Rod Holmes

The Importance of Onboarding There are a number of reasons to implement an onboarding program. Before this can be done, however, you need to understand exactly what onboarding involves and its importance to the success of the company. Exploring onboarding and its processes is essential to the success of any organization’s onboarding program. What Is Onboarding? Onboarding is not easy to define. Some organizations limit it to a simple orientation process. Others go further to include company culture. Onboarding, however, is so much more. Onboarding is a systematic method that allows employers to hire the best employees and align them to the company vision. It will also provide employees with the necessary tools, help them assimilate, and speed up their training process. Onboarding Affects:  Hiring  Aligning with company standards  Accommodating employees with tools  Cultural assimilation  Accelerated training The Importance of Onboarding Employees typically “break even” 20 weeks after they begin working at a job. This means that their productivity equals what the company has invested in them. They begin to generate more value for the organization over time. Onboarding can improve the time that it takes for employees to become profitable once they are hired. This is accomplished on a functional level and a social level. Companies often focus on the functional level at the cost of the social. This can overwhelm employees and leave them feeling uncertain about whom to go to for help. Examples:  Functional level: Expectations, training, policies, procedures, etc.  Social level: Networks, mentors, relationships Making Employees Feel Welcome When hiring new employees, it is not enough to just walk them through the office, hand them paperwork, and ask them to read manuals. You must make them feel welcome to alleviate anxiety and help them acclimate. Ways to make employees welcome:  Contact the employee after he or she is hired: This can be with a welcome letter or phone call.  Send information early: Send the handbook and any paperwork that than be completed early.  Choose a mentor: Assign someone to mentor the new hire.  Prepare for the first day: Have everything ready for the new employee to begin work on the first day.  Have the new hire meet people the first day: New hires should engage with their supervisors and mentors on day one.  Schedule lunch: Schedule lunch with coworkers to introduce a new hire. First Day Checklist The first day for a new hire should be scheduled out. The first day will shape an employee’s opinion of the organization and the people he or she works with. Do not have someone fill out paperwork and then sit alone while everyone else stays busy. Each company and industry will have a specific checklist, but there are a few basic guidelines. Checklist:  Greet the employee.  Introduce the employee to his or her social network.  Tour the facilities.  Have lunch.  Discuss all expectations  Schedule the first week’s training.  Explain employee resources.  Instruct employee on computer and telephone techniques.  Conduct orientation session. Onboarding Preparation Every successful program demands preparation, and onboarding is no exception. While it is important to make employees feel welcome, the environment needs to remain professional. Before implementing an employee onboarding program, make sure that each person involved understands what is expected of him or her. Professionalism Onboarding needs to be a professional program. Companies frequently ignore onboarding responsibilities and simply assign the task of orienting a new hire to the least busy employee. This can cause confusion, impede the onboarding process, and give the impression that the company is not well run. It is essential that everyone involved in the onboarding program remain friendly and professional. Professional activities:  Make sure everyone knows that the new hire is coming.  Choose someone to greet the new hire, and make sure he or she is on time.  HR should have the paperwork prepared in advance.  Designate a mentor ahead of time. Clarity Be clear about expectations with new hires and with everyone involved in the onboarding process. The new hire’s expectations need to be communicated. There should also be clarity about who is responsible for the acclimation and training of the new hire. Each company and each position will have its own needs and responsibilities, which will determine the onboarding and training process. Determine everything you need to clarify before hiring a new employee. Clarify:  Goals: Clarify both company and personal goals.  Expectations: Communicate expectations to the new hire, HR, and mentor.  Culture: Describe the company culture. Designating a Mentor Mentoring is important to onboarding success. Designating the correct mentor can mean the difference between success and failure. The mentoring relationship will help determine how easily new hires transition into their roles at the company. Consider carefully who you choose to mentor new employees; do not just choose people at random. There are certain qualifications that all mentors need to have in order to be effective. Qualifications:  Time: Employees who are already overworked cannot effectively mentor another.  Training: Is the employee qualified to teach someone else? Experience does not equal the ability to teach.  Role model: Make sure that you choose a mentor who has qualities you would like to see in other employees. After designating a mentor, monitor the relationship closely. If they do not work together well, you may need to designate another mentor. Training Onboarding should improve the training process. The people responsible for the training, however, must take the training seriously. Feedback is essential to the training process. Supervisors need to meet with new hires weekly to check on their performance and provide feedback. Those directly involved in the training process need to teach new hires and give them helpful feedback to improve performance. Training Tips:  Train Tasks: Teach employees the tasks associated with their positions.  Train Communication: Train employees to recognize resources and to communicate their needs.  Provide Feedback: Give consistent and encouraging feedback when training new hires. Source: Employee Onboarding