In an era where the experiences of employees are valued, your process of onboarding can make or break your company. With so many factors to consider, what exactly is the best way to achieve a successful onboarding of new hires?
Below, we’ve compiled five detailed steps to guide you throughout your onboarding process.
Optimizing Your Onboarding Program
Contrary to popular belief, onboarding doesn’t begin on the day the employee starts working. Instead, your process should start the moment your candidates are chosen.
As mentioned, your company’s success can be greatly affected by your onboarding process. This is because it can affect some outcomes like the following:
- Teamwork – Since the program is meant to acclimate your newly hired employees to their work and surroundings, doing a good job can help them get to know the people around them. If they can build rapport with their co-workers and team members, the way they work with them can become more efficient.
- Productivity – Studies have shown that employees from companies with an established onboarding process have 50 percent higher productivity rates than those from companies that don’t.¹ This is because new employees that are sufficiently trained have better performance in finishing their responsibilities.
- Employee Retention – Effective onboarding programs can leave a good impression on employees. Also, if they feel more united with your company and your people, the more likely they’ll stay for a longer time frame.
Now that you know the importance, you may be wondering how to create the program itself. Below are five detailed steps you can follow to make your onboarding process a great one!
1. Create a Comprehensive Plan
Before you officially welcome anyone through any means of communication, you need to first develop a comprehensive onboarding plan for the program itself.
Start with the basic foundation and gradually think about the details of the structured program. Ask yourself questions like the following:
- What are the goals of this onboarding process?
- What are the objectives your employees need to meet?
- What is the specific timeline of this program?
- What date will it start and how long will it last?
- What are possible activities to do to make the onboarding experience more engaging?
By answering these guide questions, you can create a thorough plan for your employee onboarding.
2. Provide information before the first day
One of the biggest mistakes employers make is not reaching out to their newly hired employees until the day before they’re scheduled to come to the office. This type of action can result in confusion, possible miscommunication, and an overall negative employee onboarding experience.
Read More: Creating a Stellar Onboarding Experience
To prevent these outcomes from happening, constantly keep in contact with your hired candidates. Send them an email containing their contract and the basic information they need to know for their first day.
Sending the contract before their start date can help you save time. Instead of spending their first-day answering sheets of paper, they can immediately participate in the employee onboarding process. It also gives them the opportunity to go over the contract and sign it with confidence.
On the other hand, the following is some of the basic information your new employees should know before the day of their first scheduled work.
- The physical address of the office.
- The floor and room to go to once in the building.
- What to expect on their first day.
- Type of attire they are expected to be in.
- General rules within the location (i.e., always wear protective gear on the production floor)
You can provide answers to Frequently-Asked-Questions (FAQs) as well just in case they may have some confusion or clarifications. If you’re worried that they may still have questions, provide a way for them to contact you or the right people they should ask.
3. Conduct a Detailed Orientation
Standing in front of the office and introducing them to others is not enough to orient new employees. You need to conduct a more detailed and well-executed plan.
Welcome employees by introducing yourself and all the leaders they may work under. Discuss the mission and vision of the company. If the story is interesting or crucial to your market branding, consider adding the history of your company and its title.
Below is an onboarding checklist of other topics you can consider adding to the employee orientation:
- Enumerate specific responsibilities and job descriptions of newly filled roles.
- Introduce the organizational structure and its stakeholders.
- Explain important rules and policies new hires need to internalize and apply at all times.
4. Integrate Employees into Their Teams
Aside from welcoming your employees into the company, you also need to exert effort integrating them into their teams. This means you have to plan an activity where your new employees will get the chance to meet and interact with your current ones.
Simply throwing them onto their working stations and giving them their first task will not let them acclimate properly to their team. This leads to less teamwork, less rapport, and eventually, less working efficiency.²
Make sure your new employees are welcomed by their team leaders and get the chance to know their co-workers. This way, they have people to guide them.
Another great onboarding technique is to assign mentors to new hires. These mentors can be the ones in charge of introducing them to their work and the company culture.
If this is not possible due to the nature of work in your organization, consider a short-term onboarding buddy instead. A more seasoned employee will get paired up with a new one for a limited number of weeks. This can increase employee engagement while giving both people a chance to grow – one through learning and the other from teaching.
5. Give and Receive Feedback
An effective employee onboarding experience leads to the development of the skills and talent of employees.
With this in mind, consider giving clear and detailed feedback near the end of the onboarding process. These constructive comments should be focused on their strengths as workers as well as weaknesses they need to work on.
Whether the source of the feedback is from the employer, HR manager, leaders, or co-workers, it must be done with the purpose of improving the employee and their performance.
Finally, to end the entire process, it’s important for you to also listen to the comments of your new hires. Encourage them to give your employee onboarding process feedback by answering questions similar to the following:
- How was their experience during onboarding?
- Did they gain any important knowledge or experience from the program?
- If they were to change or adjust anything about the program, what would it be and why?
Aside from the best practice hiring guides we offer here at DAVIS Companies, listening to your employees is surely another great roadmap you can follow to establish a reputable onboarding process.
BUILD A STRONG REPUTATION AS AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
Here at DAVIS Companies, we are committed to improving your organization through the services we offer. No matter what your pain points are, we can customize the solution to your needs!
Being in the staffing industry since 1985, we offer different options to fit your needs like contract staffing, direct hiring, and contract-to-hire. We can also handle your human resource to efficiently manage your onboarding and hiring process.
Let us provide the best practices, tips, tactics, and solutions for your company. Contact us today to learn more!
References
1 Hirsh, Arlene. “Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Good Onboarding” SHRM, 10 Aug 2017, https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/dont-underestimate-the-importance-of-effective-onboarding.aspx
2 Indeed Editorial Team. “Improve Performance and Efficiency by Working Together.” Indeed, 13 Jan 2023, https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/working-together
