12 Employee Onboarding Best Practices EveryBusiness Owner Needs To Know
by Rob Wormley
in Articles
Mar. 10, 2015 13,711 views 13 comments
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If you’ve ever started a new job, only to find the company totally
unprepared for your arrival, you know how important onboarding is to the
employee-employer relationship!
But proper onboarding isn’t just about first impressions. Taking the time to
plan out how new hires will be introduced into your company will affect
their future performance, their ability to achieve stated goals and their
overall satisfaction with their new positions.
To help you succeed in these respects, consider the following 12-step
onboarding process that will help new hires integrate quickly into your
company:
Before the New Hire Starts Work
12 Employee Onboarding Best Practices Every Business Owner Needs To Know.
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Create an agenda for your new employee’s first week. It’s much
easier to plan this in advance than it is to come up with while the new
team member is standing there in front of you. If you aren’t sure what
to include on this agenda, have reach out to the new hire’s soon-to-be
manager or other key coworkers to determine what’s important. If you
assign mentors or work buddies, this is a great time do that as well.
Create a comfortable work station for your new staff member.Nothing kills a new employee’s confidence in the company faster than
being assigned to a dirty, unorganized desk. Setting up the
workstation in advance gives new hires their own “turf,” helping them
feel more relaxed and confident. Fill the desk with any supplies
needed, and place important documents – such as an organizational
chart, employee handbook and new hire enrollment paperwork – on
the desk for the employee’s review.
Provide new employees with a welcome gift. To help the new hire
immediately feel like part of the team, place any branded materials
you offer on the desk, such as a custom t-shirt, a work bag, a coffee
mug, pens, or a pad of paper. Not only will this build brand loyalty
right away, it also helps a new employee feel welcomed.
Send out helpful information. Help soothe a new employee’s first day
jitters by clearly communicating any information that’s needed for the
first day. Include details on dress code, parking rules, directions to the
office, and who to ask for when upon arrival to minimize new hire
stress.
During the First Week
Help new hires get the lay of the land. On the new hire’s first day,
conduct a tour of the office. Be sure to include simple, but essential,
information such as where their desk is located, where the restrooms
and break room are, and where to find the copier and employee
mailboxes. Introduce the new employee to other staff members along
the way and encourage questions as you go.
Block off time for orientation. If you’re in desperate need of help, it
can be tempting to throw your new employee into projects as quickly
as possible. But doing so can be disorienting and nerve-wracking –
two feelings you definitely want to avoid! If possible, use the new
hire’s first day as more of an orientation day than a work day. Try to
have some current team members take the new employee out for
lunch, and set aside time for filling out paperwork, introductory
meetings, and casual conversation.
Plan a manager’s meeting. Sometime during the first week, set aside
time for the new hire to meet with their immediate manager. Use this
meeting to give the manager time to get to know the new team
member, share their management style, and explain future
expectations. It can also be helpful to use this time to let the new
employee know what the ramp-up process will be like in the first
month or two on the job.
Cover important work processes. As the new hire’s first week
progresses, have the new employee and manager meet a few more
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times as needed to discuss important work processes. For example,
new staff members need to know email protocol, communication
expectations, and internal decision-making processes. This is also a
great time to set short term and long term goals. If the new hire will
take on a supervisory role, they should also meet with their direct
reports to begin to build rapport.
The First 30–90 Days
Invest in training. Though the productivity losses can be frustrating,
a new hire’s first 30-90 days on the job should be looked at as an
initial training period. Train your new employee on everything from
the ins and outs of your product line to your brand’s positioning in the
market. Once this introductory period is up, you’ll have a much
stronger worker than one you threw immediately to the wolves.
Allow for job shadowing. One of the best ways to train your new hires
is to have them shadow other workers. But don’t just focus on those in
the employee’s department. Cross training your workers by having
them shadow employees in every department of your company will
give them a much better understanding of how your organization
works.
Build opportunities for feedback into the employee’s first couple ofmonths on the job. Make sure new hires know that they’re free to
share and encourage new ideas. They may not be comfortable doing
so the first day, but over time, their feedback and insights should be
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encouraged.
Conduct your first review. Finally, after 90 days on the job, the
manager should give the new hire their first evaluation. At this point,
the new employee should be fully integrated into the company and
operating at a full workload. Identifying weaknesses at this stage will
allow you to either nip potential problems in the bud or terminate the
new hire’s employment before too many resources have been invested
in an employee that won’t ultimately work out.
Have another best practice that you feel should be added to this list?Share your recommendations by leaving a comment below!
Want to learn more about how to effectively onboard your employees?
Tune into our webinar on Thursday, March 19th @ 1PM CDT. We’re talking
with Gina Lau from HelloSign. Register here – space is limited!
12 Employee Onboarding Best Practices Every Business Owner Needs ToKnow by Rob Wormley
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13 Comments
ClaudiaMarch 11, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Great tips. Thank you!
Reply
Rob WormleyMarch 16, 2015 at 9:40 am
Glad you liked them Claudia!
Reply
Fred EckMarch 11, 2015 at 2:32 pm
Rob, Great points and how great it would be if more companies and managersfollowed at least some of the steps you outlined in your practices. Over the years Iwas able to include many of them, but too often it was “we don’t have time to dothat”! I tried to make the case that better to make the time now, then having to takethe time to hire new employees.
Keep up the good fight!
Reply
Rob WormleyMarch 16, 2015 at 9:41 am
Fred – definitely agree! It’s so important to take the time. Thanks for the comment!
Reply
AshwinSeptember 4, 2015 at 8:14 am
Thanks for the great article Rob!
Reply
Vic SockriderMarch 11, 2015 at 9:57 pm
Rob, spot on. How we seem to forget how intimidating that first day and week is. Iwas shaking! Making our new team members feel at home and meeting the rest ofthe team may be the most important step towards a long relationship together.Great article.
Reply
Rob WormleyMarch 16, 2015 at 9:42 am
Hey Vic – thanks for the comment! I agree – it’s not just about hiring a newemployee, it’s about building a long-lasting relationship!
Reply
johnMarch 13, 2015 at 6:11 pm
Just bringing in a new high-level employee so the WIW email was perfect timing.Rob, thanks for the strategic tips — we’re incorporating them. Well done!
Reply
Rob WormleyMarch 16, 2015 at 9:43 am
John – glad to hear the post found you at the right time. Good luck with your newhire!
Reply
SBDApril 7, 2015 at 8:38 pm
Unfortunately, a 90 day orientation period is not realistic within the constraints oforganizational probationary periods. Employees have to quickly demonstrate a fitfor the job within 6-8 weeks.
Reply
Charles JacksonMay 4, 2015 at 5:19 am
Wow!!! I was looking for something like this. Thank you so much for posting this. Ihave searched different business articles but this is really interesting and helpful. Itis sad to say that most of the companies failing to follow these tips. Only thosefollows will get the maximum out of their human resources. I would say thatemployee training is the most important task among these 12 points. Most of thecompanies hesitated to invest in employee training.
Reply
Agnes Stott-BriggsJune 30, 2015 at 10:24 pm
Great Tip. Most employers forget the human element of new joiners. Too structuredand intimidating. Your style considers the human side of it and it is spot on. Thank
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AshwinSeptember 4, 2015 at 8:24 am
Rob, Awesome article. I’ve heard a lot of people like Fred who face challenges inimplementing this due to time restraints. Have you had any experience in created anautomated workflow? I saw this article on that topic – http://bit.ly/1fZ2QRx
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