Tips for Successfully Onboarding New Employees

Maintaining new hires onboard can be one of the most difficult parts of hiring. We can help you find and hire the perfect candidate, but when it comes to keeping them in your company, that’s up to you. It starts with a successful onboarding experience.

Before Day One

Send Paperwork

Once the employee accepts the offer, send them any paperwork that can be completed in advance before the first day. This way you can get it all out of the way. You don’t want the first day to be a day filled with paperwork. You can also include them on any communications to let them get familiar with what’s going on before they walk in on day one.

Make an Announcement

You should let everyone know about it. You can send some information about the new hire, such as who they are, the reason they are being hired in, and the role they are hired for. This will help your team connect with the new hire instead of leaving it to the new hire to connect with your team. You can even plan an outing after work to make them feel welcome.

Prepare their Workspace

By day one, you should have everything prepared for the new employee. Make sure their equipment works and have all basic supplies at their workspace to survive the first day. Nothing makes a person more uncomfortable their first day than not having proper equipment and having to ask for basic supplies. It’s crucial that the new employee feels welcomed and prepared. Their experience on day one influences how they perceive their new company.

On the First Day

Start with Introductions

Some companies take their new hires around the office and introduce them to everyone while giving them a tour. This is a bit formal and a lot of times the employee is so overwhelmed that they won’t remember names. If you don’t have one, we recommend you create an organizational chart and make a copy for the new hire. This will help them after the formal introduction to retain the names and associate each name with what they do for the company. You might even want to spend some time explaining the informal network of the company, such as the go-to people, gatekeepers, etc.

Discuss a Plan

First thing after introductions, you should sit down with the new employee. During this meeting, you should give them an employee handbook that has all the info about the company, employee benefits, and other important information that the employee will need. You should also go over any expectations for the onboarding experience. Typically, 90 days is the standard onboarding period, but you can split up the time into segments for the employee to take over their responsibilities and tasks. For example, the first 30 days could be centered around accomplishing smaller projects.

Assign a Mentor

If you’re like most employers, hiring manager are very busy. Assigning a mentor to the new employee will not only help you stay productive on your tasks, but also help the new employee have another friendly face to show them around and be there to answer questions. This person should also be their colleague, not a supervisor. New employees may have questions that they feel more comfortable asking someone on their level.

After the First Week & Beyond

Give Recognition

Always recognize employees for their accomplishments and in this case, recognize your new hires when they achieve milestones. Recognition is a powerful way to make someone feel they’re a part of the team.

Look Out for Warnings

Being a cultural fit is important in any organization. The relationship building and comradery is what holds the organization together. Therefore, it’s critical that you watch for warning signs that the employee may not be acclimating. Signs might include failure to interact with coworkers, showing up late to work, or showing limited enthusiasm. These signs require some follow up with the employee. Of course, don’t think the worst-case scenario when the employee may just be a bit introverted. Introverts take a little more time than others to warm up to new environments and new coworkers. Simply, touch base with your employee to see how they are doing and if there is anything you can do to help.

 

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