Orientation is a newly hired employee’s first impression of the organization’s mission, values, and culture. Among the tedious checklist of documents to sign and policies to review, orientation is also an important opportunity to clearly communicate the organization’s values around mental health and well-being. Here is a checklist to help you incorporate mental health as part of new hire orientation:
Call attention to mental health and substance use care in your health benefits
Make it a point to describe the mental health and substance use services available under your organization’s health care plans.
Explicitly mention what mental health services your employee assistance program (EAP) offers
An EAP provides a range of services to employees, including financial planning and legal assistance, so mention that mental health services are available, too.
Include mental health resources in your employee handbook
Mental health resources could be general mental health information, online mental health screenings, or locating a local support group for a particular mental health concern. This toolkit includes an external resource list to help you identify resources most relevant to your workforce.
Consider adding mental health crisis resources to employee identification cards
Resources could include the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, Crisis Text Line, or EAP contact information.
Pair a new employee with a "buddy"
Implementing a new hire “buddy system” is a cost-effective, widely applicable method to help new employees navigate informal social and workplace cultural norms.
Ensure HR and people managers check in regularly with new employees
Staff should provide ongoing emotional support in addition to job training in the first couple of months of an employee’s start date.
