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Employee Onboarding: Tools and Tips to Successfully Welcome New Employees

Onboarding best practicesOnboarding best practices.

You’ve gone through the recruitment process, chosen the right candidate for the position, and they have accepted the job offer. Though you may think the job is done, it’s only just beginning. After effective recruitment and decision-making comes the most important process to improve your retention – employee onboarding. Having an effective onboarding process in place will help your new hires get acclimated to the social and performance aspects of their new role more quickly while also providing them with a full understanding of what is expected of them.

How your new hires are introduced to your company will set the tone for how they perform and represent your organization, especially one with frontline employees. If you’re not sure where to begin, try some of these employee onboarding processes to get you started.

The employee onboarding process should begin before their first day

How many times have you accepted a job offer, received a start date, and that’s that? You don’t hear from anyone at your new place of employment between when you sign your offer letter and when you enter the office on your first day. Did this leave you prepared and confident walking into your first day at your new job? Of course not. Now, do you want to make your new employees feel that way? We hope not.

To avoid this confusion, have a designated person communicate with the new hire before their first day to let them know what time they start, how to get there, and what they can expect during their first week. Whether it’s an email from HR or a phone call from their direct report, this initial connection will give the employee more confidence in what they can expect on their first day and make an impact on how they perceive their new venture.

Successfully onboarding new employees means helping them get through their first day

We’ve grown accustomed to the first day at a new job being much like the first day of school – inundated with paperwork, new processes and procedures, and familiarizing yourself with who the organization is. This is not providing much benefit to your new hire; who is eager to get to work. Either get the paperwork completed prior to the new hires’ start date or break it up throughout the week. Whatever you decide, be sure that your employee onboarding includes some sustenance and makes your employee feel like part of the team. This may include:

  • A welcome packet waiting at their desk with a rundown of the organization, the organizational structure, and some first-day tips (possibly from other employees).
  • Any swag you might have with the company branding.
  • A first-day lunch for the new hire and some of their new colleagues (paid for by the company).
  • Schedule a company or department-wide email introducing the new employee.
  • Have one-on-one meetings scheduled with department heads and other colleagues they will be working with to encourage them to start generating those relationships. Use a tool like Everything DiSC Workplace to accelerate the effectiveness of the working relationship and to learn how to work best with your new hire.

Define your employee’s first 90 days to ensure continued growth

You don’t want to expect too much of your new employee during their first week since that will be time best spent learning and adjusting to how the organization operates. The effectiveness of your new hire can best be evaluated in their first 90 days. During the first week, the new hire should meet with their direct report to understand what is expected of them, what the purpose of their role is, and what they should focus their efforts on.

By the end of their first three months, the new hire should be well adjusted and should be able to be evaluated on a normal workload. After those 90 days, their direct report should meet with them to evaluate the new hire’s performance up to that point and allow the employee to provide feedback on their 90-day experience. Encourage them to ask questions; provide ideas on how to improve operations, processes, and culture; and provide their own evaluation on their time at the organization.

Achieving effective employee onboarding processes means always improving the process

Establishing employee onboarding processes is just the first step. To ensure you have successful onboarding tools and tactics in place, you must always be analyzing, optimizing, and innovating. Make sure to get feedback from new hires and aim to make small changes at least every other quarter.

By continually enhancing your onboarding processes, you’re empowering your new hires, giving them the confidence that they made the right decision with this next career step, and equipping them with the tools they need to succeed.

Leverage employee onboarding tools that benefit both the employee and the organization

Developing an effective employee onboarding process is a win-win for both the employee and the employer. The employee adjusts quickly to their new role and has a good understanding of their expectations and how they can succeed. Meanwhile, the organization has the security of knowing their new hire is adjusted and confident in their role, increasing their productivity and helping lead the organization to succeed.

No one understands the employee onboarding and recruitment process more than AHA! Business Consulting. That’s why we’ve developed tools from pre-hire assessments and team interview programs to easy-to-access team portals to make the hiring and onboarding processes as easy and seamless as possible. Contact AHA! Business Consulting today to determine the best tools for your organization and to schedule a free demo.

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