First Day at School

My son started going to a new school a few  days back and was going through separation anxiety. He repeatedly kept telling us that he wanted to go home and that he could start the next day etc.
He was crying until we reached the school gate at which point one of his teachers took him from us and asked us not to worry. The teacher looked pleasing, confident and most importantly reassuring.
My wife and I waited anxiously till 1pm to pick him up and were very curious to see how he was faring, at 1pm we saw him walking out of school, towards the gate, holding his teachers hand and to our delight, with a big smile on his face. The teacher also told us that our son is a very good boy
Phew…..
What my son went through is am sure relatively similar to what every new employee goes through in his Day 1.  The question is does every employee walk out with a smile on his face??
The teacher paid attention to the smallest details, ensured hand holding and also gave a lot of positive reinforcement. So can organisations cant they?

Five simple rules to improve Day 1 experience:
1.Make sure that the  employee is welcomed on day 1 as soon as he/she enters the office building
2.Ensure that the employee feels warm and welcome as he is taken around the work place.
3.Introduce him/her  to as many of his colleagues as possible
4.Ensure that he/she is given company while he/she is having lunch on day 1.
5.One on One with the Manager

Pretty basic stuff but will go a long way in ensuring that the employee walks out with a smile at the end of the day and there is enough data that tells us that employees who have a great Day 1 tend to stay on at the organisation for a much longer time.