Smooth and comprehensive onboarding is crucial to laying the foundations for a productive and long-term relationship between an employee and their new employer.
In this article, we take a closer look at employee onboarding, why it’s important, and the best practices you can implement for your new starters.
What is employee onboarding?
Employee onboarding is the process of familiarising a new member of staff with their employer’s policies, their own roles and responsibilities, and the wider organisational culture. A successful onboarding process ensures that new employees:
* Understand their role and responsibilities
* Feel comfortable in the working environment
* Are familiar with organisational policies
Why is onboarding important?
The first few days and weeks in a new role are pivotal for any new member of staff. A comprehensive staff onboarding process can make all the difference in ensuring new hires feel welcomed and ready to contribute, resulting in key benefits like:
* Loyalty and retention: When employees feel welcomed and valued, they are more likely to stay with the company. Comprehensive onboarding helps new hires feel like an integral part of the team from the start, thereby encouraging long-term loyalty and retention.
* Quick integration: When a new employee starts, you want them to hit the ground running, not take months to begin producing results. An effective onboarding process ensures that employees are well-equipped with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to start being productive and contributing to organisational success.
* Employee engagement: When new hires feel supported and valued, they are more likely to be motivated and committed. This engagement translates into increased productivity and a stronger connection to their employer’s mission and values.
* Sense of community: By introducing new employees to the organisational culture and facilitating connections with colleagues, onboarding lays the groundwork for positive working relationships and a collaborative environment. A sense of belonging encourages teamwork and a supportive work atmosphere.
Stages of the onboarding process
Before a new starter begins
Laying the foundations for onboarding success starts as soon as the job offer has been accepted by the candidate. In preparation for their start date, employers should think about:
Documentation: Consider if your new starter has all of the documentation they need. Package up essential HR resources and share them either in an email or by post. This might include contact details, company perks and benefits (including how to apply for them), company policies, plus essential contact information, for example for HR teams and Finance (if applicable).
Software and tools: Get your new start’s desk ready for when they arrive on their first day with all the necessary tech. This may require reaching out to IT teams to ensure that all the relevant log-ins are set up and the new starter’s laptop is ready to go on day one.
Keeping in touch: Communicate with your new hires and give them an idea of what to expect on their first day. Will you meet them outside the building, or at reception? Do they need to sign into the building, or have ID to gain access? Be clear about the practicalities and logistics they should think about. This is also the time to give them an idea of who they might meet on their first day and let them know you’re looking forward to them joining the team.
Employees first day
A new employee’s first day at work is all about orientation and setting expectations. As a result, this should normally be comprised of:
An office tour: Consider all the little things your new hire won’t be aware of. Maybe your office has locker spaces or maybe the bathrooms don’t have clear signage. Offer them a quick tour and flag these practical elements, as well as where different teams sit. If you work in a large office or have a lot of meeting rooms, consider mocking up a floor plan.
Team introductions: Give your new colleague a chance to meet their teammates but avoid overly long sessions – you don’t want to overwhelm a new starter and there is only so much information you can take onboard on your first day. Consider asking each member of the team to provide an outline of their role, how they work with others in the team, current projects, and how they will work alongside your new hire.
Setting clear goals and expectations: Running through the job description again and contextualising it against wider organisational goals can help a new starter better understand the big picture and how they can contribute to it. This is also a good time to ask your new starters if they have any specific questions about their role.
A team lunch: While your new starters should get to know their colleagues in scheduled meetings, giving them the chance to do so in a social and less formal setting is highly recommended. You can either organise a team lunch to officially welcome them or arrange to meet for drinks after work.
Employees first week
Moving onto the employee’s first full week in the role, employers can start looking forward to setting them up for success in the longer term. This is an opportunity to:
Brief in the first project: Once they’ve settled in, the best way for a new starter to learn is to get them working on something. Give them clear direction and your recommended approach for the task, but otherwise, let them use their initiative.
Outline upcoming projects or tasks: Take some time to talk to your new team members about upcoming projects they’ll be getting involved with down the line. Even if they don’t start working on them right away, you can ask them to prepare themselves and start thinking about how they might contribute.
Discuss probation requirements: New hires will often go through probation so their progress can be reviewed, a process which normally lasts between three and six months. The first week is an opportunity to explain this to them and outline any objectives they will need to hit.
Gather feedback: Finding out how a new employee feels about their first week and the organisation as a whole allows employers to apply learnings to the onboarding process for future hires. Be clear that asking for his feedback is to help improve onboarding and ensure new starts have the information and opportunities they need to hit the ground running.
Onboarding new employees is about setting the scene for long-term success and engagement. By focusing on continuous improvement and personalisation, organisations can give new hires the chance not just to assimilate smoothly, but to excel in their roles. Armed with a robust onboarding policy, employers can enhance their practices, cultivating a culture of support, development, and achievement right from the start.