The fifth stage of the Employee Life Cycle is onboarding. Once you have gone through the trouble of attracting, recruiting, interviewing, and hiring a new employee, you want to ensure they successfully integrate with the rest of your company. It’s crucial for the new hire to feel welcome and provide them with a top-notch employment experience from day 1. Here are my top 10 tips for successfully onboarding your new hires:
Have a checklist
Duh? It seems so obvious, but I think every hiring manager, team leader, or supervisor should have a standard new hire checklist that they follow. Having a list ensures you don’t miss anything important and that you’ve got all bases covered. It’s so easy to forget little things that might seem like second nature to you because you’ve been with the company for a while, but there are everyday things new hires can find problematic. It’s best to have a list you can go down and check the boxes to avoid overlooking anything.
Send all equipment fully provisioned in advance
Double duh! Do you expect a new hire to work? If so, they need the proper equipment to do so. Not only do they need the hardware, but you should also make sure that systems are fully set up and configured for the new hire to access. All software necessary to do the person’s job should be installed and ready to go. If there are ancillary tools, such as wireless or Bluetooth accessories, ensure you include all necessary cables and batteries. (NOTE: I’m assuming that most new hires today are remote – if not, the same advice applies, just have the equipment ready in your office.) Also, have the phone number and email address of your help desk handy, so if there are any problems, you can fix them quickly.
Send out a new hire announcement
Triple duh, huh?! When a new person joins a company, it’s a common courtesy to post an announcement welcoming the employee to your organization. Most companies ask the person to introduce themselves, including their education, previous experience, family, hobbies, etc. Publishing a welcome message reassures the new hire that they are valued and that you are happy to have them join your company. Having an announcement also encourages other associates to reach out and extend personal welcomes.
Ensure new hires meet the people they need to
Every new hire needs to meet the right people within your organization to succeed in their job. Depending on the role, you should have another checklist indicating which people the employee needs to meet, including the person’s job title, department, and contact information. You can pre-arrange “get to know you” meetings with the appropriate parties or instruct the employee to set the discussions up. Ensure that the organizational structure is well-understood and that the new hire knows who to go to for specific questions.
Allow time to learn the ropes
If you’re expecting a new person to be productive right out of the gate, you’re crazy. No one joins a new company and “hits the ground running” (so to speak). It takes a while to get to know the ropes within an organization. While the primary operational functions of many companies are similar, there are still nuances and unique aspects to every organization. There are also internal politics that they might need to navigate. Be supportive as the new employee figures things out – it could take from a week to a month, depending on how complex your business and how large it is. Once the employee has settled in, you can start to expect them to perform.
Check-in regularly
Once a new person has started to work for your company, you should check in with them regularly. In the beginning, you may want to meet with the person more frequently, and as they become more knowledgeable and comfortable, you can reduce the frequency of your meetings. The idea behind this is to provide the person with support and encouragement. Starting a new job is always stressful, and knowing that there is a supportive structure there to help them succeed is crucial to retaining the employee.
Provide necessary training
Even skilled and experienced professionals need training. Many organizations, especially those in highly regulated industries, require specialty training. Ensure the new employee registers for any necessary classes with a deadline for completion. This may vary by profession, and most companies have unique processes designed just for their specific purposes. If there is anything special the person needs to know or learn, give them tools to gain the knowledge or experience.
Make sure to fill out new hire forms
Human Resources forms are a necessary evil at every company. There can be a lot of forms to complete, and they might need to be done at different times, depending on the new hire’s eligibility for certain benefits. Most organizations have an Intranet site with all the resources a new employee might need when onboarding. Get this administrative stuff out of the way as quickly as possible. It’s easy to let 30 days slip by and forget that deadlines are associated with being eligible for benefits. Remember, if you miss the deadline, you’re probably out of luck until the next open enrollment period.
Assign a “buddy”
It’s a good idea to assign a buddy (someone who volunteers) who has been at the company for a while and can answer the “stupid” questions that new hires often don’t want to ask. Most of the time, it’s better to get a buddy in a different department or location so you can have greater exposure to the organization. When questions come up, having a go-to person helps the new hire feel more comfortable and welcomed.
Immerse the new employee in your culture
Culture is one of the most vital parts of any successful organization. Assuming you want your new employees to embrace your company and advocate for it, you need to immerse them in your corporate culture. Your culture is intentional rather than organic or haphazard if your organization is doing it right. Be sure that your culture comes across very clearly and have a vision that inspires. Your company’s mission, and the values that support it, are crucial. And it shouldn’t just be for show (sadly, I have worked for plenty of companies that had great posters and phrases, but the reality was the opposite) – the people working at the company need to live the values. By modeling the values for the new employees, they will adopt the values as their own and become part of your corporate family.
Final Thoughts
Please don’t go through the arduous process of vetting and hiring someone and then throw them into the deep end of the pool without a life preserver. It’s better to start in the shallow end and gradually introduce more difficulty and complexity rather than trying to pile it all on at once. Give people time to acclimate, give them all the tools and support they need, and you’ll set them (and yourself) up for success.
This was the fifth phase of the Employee Life Cycle. Check out the previous blogs in this series:
- How to Understand the Employee Life Cycle
- 10 Ways to Attract Potential New Employees
- 10 Ways to Recruit Potential New Employees
- Top 10 Tips for Interviewing Potential New Employees
- Top 10 Tips for Hiring New Employees
Have you had good or lousy onboarding experiences? What happened? What are some things you liked or disliked? Is there anything you wish had been done when you started a new job? I would love to hear what you think, so please share in the comments below!