New hire onboarding commonly involves creating a workflow to integrate a new staff member with an organization, its culture and making them job ready. In an onboarding process, the new hire is equipped with the right information and tools to be a productive team member who is fully prepared for their first day on the job.
The effect of a bad onboarding experience can hugely impact the overall organization, staff, and even the new hire. It's essential to have an effective and consistent onboarding process to bring the best out of your new hires.
Creating an effective online onboarding experience is a must have for any new hire process. This is their first entry point towards joining your organisation and a critical piece for establishing a good company culture and preparing the new employee for their first day on the job.
This might be part of your overall Onboarding Playbook and include a New Hire Checklist.
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Onboarding is the first interaction a new employee has with their organization after their interview process. A poor employee onboarding program might lead to the new hire having a negative perception of the organization and be a contributing cause for them to quit early on. The onboarding experience should help the new hire to feel comfortable and embraced in their new position, welcome to the team and feel familiar with the workplace before they arrive on the first day. It should make them aware of important HR policies and procedures but also set the culture of the organization and make them job ready.
Here are some tips to make the best employee onboarding experience in an organization:
- Prepare the team for the new hire. Setting up an introduction to the team announcing the new talent you have just hired. Giving them information about the new hire and the position they have been hired for. Who will be helping them on their first day, who will be showing them the ropes?
- Keep regular contact with the new employee. Things like welcome emails, line manager follow ups about how they are going in the first week, second week, first month and more can be little touches that lead to a better onboarding experience.
- Address the small stuff. Whether it be making sure they are setup for their phone and IT access through to swipe card or parking.
- Schedule an introduction tour. Making sure they have had a tour of the workpace.
- Warm welcome. Explaining the mission and purpose of the organization through to watching a welcome video. This makes the new hire feel appreciated and helps them understand the purpose and culture of the organization.
- Assign them a mentor. Making sure there is a mentor to the new hire for any questions and guidance.
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There are many ways the team in charge of the onboarding processes can use to make them have the best experience ever. These tips will make your new hire onboarding process amazing and an unforgettable experience. In addition, the best leads are the ones that are specifically unique to the organization.
- Connect the new employees with the team in advance. Digitally connecting the new employees with the rest of the team via online platforms removes stress and uncertainty.
- Assist them in understanding the organizational language. Every organization usually has its own unique language, which may be specific terms or acronyms they use during business hours. Provide the necessary resources so they can familiarize themselves with organization-specific vernacular.
- Communicate the values and culture of the organization
- Develop a personal approach when welcoming new hires to the organization
- Create an engaging virtual culture
Having an efficient and effective online onboarding process is essential for the growth of the organization. Ensure that you have whatever is needed to get your new hire to feel comfortable and conversant with the organization to avoid losing top talents.
With the current advancement in technology, having a pile of documents waiting for the new hire to come and sign is way behind. It's more efficient when you send the papers to the employee beforehand for electronic signatures. After they receive the job offer, grant them access to the online onboarding portal to get informed about the organization.
The new hire onboarding process begins right after the recruitment process. After selection, the manager might send a warm welcome message (email) and attach some essential documents such as:
- Employee agreement
- W-4 and I-9 forms
- The employee handbook
- Benefits and payroll forms
Apart from having them fill out the new employee paperwork online, consider having their concerns or questions answered in advance. Provide them with logins and grant them access to the appropriate accounts.
Finally, onboarding new employees at an organization should be strategically implemented to last at least a year. This is crucial because ensuring high retention is greatly determined by how an organization's employer handles the very first few months of a new hire.
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