Onboarding Best Practices for New Hires

One of the fundamental phases in the employment process is the onboarding stage. More than just a transitional phase, onboarding should be something done with much-needed attention and care. If given careful consideration, this frequently underrated stage can contribute to successful turnouts for the employee within the company. Although onboarding is mainly viewed as a passing-through stage, it also helps bridge the gap between a candidate and the employer. Additionally, it is the perfect opportunity to establish trust between the employee and employer. It is for this reason that a company’s onboarding process needs to have an effective and reliable approach.

Onboarding Best Practices Employers Should Know

There are many factors that can affect the longevity of an employee. Retaining employees takes a lot of hard work, and this should start with an engaging and compelling onboarding program.

Get in Touch Before Day 1!

Small and simple gestures make a huge impact. This is true when it comes to onboarding new hires. Waiting until the orientation day may send wrong signals to new employees. A simple congratulatory and welcome email is one way to do it. In addition, if an online company portal is available, setting up an account for the new hire will help them know more about the company.

Create an Impactful First Day

First impressions are lasting. New hires look forward to their first day with a company, which is why employers should make sure that their first day will be impactful and memorable. Since onboarding programs are different from one company to another, putting in a lot of creativity often helps.

Establish a Well-Structured Schedule

Since one of the goals for the onboarding program is to establish trust between the new hire and the employer, establishing a well-structured schedule is essential. This will give the impression that the company has everything taken care of for its new hire.

Have an Onboarding Team

Onboarding a new hire involves various departments within the company. A small team that focuses on all onboarding-related tasks will ensure that everything is covered for the new hire.

Ease Up on The Paperwork

The onboarding process involves a bulk of paperwork which oftentimes can be overwhelming for new hires. To help new employees with this concern, allow them to complete necessary forms on their own time. Utilizing a software-based tool where forms can be accessed, filled-out, and submitted is an ideal option. Moreover, make sure that compliance requirements, safety regulations, and labor laws including the employment practices liability are in place.

Familiarization

Stepping into an unfamiliar place of work can be alienating to anyone. It is for this reason that it is necessary for the whole company to get itself involved in helping a new hire to be familiar with the new environment. One-on-one meetings with senior colleagues and other relevant individuals are an option. Furthermore, side-by-side or job shadowing is also a big help.

Communicate and Establish Clear Expectations

One of the most important tasks during onboarding is making sure that there are clear and accurate expectations. Performance goals and the responsibilities of the new hire must be relayed with clarity and consistency.

Ask for Feedback

Getting feedback is another essential to the onboarding process. In this way, new hires will have the opportunity to let the company know about the things that went well and the things they need to improve on. Consequently, it also provides a chance for the company to address these concerns appropriately.

Don’t Rush

Rushing things will often produce unfavorable results. This also applies to the onboarding program. A slow but steady pace is a crucial factor for this phase. The integration of a new employee into the company will take time and the onboarding program should be a tool that will help them usher them into the company effectively.

The initial stage of a working relationship between an employee and an employer is very crucial. In effect, this will create first impressions for both the new hire and the company. Additionally, the whole onboarding program should have a goal of building trust between the two parties. When a company establishes an effective onboarding program, it is also a way of paving a path of progress for new hires and as a result, contributing to their own success as well. 

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