What to do if the team does not accept a new employee? At a new job.

If the HR manager sees that the team is not accepting a new employee, he should not remain aloof from this problem. It is urgent to find out the reasons for this situation. To do this, it is better to have conversations with the new employee, the head of the department, the informal leader of the team and its key members. If the team is small, then it is better to have conversations with each employee. Having understood the causes of the conflict situation, the HR manager needs to understand who is to blame for it. This can be either the employee himself or the team. In this situation, the HR manager becomes almost a surgeon who needs to either “cure” the employee (or team) or carry out “surgical intervention” (transfer the employee to another department, fire or disband the team).

How to treat

There are many causes of conflicts in a team and even more ways to eliminate them. If the team and the new employee are equally important for the enterprise, then in this case it is necessary to carry out “treatment”. It consists in adjusting the behavior of a newcomer or a team (or all together). To do this, it is necessary to conduct corrective conversations and trainings aimed at eliminating the conflict situation. In the future, exercise control by periodically conducting conversations with the newcomer and team members. In my opinion, Team building training could be an interesting event, but it is advisable to conduct it at the last stage of the conflict resolution process - to consolidate the success achieved.

I will tell you about individual causes of conflicts that need to be eliminated only surgically.

When the cause of conflict is in the team

In one of the FMCG companies, a team of warehouse workers became a destructive force; abuse and theft flourished there, encouraged by mutual responsibility. The new employee wanted to work honestly and became a hindrance to the others. The team repeatedly tried to force the newcomer to do the same as they did, but he turned out to be a decent person. An additional investigation into the current situation was carried out with the involvement of the enterprise security service. The negative facts were confirmed. The team was disbanded. The new employee continued to work successfully for the company.

When the cause of the conflict is an employee

A sincere believer (churched) person was hired at one of the Russian banks. The staff of modern companies, unfortunately, often do not accept such people. A believer did not participate in indecent (modest according to the church’s standards) conversations, did not smoke, refused to drink alcohol, and dressed very modestly. He became an outcast in the liberated secular community. This situation was difficult for both the employee and the team. Then it was resolved by the fact that after a conversation with the HR manager, the employee decided to voluntarily leave the bank and go to work for a charity organization. Calm reigned in the team.

In order to prevent such conflicts (the team is new), it is necessary, when selecting personnel, to carefully evaluate the personal and business qualities of the candidate for the job and to know well the team where a new employee is needed. It is necessary to assume in advance that the new employee is close to the team in terms of culture, worldview, spirit and interests, and not just in terms of professional suitability.

Olga Olevskaya, Project Manager, HR Directorate, Energy Consulting / Business Service LLC

In my opinion, the main efforts to avoid such a conflict should be made at the stage of assessing the candidate. The HR manager must know the type of corporate culture of the company, understand the goals and strategies, and relationships within the team. When assessing a candidate, it is necessary to take into account not only the level of his competencies, but also the compliance of his motivation and personal qualities with the company’s policies. Unfortunately, it often happens that there are very few candidates on the market who meet the requirements, and as a result, the HR manager, having no choice, makes a positive decision on a candidate who initially will not be able to join the team. I believe that this is a mistake that carries with it many negative consequences, ultimately leading to material damage for the company in one way or another. In my opinion, preference should be given to an employee who can establish working relationships with the team, even if he is inferior in terms of professional training.

Maria Kremlyakova, HR manager at StroyPlast LLC

To avoid situations such as the team’s rejection of new employees, it is necessary to initially form a conflict-free team, even at the stage of its creation and personnel selection. It is necessary to create conditions for normal operation:

• ensure physical and psychological comfort with the help of a well-organized workspace;
• observe the principles of justice in the distribution of material wealth;
• clearly define the responsibilities of each employee and his place in the company structure;
• establish information exchange in the company and develop communications.

At the same time, you need to understand that the appearance of a new employee in the team in any case is associated with a violation of some stability of an already cohesive group. In most cases, people are wary of anything new.

Of course, the process of adaptation of new employees is mainly the concern of the HR manager, although the employee himself, his colleagues, and the company as a whole are interested in successful adaptation. The employee is primarily expected to work efficiently. Good relationships with the team help the newcomer to work more efficiently, that is, social adaptation contributes to faster professional adaptation.

Many HR experts now recommend solving onboarding problems through mentoring. Some companies introduce special bonuses for mentors. It is very good if the mentor belongs to the group of informal leaders: it is the informal structure that determines the nature of the relationship between team members, the style of work and the ways in which employees interact. Such a mentor will be able not only to advise a newcomer on work issues, but also to help him integrate into the team. To choose the right mentor, the HR manager must know the relationship between the formal and informal structure of the organization.

The new employee must be introduced to the team at a general meeting and his responsibilities and powers must be announced. If the company is large, you can even print a kind of booklet for newcomers with a schematic representation of the premises, indicating working hours and rest times, a list of employees and their positions, and wishes for success at the end of the booklet. A new employee is always motivated to work, and the main thing for the company is to maintain this enthusiasm in him.

If the team does not accept a new employee, the HR manager must find out the reasons for such rejection. If this is an isolated case, then most likely it is the employee himself. Perhaps the person generally has difficulty adapting or is simply poorly informed about the norms and rules of the organization. If hostility towards newcomers occurs constantly, then this is a big problem for this team. The HR manager alone cannot cope here. Fundamental changes and intervention from company management are needed.

Galina Zinich, HR Manager, Newcom Port LLC

At the very beginning of our work in a new company, we go through a stage of adaptation, that is, getting used to, and not only do we get used to the company, but it also gets used to us. With an established adaptation system and mentoring procedure, the period of “discomfort” may be less painful and longer, but it cannot be completely avoided.

The employee’s area of ​​responsibility is to “join” the team, that is, learn to work in this team. To reduce the time it takes for a newly hired employee to join the team, it is important to correctly position himself as an open, friendly person who is ready to help at any moment.

The area of ​​responsibility of the HR manager is the correct selection (taking into account the corporate culture), the adaptation procedure and the correct appointment of a mentor (as my practice shows, it is best if this is an informal leader in the team), and, of course, just conversations with the employee when it is necessary necessary.

At my previous place of work, we introduced 3 days of internship. That is, an employee has the opportunity to come to us for 3 days - see the team, get acquainted with the tasks and projects, and assess the situation from the inside. At the same time, the team is looking closely at the potential employee. And if everyone is satisfied with everything, then the potential employee becomes an employee. I deliberately omit the issue of applying for an internship, a job, or the financial aspect: each HR manager will be able to solve them himself, taking into account the specifics of the company.

The only chance to make a first impression should always be used wisely. Especially when it comes to work. After all, the place where you will spend most of your day (and what about life) should be not only useful for you, but also pleasant. So, what rules should you follow in order to join the team as quickly as possible, and what to do if you don’t accept?

According to the results of a study by the Superjob portal, it turned out that a larger number of personnel officers advise newcomers to “listen and be silent,” that is, to listen to what they say, observe what is happening, and then, based on a large amount of information, correctly present their position to their colleagues team. However, this takes time, and you need to start creating the first impression from the first day of your appearance. What needs to be done besides high-quality work and friendly behavior?

How to join the team without losses?

1. Avoid coalitions

In almost any group there are groups that adhere to their own views, usually sit at different tables at lunch and communicate more with each other than with anyone else. As a rule, from the very first days of a newcomer’s appearance, these groups begin to “probe” him for similar interests or even push him to join them.

You will end up in some group anyway, so it’s better to first communicate equally with everyone, and then the choice will be made by itself - just give yourself time. Take a neutral position on controversial issues.

Even if someone suddenly shows genuine interest in you and helps you with everything, do not rush to think that this is a gift from heaven. Be careful, but, of course, kindly and gratefully. Now is the time to get comfortable and find out what kind of people are around you, and it’s better to make a decision about who to communicate with later.

If you suddenly start communicating more with a certain group of people, then you may be considered an overly influenced person, and it’s not a fact that you will really like being in this group.

2. Ask questions, be interested, ask for advice

Speed ​​is the first quality that is clearly evident in most beginners. And often it is modesty that plays a bad role in your entry into the team.

New to the team

Every job loves initiative people, but “modest” ones do not, and such people are often used in the team. In addition, the team may consider you too arrogant or arrogant, since you cannot ask for help in such a seemingly trivial matter - settling into a new place.

Therefore, get over yourself and when a question arises, ask it! You can start with something simple - ask where, how and when it is customary to have lunch. Well, then there will be questions. The main thing is not to ask personal questions (is the boss alone or that nice guy from the first floor), and still first try to solve some difficulty yourself, and then ask for help.

Consult with colleagues, smiling, thank them for their help. This way you will make friends faster.

3. Adapt to the existing order

Everyone knows that they don’t go to someone else’s monastery with their own rules. Therefore, try to do things the way it is done in your new company. Even if this is unusual for you, once you have joined the team, it will be easier for you to tell everyone what you are used to doing differently. Then it won't cause a negative reaction.

For example, eat lunch in the cafeteria with everyone else, even if you are used to carrying lunches with you. Or offer to contribute or even help organize a colleague's birthday. If there is a line of people running to the store for coffee and chocolates, do not refuse to participate.

Of course, all this must be done without harming your work or yourself. If everyone smokes, then you don’t have to stand with everyone else in the smoking room, but you can easily support a few “habits” of the team.

You also cannot criticize the existing order, give advice and constantly complain. Phrases such as “turn down the music,” “turn off the air conditioning,” “don’t slam doors” are guaranteed to make you an outcast. However, this does not mean that you need to be patient: maybe they are testing you to see if you are able to voice your opinion? If you feel cold from a constantly open window, put on a jacket; if no one suggested closing it, suggest it yourself. But don't download your license at the first opportunity.

4. Tell us about yourself

It’s better to do this yourself voluntarily than to fight off gossip and speculation later. There are questions that are almost always interesting: are you married or dating someone, do you have children, where did you come from, where and how do you live.

New to the team

When you manage to get into the conversation of your colleagues (say, at lunch), feel free to wedge these pieces of information to yourself, as if casually, without forcing everyone to talk about you, your beloved. Believe me, even something interesting said between words will be remembered and will be passed on, because the team is always very attentive to the personal information of a newcomer. That's nature. Therefore, take the chance to introduce yourself, otherwise someone else might do it tomorrow.

5. Follow your job descriptions strictly.

First, get to know them, because not all companies provide job descriptions to employees, limiting themselves to a general description of the position. Also find out who your immediate boss is and who you “owe”. This will protect you from others who want to give orders to newcomers.

It's no secret that many teams like to dump routine work on newcomers. Refuse, citing the fact that you would be happy to help (they did help), but you would rather focus on your responsibilities at the moment, you need to get used to it. Or agree, but immediately explain that you only agree to help because you have time for this, but in the future you can refuse, since this is not your responsibility.

Do all this as calmly and friendly as possible and do not go too far in one direction or the other. You can move folders from one desk to another without fear that the annual report will be dumped on you right away. And when making a report for someone, you risk later carrying folders for someone else. In other words, don't let yourself be taken advantage of.

For more information about the rules of behavior for a newcomer in a team, as well as about how to say “no” and not turn into an “errand girl,” watch the video clip.

What to do if the team doesn’t accept you?

Do not panic and do not take chaotic actions in order to please your colleagues. All you need to do is understand the cause and, based on it, look for the “cure”. Here are possible reasons and options for your behavior:

You took “someone else’s” place: because of you, an old employee was fired or one of your current colleagues applied for the place
If you can no longer bear the attitude of the team, they openly laugh at you and mock you, try to gather at least part of the team together and honestly admit that you cannot work like this, that it’s hard for you, that you are a good person and would like to become part of the team. Apologize for unwittingly becoming someone else's problem.

If you think that you can infiltrate the team by starting to express favor to everyone, or by becoming friends with the employee who is most favorable to you, then life will put you on the bench more than once. It's time to stop believing in mirages instilled by a naive belief in positive thinking, this article will show you the short-sightedness of such behavior.
I wouldn't mind if it were that simple... but life is full of sarcasm. Those who try their best to be liked look pathetic in the eyes of others, especially in the eyes of callous and selfish people. At best, your communication will be neglected, and at worst, they will be humiliated or used.
Let's try to understand the possible reasons why the team does not accept you:
1. You are not interesting to others. They practically don’t notice you, they push routine work onto you. It's all because of your shyness. If you are different from the team, you are not interested in their conversations, and you try not to show it, then it’s completely in vain. Of course, you shouldn’t go in with moralizing and teach everyone how to live. Your task is to start doing what you think is right, be confident, and when you receive surprised looks from your colleagues, just continue to be yourself. Learn to stand your ground if they again try to dump work on you that you are not obligated to do, adhere to the general rules accepted in the team, and do not let yourself be neglected. This behavior does not have to be rude, everything needs to be done with favor and understanding of the situation. A polite no is better than a patient yes.

2. You are too eccentric and attract a lot of negative attention. The reason for this is most likely that you are too childish. You are not accepted by the team because everyone (not just you) has their own responsibilities, the work process is concentrated, and if you begin to exclaim and be indignant at something out loud, counting on the reaction of others, then you will greatly irritate most of them. Everything is simple here - stop being overly emotional. Your problems and experiences are no more serious and important than others, accept the fact that not everyone is interested in knowing about them.

3. You know better than anyone how it should be done. If you often think this way, then I will disappoint you, you are very mistaken, it is impossible to always be right. And if at the same time you feel that the team does not accept you, then this is quite natural. People don’t like being lectured to; it’s enough to express your position once and stick to it. And even if those around you are greatly mistaken about something, you should not argue with them until your last breath, and even more so, shame them. Perhaps at this stage, for them to make a mistake is the only way to understand something, although it is also possible that it is you who are mistaken...

It’s a slightly different case if you are not accepted into a new team. This is a normal situation for many, and it all depends on the old employees. Why exactly are they not ready to accept you into the team?

The most difficult thing for a new recruit is to fit into an environment of people who are completely different from you. And in such a situation, the main thing is to understand what exactly distinguishes them. If we are talking about the discrepancy between your professional skills, insufficient responsibility for work, or inability to work in a team, for example, then, of course, your task should be to catch up to the required level as soon as possible. The absence of these objective reasons will help you to be accepted into the team, if a healthy corporate atmosphere reigns in it. However, a healthy atmosphere in a team is too utopian a story...
It’s a completely different matter if something personal distinguishes you from the team. In this case, it is better to keep to yourself at first. After all, the non-accepting team may also consist of unpleasant people, they may not accept you even if you don’t drink tea with them every hour, don’t run to the smoking room, don’t keep up conversations about cars and football, don’t spend time on a social network, don’t take kickbacks. In this case, be sure to remain yourself, don’t bend, even if the local ringleader, standing at the cooler with his arms folded on his chest, is trying to increase his self-esteem by ridiculing your eccentricity. If it comes to this, then remember that trolls are everywhere, and they need to cling to at least something, and your task is not to get into a fight, be laconic, answer calmly and to the point. If you wish, you can subtly tweak him by putting him in his place; it will not be difficult, because such people are usually complex and unfulfilled. The topic of the inadequacy of such office jokers sooner or later comes up. But here the decision is yours, the main thing is not to get carried away, you still came to work, and not to mark the territory, no one will pay you for this.

American psychologists have discovered: labor productivity can directly depend on relationships at work with colleagues. According to the observations of social psychologist Norman Triplett, bicycle racers perform better when they compete with each other, rather than with a stopwatch. He transferred his conclusion to group activities in general, suggesting that the presence of colleagues can positively influence the way a person works. Psychologists Glenn Sanders, Robert Baron and Danny Moore argue that people are always distracted from an activity if they are concerned about how others evaluate their performance. And if someone feels like a “black sheep,” then this affects not only the quality of performance of duties, but also their well-being. “Among the causes of work-related stress, overload is in second place,— says consulting psychologist Tatyana Shakina. — And on the first - problems in interpersonal relationships. And if their influence is not reduced, then you can develop heart and vascular diseases.”.

By her own

« When I was still going to the office,- says Alena (25), - I had a very hard time getting up in the morning - I didn’t want to go there. At work I felt completely unbearable - I constantly had to talk to someone, find out something. The boss agreed, and now I write my texts at home: it turns out better than in the editorial office.” Individualistic employees can do their job excellently, but they don’t really like being constantly in a team and making connections: solitude and communication with themselves are more pleasant and productive for them. If you come across an understanding boss who takes into account the psychological characteristics of a valuable employee, then the joint work will continue to mutual satisfaction. Western society has accommodated such people halfway, offering various forms of cooperation: individual projects, freelancing, mobile offices. But in Russia everything is somewhat more complicated. “In our country, the “family” principle of work is very common, when the organization, even if the employees are not relatives, is perceived by them as a big family,- says social psychologist Elena Rybkina. — In Soviet times, for example, such expressions as “native factory”, “work is a second home” were practiced. They could say about the mentor “he is like a father to me.” And now the general director can be called “dad.” With this approach, a person who keeps himself apart is considered a “prodigal son,” who must certainly be “returned to the family” and, perhaps, even punished for apostasy.”. Of course, if the team practices frequent planning meetings, where everyone participates in discussing everyone’s tasks and projects, and in their free time employees and their families go on excursions and to vacation homes, a person who avoids all this will look like a black sheep.
And it’s good if they look at him disapprovingly and leave him alone. However, there are managers who involve all subordinates in collective activities under the threat of deprivation of bonuses.

Attempt to exit. Think carefully about your conversation with your boss and try to explain to him that you, as a specialist, are very useful to the company, and your dislike of social events will not affect your productivity in any way. If you fail to convince your boss, take on some small additional responsibilities - for example, buy theater tickets for everyone. As a last resort, look for another place of work, one where individualists are treated loyally.

At a new job

“I have already changed several jobs,- says Luda (23), - and every time, getting a new job, I dream that I will have friends there, that we will meet, go to visit each other... But everywhere the same thing is repeated as at school: I sit gloomily in the corner, and the rest are laughing and chatting.” Problems with communication usually first arise in childhood, and then manifest themselves in all groups in which a person finds himself. This may be due to excessive pressure from parents who forced the child to play with other children when he did not want to. Or injury - in the yard they teased him because of his glasses, hair color or being too fat, and there was no desire to be friends with the children. You've grown up a long time ago, but communication at work It’s still difficult, also because the skills haven’t been developed: you feel awkward, you don’t know how to approach your colleagues, what to ask, how to smile...
“In fact, people go to work not to make friends, but for other reasons, and one should not compare the work situation with the one that developed at school, where friendships, quarrels and romances were much more important than lessons,— says management psychology specialist Olga Gradova. — You can look for friends elsewhere, but at work it’s enough to just establish good relationships.” But if in the middle of the day you find yourself thinking not about business, but about whether you will be able to join a group of colleagues at lunch or will have to eat alone again, it will be useful to undergo communication training. There are enough of them now, and a specialist will help you understand how to change behavior at work.

Attempt to exit. Start by bringing something tasty to work and inviting everyone to try it. Ask a respected person in the department to explain something, compliment someone's new hairstyle. But this needs to be done unobtrusively: the desire to please everyone can alienate anyone. Just like sitting sullenly in the corner - people are unlikely to come up to you because they will decide that you yourself don’t want to communicate with anyone.

Relationships at work

“Usually, at a new job, I immediately understand who I will be friends with,- admits Karina (29). — Everyone says that it’s easy to be with me, so friendly relations develop almost instantly. But this time, for a year now, I’ve been feeling like in the song: “There are completely strangers around, they have a completely different game.” I am not close to the topics they discuss, but they are not close to what I propose to talk about. I don’t like it with them.”
In this case, there are different sets of values: it is difficult for you and your colleagues to understand each other. For example, having learned that you most often do manicures yourself, your car is inexpensive, and you haven’t made it to Switzerland yet, the office ladies shower you with icy contempt and continue a fascinating conversation about the sweet life. But it can also be the other way around: your colleagues’ conversations seem stupid to you, and they themselves seem too primitive, and you decide not to condescend to them, which also does not help improve relationships. “It is important to understand who exactly is erecting the barrier - a person who does not fit into the team, or a team that does not want to accept him,- says Tatyana Shakina. — For some time, record your own and other people’s smiles, a friendly tone, polite address, as well as a cold look, an arrogant facial expression and silence. This way you will find out who is really causing the coldness. It’s also a good idea to involve friends to clarify the situation - the person himself may think that his face looks neutral when communicating with a colleague, but in fact it shows a negative attitude.”

Most likely, your current colleagues will not become your friends. But they usually get a job in order to gain knowledge, make a career and earn money.

And if your company is really able to provide you with all these opportunities, you have to put up with something. And in your free time, think about what hurts you most in the conversations of your colleagues. In this way, you can discover some kind of flaw in yourself. As you know, what irritates us most in others is what is in us, but we are not always ready to admit it to ourselves.

Attempt to exit. If a conversation between colleagues does not affect your area of ​​interest, you simply don’t have to take part in it - one way or another, you will still communicate on professional topics, but you can have a heart-to-heart talk after work, with friends. Also note that there may be other departments in your organization, and they have good people.

Who's new?

“At my first job I was very lucky: the boss brought me to the department, introduced me, told me about my colleagues,- says Taya (26). — Maybe this happened because I was 18 years old at the time and I was very worried. In the future, I had to do all this myself, but I still want someone who knows how things are here to be with me on the first day at a new job - this greatly facilitates the process of joining the team.”
When you start a new job, you find yourself white.
Voronoi is simply the default. I don’t know almost anyone, you don’t know who is friends or enemies with whom, you have no idea whether the company has a special routine, or what pitfalls might await you. In addition, in many organizations they are generally wary of new employees. “A good tactic is to listen carefully to the explanations of your colleagues and do not hesitate to ask questions,- recommends Elena Rybkina. — Take a closer look at the details: does the company have a dress code, how is it customary to address each other, what behavior is categorically not welcomed, are there any rituals or traditions that colleagues observe.” Behave in a friendly manner and be sure to bring a small treat to your department on the first days of work, in accordance with the “registration” principle common in our organizations. At the table you will be able to better understand what kind of people you now have to work with, and try to become one of them. However, there may be completely different goals - as one of Honore de Balzac’s heroes said, “you need to creep into society like a plague, or burst into it like a cannonball.” Maybe you just want to convince your bosses that you need to work, look and behave completely differently, and only then the company will begin to succeed. In this case, you will have to rush into the team like a cannonball and remain a black sheep, hoping that others will share your beliefs.

Attempt to exit. Even in a well-coordinated team, different people work, and you simply cannot please everyone. Take a closer look at them and try to make friends with two or three colleagues who are close in spirit: they will tell you about the procedures adopted in the organization, help you fit in, build communication at work, or provide moral support if you want to radically change everything.

TEXT: Zhanna Sergeeva