Top performing teams have an effective system for on-boarding new team members. Take a moment to think about how you on-board someone new. In many organizations, a new employee goes through some form of mandatory paperwork and tribal indoctrination. The best teams use on-boarding as an opportunity to set high expectations, engender positive feelings toward the work and provide the resources to succeed.

I’ll never forget the story a friend and veteran told me of how he thought of bringing in a new crew member on a ship. Imagine a new crew member arriving only to find much of the crew on leave, with only those men prevented from taking leave due to poor performance left behind. The lesson was that the newest crew member may be indoctrinated by the worst performers if you aren’t careful.

When you develop a plan for on-boarding a new team member, you take care in how your team expands and help the new team member be successful. An additional benefit to this tactic is that you can implement a new on-boarding scheme without large-scale changes to your existing team.

Here are some specific tactics you can use in your new on-boarding plan.

Celebrate their first day. Help your new team member feel welcome and leave their first day with a positive impression. That probably means greeting them when they arrive, being ready with their space and maybe going to lunch (or having lunch brought in). Ensure they get the right attention and time with the direct manager on day one.

Keep them busy (while allowing them time to learn). Schedule the activities for your new team member for the first few weeks. Some of this may be formal training your organization requires. Invite your new team member to shadow and absorb the work and how it gets done. They may not have responsibility for the work yet, and getting into the flow of what is happening is a great way to learn. I often see people give lots of time to “settle in” when they could be attending meetings and absorbing the culture.

Set expectations clearly. Talk about results and culture. The first conversation I have with a new team member is when I share my expectations. I have a clear and specific message that I share with everyone. I want people to know I expect honesty, kindness and results from them every day. I go further throughout the first few weeks to talk individually with new team members about what results I expect from them (work done) and culture (how it gets done with their team).

Enable strong individual relationships within (and outside) the team. Relationships are a key part of any on boarding. You can take time in formal and informal ways to ensure that your new team member builds relationships they can rely on. Establish time to enable this new team member to build relationships with folks on the team. Also, schedule time with key folks outside the team in order to better support them across the entire organization.

I like to create a formal mentor system that designates one person on the team as the go-to person for on-boarding. I brief the mentor beforehand on what I expect. This person is selected not only for similarity in work, but ability to support the culture and willingness to invest in the relationship. Don’t make just anyone a resource for a new team member. Pay attention to who is setting the standard for new folks.

Ask for (and listen to) feedback. Schedule time with the new staff member to hear how things are going. You will learn about the new member themselves, and you will probably also learn how well your on boarding is working for them. You will learn things that can be improved on your team. Set the expectation early that you’ll be asking for feedback, and provide structured times to hear it and act on it.