisable to organize too lavish celebrations at the workplace. Don't try to impress others with your generosity and culinary talents.

Techniques of an Adaptable Person

Speaking about methods of adaptation in the workplace, one cannot fail to mention the unconscious techniques that psychologists identify in a person who is getting used to a new team:

“They greet you by their clothes.” The first thing a newcomer pays attention to is the appearance, clothing, and behavior of future colleagues. Such a superficial assessment at the initial stage helps to build an idea of the personality and business qualities of each member of the new team.
Stratification. A new employee divides his colleagues into mini-groups: careerists, assistants, informal leaders, eccentrics, comedians, first ladies, outcasts, etc. He begins to evaluate their well-being, ability to behave in a team, build relationships with superiors, and the degree of liking for themselves . Based on this, the new member begins to build appropriate communication with each one.
Group identification. At this stage, the employee chooses for himself one of the strategies he has defined and begins to structure his behavior according to his status. Belonging to a certain group creates a feeling of security; a person begins to gradually feel like he belongs in the new team.
Intergroup discrimination. The employee exalts “his” group over others, treats others condescendingly, and always finds the advantages of his choice.

What to do if your colleagues are against you

The team can have a strong influence on management. Strikes and boycotts often end in meeting the demands of the rioters.

It is necessary to find mutual understanding. There are proven schemes.

How to win the favor of colleagues:

Determine who is the unspoken leader in the team. Talk to him, find a common language. By acting through the leader, you will gradually gain the trust of others.
The Russian team can be united behind a common event. At a corporate party, show your best sides: take part in competitions, sing a soulful song. Be sociable and friendly.
Show professionalism. Seeing an unconditional leader, people will listen. Professionalism, loyalty and adequacy are important features that distinguish a leader.

What not to do:

Point out any shortcomings of others.
Discuss employees behind their backs.
Treat any employee, including junior staff, with disdain.
Demonstrate excellence.
Refuse requests.

Keep it simple and people will follow. This phrase means that you need to show yourself first and foremost as a human being.

Tell us about one of your shortcomings, or some personal story that does not play against you. Treat everyone with respect and understanding. And don't put yourself down.

Remember! People sense your level of self-esteem and adjust to avoid a conflict situation. This behavior is dictated to us by the subconscious.

Love yourself, respect all employees, without exception, including cleaners and security guards.

Show your best qualities and you will see the results. Just being yourself is not enough. Become the best version of yourself.

Types of adaptation in the workplace

The entire adaptation process is divided into four groups:

psychophysiological;
professional (familiarization with the profession);
socio-psychological (getting to know the team);
organizational (familiarization with the company itself).

A more detailed analysis of them:

Organizational adaptation. Successful activity in a new workplace is possible only when a person thoroughly knows everything about his company: history, tasks, goals, development prospects, its achievements and unpleasant moments in history. It is important to have an idea of its structure, managers, answers to vital questions: “Where is the HR department, canteen, service parking?”, “Where can I get a tabulogram?”, “Who should I contact with questions about my work activities?” etc. The employer’s responsibility is to convey all this information to the newcomer in a condensed and structured form, and the latter’s responsibility is to try to “digest” it in a short time.
Social and psychological adaptation of personnel in the workplace. Close acquaintance with the team, the norms of corporate culture, establishing interpersonal and business communication, joining informal groups. The newcomer not only gets acquainted with new norms of behavior, he must already begin to follow them, while the team treats him with caution, evaluates him, and forms an opinion. Therefore, for most, this adaptation is the most difficult.
Professional adaptation in the workplace. Filling knowledge gaps, retraining, familiarization with new work standards and its specifics. To facilitate this type of habituation, many organizations practice rotations, mentoring, instruction, and a “student” period.
Psychophysical adaptation of employees in the workplace. This is the restructuring of your body and habits to a new work and rest regime - a shift work schedule, business trips, irregular working hours, a “home office”. This also includes adapting to a new workplace, rest and hygiene rooms, and an unusual route to work.

Possible mistakes

You can’t conflict with new colleagues or contradict your boss

You need to know what actions will be unacceptable:

you cannot break the established rules;
it is unacceptable to criticize or discuss anyone;
you cannot compare your current place with your previous job, in particular, discuss work issues;
there is no need to conflict with anyone;
you cannot transfer your behavior from one job to another, especially if the specializations were completely opposite;
there is no need to boast to people about your abilities and intellectual data;
you cannot bend under pressure from colleagues and abandon your principles;
there is no need to dwell on your mistakes, treat them as experience;
Don’t be overly active or passive;
there is no need to rush to draw conclusions, it is better to weigh everything;
You should not forget about your well-being and health;
there is no need to suck up or flatter someone;
You can’t be overly self-confident;
It is unacceptable to comment on the decisions and actions of the boss.

Now you know what adaptation is like at work. You need to be prepared for the fact that the process may be lengthy. Be patient and realize that all people go through this at some point in their lives. Remember the recommendations outlined in this article, follow the adaptation rules and avoid mistakes.

Duration of the adaptation period

The period of adaptation in the workplace does not have any clearly defined boundaries: some people manage to harmoniously join the team in a couple of weeks, others need several months or even a couple of years. The optimal period is considered to be three months - the duration of the probationary period.

The end of the adaptation period is indicated by the following employee characteristics:

copes with all work tasks assigned to him, including non-standard ones;
bears responsibility for his actions;
knows the structure of the company well, navigates the environment of managers and colleagues, and is in a non-conflict relationship with them;
successfully mastered the types of technology, equipment, computer programs, etc. necessary for work;
knows the company's system of punishments and rewards;
complies with the norms of corporate culture;
belongs to one of the informal groups of the team.

A few final general tips

Be open and friendly. This rule applies not only to newcomers, but also to all other employees.
Be honest. Immediately reveal all your cards to the employee: salary amount, possible punishments for violations, unspoken company rules.
Correct the employee’s behavior in a timely manner. If a person does something wrong and you see it, talk about it right away. Human nature is such that everyone immediately senses the weakness of their superiors. If you weren’t punished a couple of times for being late, rest assured: they will quickly become a habit.
Make timely decisions about the fate of the new employee. If a person is on a probationary period and you see that you are not on the same path, then it is better to leave immediately. This is what the trial period is for.

What do you do when a new employee joins the team? Write to us in the comments on social networks - let's discuss it together!

Introduction to the position

As already mentioned, employee adaptation to a new workplace is a two-way process. In a successful and developing company, a newcomer will not be given a “young fighter course”, but will do everything possible for his smooth and painless entry into the team and adaptation to the workplace. Typically, an induction program is drawn up for this purpose. It varies depending on the following conditions:

characteristics of a beginner’s work;
his status and level of responsibility;
the team where he will end up;
personal characteristics of the future employee identified during the interview.

The following persons participate in the program:

immediate managers;
colleagues who can become direct mentors;
employees from other departments with whom the newcomer’s activities will be closely related;
personnel department

The program includes three large stages.

Adaptation does not happen on its own

No matter how cool the professional is. There is a widespread belief that if we hire a super cool professional, he will certainly figure out what to do and how to adapt. Like, this is almost a sign of a professional. If you haven’t adapted, that means you’re not a pro. Next!

In fact, in the best case, adaptation will be delayed and the employee will reach full capacity in 3–6 months (depending on the level of the position and the complexity of the position). With high-quality adaptation, this period is halved.

How much are you paying your new marketing director? $5,000 a month? And do you think your efforts are worth the $15,000 you'll save the company? It’s a pity for agencies to pay you three salaries for searching for candidates, but you easily lose them during onboarding?

Before the employee arrives

To ensure that adaptation to a new workplace is quick and successful, before the first day of work:

The relevance of the job description is checked.
An unofficial “patron” of the newcomer is appointed.
His workplace is being prepared.
The future team is notified of additions to the lineup.
All necessary information files, passes, and administrative documents are generated.
A call is made to the future employee to find out about his readiness to go to work.

Advice for new managers

It will be much easier for a person who has already been a boss at his previous place of work. It is more difficult for a newcomer in this field, who has come to a leadership position for the first time, or to a new company.

Recommendations will help you spend the first day correctly:

Adaptation. First, you should get to know each employee of the department where the person is appointed as a manager.

Orientation. Immediately familiarize yourself with the new responsibilities and principles of work at the company.

Actions

It is important to prove yourself as a boss already on the first day, based on interpersonal connections with subordinates.

Execution of functions. At this stage, problems may arise: the faster they are resolved, the faster the adaptation process will end.

Don’t forget about the heads of other departments and maintain good relationships with them. The new manager's responsibility is to attend management meetings.

Important! Full adaptation of the new manager will occur no earlier than 1-1.5 months from the start of work at the company. Guided by the suggested tips, you can quickly and effectively join the company both as an employee and as a boss in a new place

Guided by the proposed advice, you can quickly and effectively join the company, both as an employee and as a boss in a new place.

The main thing is to try to be friendly and responsive: then the connections will improve on their own.

First work day

During this period, the program invites the team to do the following:

Discuss with the newcomer his job responsibilities.
Familiarize him in detail with the internal labor regulations.
Talk about corporate traditions, rules, and private issues.
Familiarize yourself with the structure of the organization.
Conduct the necessary instructions: safety precautions, first aid, fire safety, etc.
Provide a list of all possible communications and contacts that he may need.
Presentation of dress code rules.
Introducing the newcomer to immediate supervisors and colleagues.
Tour of the place of work: show canteens, restrooms, rest areas, etc.

Don't be afraid of conflicts

Professional disputes with more experienced colleagues are not easy for a beginner. His opinion is not yet highly valued in the new team, and his skills and knowledge do not always inspire confidence. If you are confident in your decision and want to defend it, do not give free rein to your emotions - this will only ruin the relationship. In difficult situations, it is worth enlisting the support of management.

“If you have to defend a decision to a colleague, and he resists, you don’t need to immediately go to your superiors. It is better to communicate, and in a meeting room face to face, rather than in correspondence. I always emphasize that my proposal will help both him and the company - here we have a common goal.

It happens that a colleague behaves inappropriately, does little useful work himself and complains to everyone about me. Then I first talk separately with my manager, then arrange a meeting for three or four if that employee reports to another manager,” says Maya.

Learn new things from your colleagues and thank them for their help - this will help smooth the edges and make a good impression. Helpful comments on a project from a more experienced employee or a remark about a suitable work style are also part of the adaptation.

“Sincere compliments and praise always work. I definitely thank you for any help and comments. If I need to involve a manager or a colleague much older and more experienced than me in coordinating a decision, I start the conversation with what kind of professionals they are, how their opinion and experience are important to me. Then, even if their comments go against my decision, they are more willing to listen to my position more patiently,” says Maya.

Lack of experience is not necessarily a cause for conflict: people like to help others and feel needed. Such mentors immediately put you at ease and are easy to learn from, says Andrey:

“I reach out to the authority that I myself have chosen, I try to listen. When I worked at the factory, the shift supervisor guided me in everything. This is an experienced person who knew the specific installation well. All newcomers were assigned to his team: he could explain the technology as clearly as possible and knew how to find contact with people. He liked it when people showed interest in production.”

To generally reduce the number of conflict situations, choose companies that are close to you in spirit and values. Then you will be much less likely to encounter situations that seem unacceptable, and this will make adaptation much easier, says psychologist Sergei Rogulev:

“It is important how close and familiar the applicant is to the system of relationships and rules in the organization. Therefore, during interviews, recruiters sometimes ask about family: which relatives work or worked where. The child learns principles and values, social roles from his parents and immediate environment. It is very important here to understand what I want, what is acceptable to me. A conscientious candidate is less likely to come to work for a company that is alien to him. Otherwise, adaptation turns into an emotional swing and ends with dismissal of one’s own free will.”

The rest of the adaptation period

At this time, procedures such as:

Familiarization with reporting rules.
Demonstration of requirements for work and its results.
Familiarity with the administrative and economic system of the organization.
Development of an individual retraining system for a new employee.
Familiarization with the specifics of his work, the nuances that he needs to know.

Where to begin

1. Find out how everything works . How a person enters a new work team largely determines his relationships with colleagues and future career success. The main goal of a new manager at the initial stage is to demonstrate his competence and begin to realize his professional potential.

But when you change jobs, you often have to deal with a new business domain. By this I mean specific industries for business-oriented solutions, for example: logistics, retail, insurance, etc. It is very useful to have an idea of how the area where the company you are going to participate in manages operates.

This will help you communicate and work productively with colleagues. Because subordinates who have more experience than you are not always ready to meet you halfway and share some advice or knowledge.

Many managers and executives are familiar with situations where colleagues and subordinates do not show due respect due to the former’s lack of experience with the product or in the company’s business domain.

To avoid this, we, as a rule, either hire people with experience in our domain from the outside, or grow them internally from promising employees.

Possible difficulties at the stage of mutual acquaintance may also arise due to the natural distrust and wariness that team members show towards the new leader. This is how the human psyche works - in relation to any stranger, we turn on various defense mechanisms that greatly complicate interaction.

But as trust develops among the team, the attitude towards the new leader, as a rule, stabilizes. Try offering help to employees first: listen carefully to complaints, try to understand what changes they want to make to the work process, and help implement them.

Photo from the site gde.kg

2. Find out why you were hired . The answer to this simple question is not as obvious as it seems at first glance. You must clearly understand:

What goals and objectives does your department have?
How will they be assessed?
What does senior management expect from a person in your position?
What exactly problem do you need to solve?

Let me give you an example of why this can be so important. The new location stated that the department had performance issues. The manager came and began to look for “thin spots” in the production process itself and try to change it. But in the end the problem turned out to be that people were involved in many projects at the same time, and their time was spent unwisely.

Before you change anything, you need to find out where exactly the real cause of the problem lies. And to do this, you need to request the information that I mentioned above from the owner or a senior manager. This will help you save time and the company money.

3. Seek mentors and allies . These are the people who already work in the company or are ready to help you with advice or action. Start building informal relationships with them, they will help you understand as much as possible about the company and management.

For example, in IT there are many roles that have a similar level of information access to yours. These could be lead developers, resource managers, project managers from other projects, support and HR managers.

For example, a manager from another project will warn about the strange behavior of a customer, a resource manager will tell you about the characteristics of a valuable developer, HR will tell you about hiring plans, etc.

You will feel how valuable such connections are for management when all this information comes together into a single whole.

Photo from the site artzona.ru

4. Conduct the first meeting with subordinates . This could be an informal meeting, or just a short introduction in your office. You can conduct it in a brainstorm format - this will give you answers to the questions of what is, what is not, and what you would like. I would propose to set the goals of this meeting as follows:

Relieving tension - you must make it clear that there is no need to worry and that you are an adequate person (the best way to gain the trust of others is to show your own good attitude towards colleagues. Normally, a person is inclined to reciprocate it)
Identifying problems in the team and discussing what can be done about it (therefore, at such meetings it is very important not only to talk, but also to listen)
Optimization of work processes. For example, in Agile there is a good type of meeting - a retrospective. At this meeting, problems that exist in the team and in the project are identified. This is a great way to see the state of the team.

5. Log into all information flows in the team. Ask to be included in important correspondence, meetings and calls. This way you can understand the processes faster. There is nothing worse for a manager than, after a month or two of work, to find out that there is part of the work on his project that is hidden from view and the deadlines for which have already been missed.

To prevent this from happening, make sure you have the full picture and there are no dark spots. Try to analyze what people are doing now and whether their actions correspond to the initial work plan of the department, how many resources are required for this.

No one will do this for you.

6. Observe, study and watch . It’s not a good idea to start managing and distributing functions right from the start: there is a high risk of making the wrong decision and drawing the wrong conclusions. You don’t yet know thoroughly how the company and team work. Therefore, first we observe, look, analyze, and only when we understand what to do, we do it.

For example, in project management there are many different methodologies. Let's say you were hired by an IT company and told that they want to implement Agile. And after analyzing the project, you see that this approach will not work for a number of reasons and WaterFall is better suited. But such a conclusion can be made only when the manager clearly understands what exactly is happening in the department.

7. Identify an informal leader in the team . You can recognize an informal leader by the fact that:

Employees turn to him in critical situations
His words influence others, his actions are observed and his example is followed.

The appearance of informal leaders in the team is not necessary, but is very likely if some of the responsibility is not taken by the main leader. In addition, an informal leader can arise in a team where management is structured incorrectly - for example, this likelihood increases with an authoritarian and rigid management style.

What is important for you as a new leader is that the informal leader may have ambitions and will not want to fade into the background. If he has a strong influence on the team, then a conflict with him can be very unpleasant. Therefore, you should understand who is who and decide what to do. You can work with an informal leader in the following way:

You shouldn’t even try to compete with an informal leader - this will only worsen the relationship, try to become allies
If an informal leader performs part of your functions, you should gradually take them away or establish control over how they are performed
Listen to what he tells you about the company and employees
Remember: you are in charge of him, and not he is in charge of you, and do not leave his misdeeds unnoticed, this gives rise to permissiveness and a feeling of impunity in the entire team.

Methods for successful adaptation

To ensure that a newcomer’s adaptation to the workplace takes place at an accelerated pace, many corporations use the following methods:

Informal support - assigning a mentor or “patron” to a new employee.
Carrying out events - in honor of the arrival of a new employee, a corporate party is organized, where in a relaxed atmosphere he is introduced to the norms, rules, etiquette in the organization.
Corporate PR - a universal reference book is being developed containing answers to all questions of newcomers.
Team training - an event held if an employee fails to join the team. It expresses the opinions of both sides, claims; trying to establish a dialogue.
Briefing - the employee gets acquainted with the new requirements under the strict guidance of colleagues who answer all his questions.
Personal account, personal mail - the newcomer receives letters of instruction to these addresses, helping him to gradually understand the surrounding environment.

How to overcome anxiety at a new job

Moving to a new job is stressful due to a change in environment, social circle, schedule, responsibilities, which forces the entire body to restructure. Against this background, sleep and memory worsen, and concentration decreases.

If you do not overcome this condition, you can become depressed or have a nervous breakdown.

The first thing you need to do to overcome anxiety is to accept temporary difficulties. Understand that adaptation is temporary; you will soon get the hang of it and remember your first days at your new job with a smile.

There is no need to demand the impossible from yourself. Don't set any standards for yourself at all. The first two weeks you are just getting acquainted with the job, allow yourself to spend time learning about the team and job responsibilities.

In a state of stress, you may find that the answers you receive to your questions are quickly forgotten or the question remains open. In this case, do not hesitate to ask again. Don't be afraid that you will seem stupid or that people will laugh at you. Be confident and smile.

Don't be ashamed to admit your emotions and feelings. Be honest: “I’m a little nervous about my new job.” How to cope? Become social. Invite your colleagues to a bar or cafe to get acquainted, treat them to drinks and snacks. Communication in an informal setting will help you integrate into the team, gain respect and trust among the staff.

Don't try to be better than others, be yourself. By standing out from the crowd, you risk attracting unnecessary attention. Stay neutral, because you will already be the center of attention and the subject of discussion for the first few weeks.

Another way to calm down in a new job is to enlist the support of your manager. Ask to introduce you to the team and briefly describe your position.

Be confident in your abilities, do not be afraid of mistakes and stupidity on your part. This will help you adapt, get used to your daily routine and responsibilities.

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Promoting adaptation

Many successful corporations today pay great attention to the adaptation of a new employee to their team. This happens for a number of reasons:

the shorter the adaptation period, the greater the return on the employee’s work;
negative reviews from former employees who left due to a number of difficulties during the adaptation period are a serious blow to the company’s image;
mentoring helps increase the creativity of long-serving employees;
if an employee is fired and a replacement is found, the company will again spend money on recruitment and training;
a detailed and effective adaptation program is a plus in the fight against competitors;
the friendly attitude of the new team is one of the main reasons for unlocking the potential of a newcomer.

Adaptation to a new workplace is the most difficult and important thing in work life. At this stage, it is important for an employee to quickly and successfully get used to an unfamiliar team, in a new workplace, and the company should do everything possible to facilitate this, and not hinder it.

Let's summarize

Onboarding should not be viewed as a process of learning a new job. It involves immersing an employee in a new environment, understanding the rules of behavior, interacting in a team, accepting corporate norms, and establishing relationships with colleagues and partners.

The adaptation process is mutual: the organization evaluates the employee, and the employee evaluates the organization. A lot of time is spent searching for a suitable specialist, especially a highly qualified one, so every employer is interested in ensuring that the employee starts working with maximum efficiency and benefit as quickly as possible.

Adaptation of new employees can go in different ways: somewhere a newcomer is thrown into the thick of things, hoping that he will figure it out on his own; somewhere they are treated with care so that the stress experienced by the employee is minimal.

It is important to understand that the duration of adaptation does not coincide with the duration of the probationary period; it can take up to four months or more. A developed adaptation plan, the assignment of a mentor, and a system of training and corporate education will help speed it up.