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Human resources managers have ongoing concerns about recruiting and employee onboarding. If you make a mistake, talented people will leave your company before you can even say “You are hired!” The days of giving new employees a handbook outlining the company’s objectives, details about how their job will be evaluated, and a laundry list of forms to fill out are over. Successful onboarding programs help new employees adjust to a company’s culture in this digital age.
Even though companies have had employee onboarding programs for a while, they’ve never really focused on updating and modernizing them. Consequently, 28% of employees quit their positions in the first three months on the job. This is a disappointing result because companies put a lot of effort and money into finding, interviewing, and training new employees.
A tech-driven, automated, and structured onboarding process is essential for organizations seeking to dominate the talent acquisition market. The importance of improving the onboarding process to a company’s success goes well beyond the obvious gains in engagement and retention that result from such an overhaul. We have designed a program framework for employee onboarding that you can use to ensure new hires have a smooth experience at every step of their journey, which will help you succeed. You can choose to wow or let down your new employees now.
What is the onboarding process?
The term “onboarding” refers to the sequence of events that must occur between a company and a new employee to fully incorporate the latter into the former’s operations. A broad variety of actions aimed at ensuring the success of new employees is encompassed by the term employee onboarding process. In an ideal world, this speeds up their productivity, makes them feel more invested in their work and helps them integrate into the company’s culture.
This can take on a variety of forms depending on the company. Even within the same organization, different divisions may have varying methods of employee onboarding checklists. Take the scenario where one worker is required to watch a video, go through a quick introduction to their colleagues, and then jump right into their work. Someone else may need to complete a week of training and then spend some time working under the supervision of an experienced colleague before they are officially onboarded.
Types of onboarding processes
Employee onboarding comes in five main varieties. In the process of hiring new staff, many companies address at least one of these.
Social
Meeting new people and easing their transition into the workplace. One strategy could be to pair a recruit with an experienced employee who can show them the ropes. Another way to start social onboarding is before the employee even starts working. As an illustration, they may receive an invitation to a team social event.
Talent
Making sure a recruit’s skills are put to good use for the business. Envision a world where each employee’s most valuable abilities are clearly stated, allowing everyone to benefit from their addition to the team.
Acquired knowledge—
New hires must receive training on the specifics of their jobs. The process of knowledge employee onboarding entails determining the new hire’s knowledge gaps and providing them with the tools they need to fill them.
Operational –
The operational details include everything that is needed to ensure that the employee has a good start. Making sure they have a laptop, getting their desk set up, creating their login credentials, etc.
Performance
Two parts make up performance-related employee onboarding: (a) giving new hires an initial assignment or project and (b) establishing goals and objectives for the new hire. These two things can go a long way in easing the minds of new hires about how they can contribute to the success of the company.
Ways to Enhance the Onboarding Experience for Your Employees
1. Get everything ready for the new hire.
One effective strategy is to conduct some pre-onboarding activities to prepare your team for the new hire. Let the new hire know how excited you are to have them join the team and give them a rundown of what to expect on their first day in an email they can choose to read at their leisure. It is important to inform all employees of the news, whether it be through email or in person. In the announcement, you should welcome the new team member, brief them on their role, and their experience, and ask them to join the team.
When workers are informed about a new team member in advance, they can be ready to lend a hand on their first day. One of the most important parts of employee onboarding, this will help the new hire feel right at home.
The new hire must complete, submit, or acknowledge all notices and forms that are required by law on the first day of employment. These may include the Wage Theft Prevention Act notice, benefits information and notice, Form W-4, and Form I-9.
2. Set up the new hire’s desk and get it ready to go.
The first impression a new hire has of your business is greatly influenced by how prepared your “home base” is. Nothing is more frustrating for a new hire than being unprepared for the job. Workers may feel isolated and unappreciated when they do not have a personal space to work in.
A new coworker will feel appreciated right away if you take the time to set up their computer, email, and phone in advance and provide them with any office supplies they may need. The new hires will be able to do their best work with these resources.
3. Verify that the new hire has access to all relevant software.
Along with setting up their desk, make sure the new hire has access to any documents, applications, or files they may require for their first day on the job. To alleviate the feeling of being kept waiting for further verbal instructions, have a binder or electronic document readily available for them to consult.
If you skip this step, new hires will have a more difficult time getting up to speed during employee onboarding and training, which will hurt their perception of your company. Offering them access to necessary programs and documents from the start helps them perceive your organization as prepared and professional, even though you shouldn’t go overboard with the first day’s to-do list.
4. Introduce people
Assist recruits in making genuine connections with their colleagues as much as possible. On the first day, make sure the new hire has time to meet with important people from different departments. They might not be able to recall everyone’s names, but at least they’ll have a general idea of where to find everything. In addition to introducing them to your company, these introductions will clarify their function within it.
5. Organize a team lunch
As a team, you can get to know each other better by working on a common project. In the first week on the job, get the new hire and their immediate coworkers together for lunch or a get-together after work.
Everyone on your team and the staff will be able to relax and get to know one another thanks to this icebreaker. Try to schedule any activities outside of work that you’re interested in doing either during work hours or as an optional event. You should not give the impression that your company does not value work-life balance by planning an after-work gathering without first checking your new hire’s schedule. Keep in mind that you may be liable to pay them for the time they spend at the gathering, including any overtime they may have worked.
Get to know your new hire a bit outside of the interview by reading up on them. A worker’s likelihood of staying for the long term increases when they experience both personal and professional value from their team.
6. Make sure to have enough time for training.
Take it easy. Training should take up the majority of the first week of a new hire’s onboarding process. It doesn’t matter if the worker has done the same task at another company; every business is unique.
A well-thought-out training program is an important component of easing new hires into their roles. During your training, you should go over the goals, policies, and procedures of the organization. Establishing clear expectations for new hires will give them a yardstick by which to evaluate their performance in the position. Read, watch, do, shadow, and mentor; mix and match as much as possible during training. Keeping things interesting can help minimize first-day employee burnout because everyone learns in their unique way.
Another excellent strategy for easing recruits into their roles is to pair them with an experienced colleague from the same department. Just make sure they have someone to turn to for help with their questions and assignments, and they’ll be good to go. As an alternative, recruits can spend their first week shadowing an experienced employee to gain a feel for the ropes and learn the ropes of the company.
7. Make sure to follow up
The most crucial part of the onboarding process, yet frequently disregarded, is the follow-up meeting. Even if you don’t think the new hire needs an evaluation after 30 days, 60 days, or 90 days on the job, you should still schedule regular check-ins to see how they’re doing. Here is a chance to gain insight into your company’s new hire onboarding process from the employee’s point of view. This is a great chance to check in with them, see how they’re adjusting to their new position, and address any concerns they may have. Get their feedback on your process and adjust it based on their suggestions.
The amount of work and time invested in an employee’s onboarding process determines how successful it will be. Put some serious thought into it and finish your assignments. The first three weeks on the job have the greatest impact on a new hire’s opinion of your firm and how they feel about working for you down the road.
Summary
Finally, if you want your employees to be happy, stay, and be productive, you need an employee onboarding checklist that is well-structured and efficient. Companies can develop an effective onboarding process that prepares recruits for success by learning the ins and outs of the process, making use of technology, applying best practices, and adjusting it for remote workers. To keep up with the ever-changing workforce, it is essential for organizations to regularly assess and enhance their onboarding processes.
