Advice for Managers From Previous New Starters and Career Returners

Prepare ahead of time:

• Prepare a detailed job description
• Consider what you need to communicate, both the small things and bigger picture
• Have a current ‘new joiner’ pack ready
• The first few weeks need to be about familiarisation, learning the basics, and networking
• Appoint and brief a Buddy
• Share with the whole team the challenges and benefits so that they can offer support
• Ensure you are prepared so that things start on a positive note

Understand new returners’ skills and experience:

• Get to know the person joining and respect their previous experience
• Focus on their skills, don’t let lack of recent experience overly concern you
• Encourage them to share their fresh perspectives

Outline expectations:

• Provide context of what has to be done
• Make expectations clear
• Clarify what needs to be delivered
• Ensure you are both clear of working patterns
• Ask what help they need

Avoid bias and assumptions:

• We may need give extra time at the start to get up to speed, when at speed we have so much to offer, but early days can be overwhelming
• Be careful before introducing us as ‘Returners’ – the label can bring unhelpful assumptions, new to the organisation might be enough
• Be aware of any prejudice / assumptions / unconscious bias – we are all different
• Don’t confuse ‘insecurity’ with ‘inability’
• Be understanding in the early days of our need to manage our personal situations (young children, dependants in the family etc), it soon settles down

Be accessible and communicate regularly:

• Be super accessible first few months
• Commit to a weekly 1hr meeting with us – it really helps
• Feedback regularly
• Simple and small things can be huge encouragements

Proactively involve new returner:

• Help us to integrate by making introductions, invitations to meetings etc.
• Regularly review progress with us, we want to work together to develop the best working approach
• If our working pattern clashes with a meeting / task / responsibility work with us to find a solution that works for us all
• Help us work out what further training may be helpful i.e. systems / tools / technical / management