How to welcome new staff to a strong culture

A strong culture starts with a clear vision, strong leadership and great people living and breathing the company values.

Recruiting great people is a critical step in building a strong culture, but what do you do once you’ve found them? How do you induct and welcome new hires to your team in a way that will inspire them to be the best team members they can be?

At The Physio Co, we’ve spent years refining our induction process, and it’s never finished.  We are continually reviewing and improving it.  We’ve created a fun, but very structured, training program so new team members (TPCers) can feel fully supported and ‘at home’ from the very moment they arrive. From day one every TPCer is helped to understand the critical factors for success in their job:

Day one

The training program for every new TPCer starts with their very own ‘Welcome Day’. This first day in the TPC family begins with a heartfelt ‘welcome to the family’ hug, handshake or high five from every member of our support office team the moment the person arrives.  It also involves a party at lunchtime to celebrate them joining our family

The purpose of Day 1 in our Welcome Program:

• For the new TPCer/s to understand The Physio Co and the people that work there;
• For current TPCers to get to know our newest family member/s

Welcome Day covers the basics of life at The Physio Co.  There is a lot of storytelling about the past, present and future of our ourselves and The Physio Co.

As founder and chief executive, I attend every Welcome Day. I personally welcome new family members to the team, join in a lifeline activity to share the personal events of my 33 years that have shaped who I am, and thank the new TPCers for choosing to join in the fun.  I also spend quite a bit of time sharing The Physio Co history and where we are headed in the future.  Our core purpose and core values are a critical part of everything we do and are included many times throughout the day.

Welcome Days always involve new and existing TPC family members.  Re-welcoming existing family members to the team by having them attend a welcome day every two to three years is an initiative that helps to re-ignite the passion in our existing team members and share their experience with new starters.  It works brilliantly!

Every Welcome Day (which happen on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month) is supported by a comprehensive training manual. This simple, but ever growing booklet, supports new TPCers on their induction journey.  It’s interactive, includes vital information as well as various worksheets that are used not only during the training but as a guide for the future.

Lastly, but possibly most importantly, a fun photo of every new team member is taken after lunch at their Welcome Day.  This photo is then added to the wall that is ‘The TPC Family Tree’.  This ceremony, adding their photo to the wall of 60+ smiling faces is a way we show that every new team member is an important part of our family from their very first day.

Days two to five

New members of our physiotherapy team spend the majority of their first week onsite at client locations with experienced TPC family members.  There are no expectations that new TPCers will immediately commence providing billable services, the weeks are purely about learning the ropes and understanding the TPC way.

Weeks two and three

In the second and third weeks of a new team member’s journey, they return to the support office one day each week for further training, recapping important information, covering further topics in their training manual and asking as many questions as they possibly can.

At this point, the new team member’s roster and support networks are reinforced.  In-person and phone meetings are scheduled for at least once per week with their buddy and mentor.  Weekly contact is ensured and ‘The Quarterly’ (a three monthly goal setting meetings with a TPC Mentor) rhythm is set in place.

Building a strong workplace culture is one of the most sustainable competitive advantages any business can build.  This induction process works for The Physio Co.