An onboarding program is essential to help integrate your new employees into your company and into their team and to help them better understand how their role contributes to the goals of your organization. Onboarding programs vary widely by organization depending on size, tools, and culture. However, all successful onboarding programs provide an experience which gives your new employee feelings of connectedness, confidence, and comfort. Here are the top 5 HR approved tips for onboarding.
1. Communicate early and often
Effective onboarding starts right after the offer of employment is accepted (also known as pre-boarding). Establish an open and responsive communication plan for your new hires and inform them of who they can contact if they have any needs or questions between their offer acceptance date and their start date. It’s also helpful if you can provide them with an idea of what the next steps are and when to expect further information. Failure to maintain communication and support during this time could leave your new hires vulnerable to getting wooed and snatched up by a competitor.
2. Prepare them for success
Few things are worse for a new hire than feeling helpless and bored. Avoid this debacle by identifying and fulfilling your new hire’s technology, access, tools, and equipment needs early on. The goal is to have your new hire fully operational on their start date so as not to delay training. Plus, a smooth first day goes a long way towards making them feel confident in their choice to join your organization.
3. Give a warm welcome
While parts of onboarding, such as New Hire Orientation presentation, new hire paperwork, and policy acknowledgements are standard and repetitious, tailor what you can to the unique individual joining your team. They will feel valued and less like a task to check off a to-do list. Some thoughtful ideas are to send a welcome e-mail and/or gift before the start date, make your new hire announcement to the team while inviting them to join in on welcoming their new team member, or decorating your new hire’s workspace.
4. Break it up! (The new hire orientation that is…)
Having a new hire orientation to present offers your new employees a resource to easily receive all the information they need to know as a new hire. The information usually included in the presentation is the organization’s structure, vision, mission, and core values. You may also want to include some major policies, as well as payroll and benefits information. This is all fine and dandy (and encouraged), but it can get long and boring. Keep their eyes from glazing over by asking for their participation and soliciting questions and relate the information to your new hire or their specific role when applicable. It also helps to break up the orientation into segments. Between segments they can complete a task (check an access, complete a form, or answer a survey question), take a quick break, or learn something new about their fellow new hire neighbor.
5. Clarify expectations—yours and theirs!
If you want to increase the chances of a successful training period for your new hire, tell them what you expect! Be specific. It helps to have a training plan with dates and timeframes to meet milestones or training goals. This allows them to be an active partner in making sure their training is going according to plan. Remember to ask them if they need or want anything from you to support them through this period. They have their own expectations, too. When expectations are met on both sides, it’s a win from every angle.
Onboarding is an important process to have determined in your firm. When you follow these tips, your new hires will be successful and you will have better clients, a better practice, and a better life.
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