Onboarding a new employee is not as simple as it might seem. It’s essential for new team members to feel welcomed in their workplace, encouraged and motivated to be successful during their tenure. Every organization has a different onboarding process– there’s no one right way to do it. Across the board, though, it requires a lot of planning and the incorporation of multiple elements for the new person’ first day, month, quarter and beyond. By taking the time to do it well, you’ll set people up for maintaining high morale in the long term. How do you go about it? There are a few key elements you should never overlook. Let’s get started.
Start with an Employee Onboarding Plan
As soon as you begin taking applications for a position, you must have a plan in place when it comes to how to onboard a new employee. If you’ve got a system in place already, there’s no harm in going over it again to find gaps and improve it to create better results. One of the more effective things you can focus on is ensuring new team members feel comfortable. Many businesses have now shifted to hybrid or work-from-home options to promote the safety of their employees. You can plan alternative days for them to come to the office and work from home for the other days. Doing so can help people better adjust to their new surroundings.
Make Onboarding Personalized
Personalized employee onboarding is often more meaningful to newcomers than anything else. But how do you know what new team members will appreciate? The answers are available in the resumes and profiles that you receive through their applications. Typically, a candidate mentions their skills, hobbies, and other activities to showcase their character and life outside of work. Looking closely into their resumes can help you identify what kinds of things they might like. This allows you to create a more personalized onboarding process for them. For instance, if someone paints as a hobby, the onboarding process can include a small goodie bag with a painting kit. Or it might be worthwhile to bring their interests up in meetings to make the new person feel more comfortable.
Give Attention to Detail with a Resume Builder
Heads up: resumes are all built differently, so it might take a little effort to find the information related to employee interests. Online Resume Builder allows prospective employees to create the kinds of resumes that keep key facts front-and-center.
The Onboarding Process
How do you onboard a new employee to ensure a long and successful relationship? Let’s have a look.
1. Connect With New Hires Before Their First Day
While you must be thinking that you’ll get to know the new employee once they start work, you should really be putting in the effort to connect with them even before their first day. Why is this essential? The new team member will feel a sense of belonging to the organization and will be less anxious when their first day arrives. Set the mood– they’re now part of a family at the new workplace. Make sure all communication is productive– not just focused on filling out forms during the dreadful wait for the work to start.
2. Clarify Job Requirements and Details
There’s nothing more underwhelming than starting a new job and not knowing what’s required. It’s crucial for people to have a detailed description and good direction so they’re clear on what needs to be done. If there’s no clarity, new team members may feel disengaged and tractionless on their projects. Therefore, it’s up to the recruiters to lay out a plan and job requirements for them before they accept the position. This could cover some of the following elements:
- The number of hours required
- The objective of the job
- The roles and description of tasks
- The educational requirements
- The experience and skill requirements
A streamlined job description allows new employees to know what is expected of them and helps them pace themselves accordingly.
3. Plan a Detailed Orientation Program
New team members need to be welcomed to the company in a way that helps them understand the organization. But how does one do that? The trick is to create an orientation program that will offer them insight into the culture, work environment, and more. Make it interactive so new team members can learn more about the organization and also ask questions. Orientation programs can be done in multiple sessions with different stakeholders that cover individual mentoring, group activities, training sessions, and more. Here are a few things that are important when planning an orientation:
- Set goals throughout the sessions
- Ask for feedback after every session
Asking for feedback is key for improving the onboarding process for future hires. WorkTango has extensive experience deploying onboarding and exit surveys and helping organizations improve their own internal processes. Schedule a demo today to find out more.
4. Ensure a Welcoming Work Environment
The organization’s environment is pivotal in determining whether the new employee will be comfortable in the setup or not. Be sure to orient them to their new space. Maps, parking passes, a quick tour of the break room– it all helps. Many organizations have now adopted a system of remote or hybrid work..This has helped employees develop a positive relationship with their work overall as it promotes an appropriate mix of in-house and work from home. Create the most flexible and welcoming work environment you can. Make sure policies are clearly articulated in the job description so expectations are set for the new employee as they onboard.
5. Use Appropriate Training Software
Training is a crucial part of onboarding. Many organizations invest in software that allows them to create training materials once, then refine and put them to use over and over (without reinventing the wheel). It improves consistency and cuts down on the hours invested by trainers. Online and recorded training sessions are effective for employees in many industries. Here are a few things that are a must for training software or assets:
- Easy accessibility to training modules
- Customization to add more training sessions
- Track learning and offer feedback
All in all, onboarding a new employee requires a lot of effort from the organization and the HR team. The end result? A long-lasting and successful working relationship.
