Get Connected:

Socialization Tactics for New Employees

From the moment an offeris accepted, you have a new employee to bring in to the fold. You need to be sure he or she:

• Learns all the rules• Signs all the forms • Follows all the

company protocols

But it’s much more than that…

First and foremost, you need to make them feel welcome. And connected.

And you can start, even before their first day on the job, by using some essential socialization tactics.

• Who you are and what you believe in

• How you work together and what you do for fun

• What it takes to do this job• How you can help them

reach their goals

Even before Day 1, start communicating…

Communicating this important information upfront can transform new hires into engaged employees.

How to do this consistently across your entire organization? Create an Onboarding Portal.

Having a centralized employee portal that serves as a hub for everything your new hires could possibly want to know requires some upfront investment, but will save you time and resources in the long run.

• Consistent information and messaging to all new hires

• Accessible at any time

• Includes all onboarding forms

To bring new hires there, send a series of planned emails on each topic - containing a link directly back to the portal.

One place, online, for everything a new hire needs to know.

As soon as new employees receive job offers, they also receive access to the onboarding portal.

Here, they discover content that’s designed to engage them early, such as:• A friendly note from their manager• First-day information• Welcome messages from and photographs of their new teammates• A glossary of company buzzwords and acronyms• And your organization’s social, sports, or volunteer calendar

Did you know…?83% of best-in-class organizations start onboarding prior to Day 1 by welcoming new hires warmly

and tackling administrative matters in advance.

So, what kinds of things should you communicate to make your new hires feel connected?

Organizational values, goals, and culture

• Message from CEO, division manager, department manager, supervisor

• Company's values and goals• Company's culture• Introduction to your mentor• Video Introduction to department

head

“Who we are and what we believe in”

“How we work together and what we do for fun”

Work group values, norms, and relationships • “A day in the life of department” • Division, department, team values• Formal and informal norms: dress, speech,

appearance, group functions, outings• Relationships: customers, vendors, internal

customers, groups, introduction to peers, blogs

• Employee committees, activity clubs, events calendar

“What it takes to do this job”

How to do the job, needed skills and knowledge • Specialized language and product

knowledge needed for new role • Suggested readings and websites• Videos showing an employee in similar

role• Top 10 tools to use to be successful

“How we can help you reach your goals”

Personal change relating to identity, self-image, and motives • Employee career development• Available training • Personal development

86/6A study by analyst firm Aberdeen Group found that 86% of respondents felt that a new hire’s decision to stay with a company long-term is made within the first six months of employment.

Less paperwork. More people time.NO MORE one-day HR orientations, a series of unrelated administrative tasks, and a folder of forms. Especially with the new generation of workers who expect speed and automation.

TODAY managers and HR can have visibility through dashboards to organize and track onboarding tasks and manage forms electronically (like W-4 or I-9, benefits, payroll) for on-time completion.

As you know, the cost of replacing employees is astronomically high:

Plus, at every departure, morale and productivity suffer.

An entry-level employee 30-50% of annual salary

A mid-level employee 150% of annual salary

A senior-level employee 400% of annual salary

Socialization matters!

New hires are expensive. You want to protect your recruitment investment.

Holding on to your people starts by providing a well-designed socialization process to welcome new employees and make them feel at home within the larger culture.

Challenge: With nearly 33,000 employees in 28 countries around the world and minimal HR resources, eBay recognized their need to improve the new hire experience and create efficiencies through a comprehensive technology solution. Solution: By using SilkRoad Onboarding, eBay improved the new-hire experience by automating both tasks and socialization aspects of onboarding. Results and ROI:• Reduced the administrative cost of onboarding by 25% • Reduced its onboarding process steps by 60%

Case Study

Key Objectives of Smart Onboarding Programs

• Reduce time-to-productivity• Reduce stress• Reduce turnover• Develop job knowledge

• Make a positive, lasting impression on a new hire!

Get Connected:Socialization Tactics for New Employees

Thank you!

Learn more! Download the Ultimate Guide to Onboarding.