Some tips to get them feeling comfortable quickly…
When someone new joins the team – be sure to integrate them into the team as quickly as possible. Your goal as project manager is to ensure they feel a part of the team and can be productive – contributing to the project’s objectives.
Here are some tips to help you integrate new team members into the project team:
- Take time to meet personally with the new team members to update them on the project – project goals, roles and responsibilities, timelines, etc.
- Introduce the new team member to the entire project team. Ideally, consider a team get-together such as lunch or dinner out. You want to have the introductions to the other team members during an informal session, not during one of the team meetings. This enables the team members to spend some time getting acquainted with each other. Include some team building activities.
- Provide a mentor to the new team member. Have one of the current project team members be a mentor to the newbie – someone the new team member can learn from and go to with any questions – someone to provide the new team member the “lay of the land.”
- Check in with the new team member regularly just to see how things are going.
One other thing to keep in mind is the 5 stages of team development. Remember that even if a team was performing well, it will move back to the “forming” stage when a new member is introduced. The team will need to learn how to work with the new member. The process may be quicker – but it will need to start again. By helping the new team member acclimate and integrate into the team quickly through team building activities, providing a mentor and checking in regularly to be sure all is going well, you can help move the process along and get your team functioning at a high level once again.
What else can you think of? What might you do to get a new team member up to speed quickly? Please share your ideas and best practices in the Comments field below. Thanks!
