After going through the difficult part of going through various resumes, interviewing, and shortlisting candidates for a position in your business, you probably need some break. However, the break doesn’t just come yet. The new recruit needs to be taken through employee onboarding to be fully integrated into the company system.
What is Employee Onboarding?
Often confused with orientation, employee onboarding is a process involving integrating a recruit with the company, its mission, goals, and culture. The process also involves equipping the employee with the necessary information and tools in order to deliver on their mandate. In other words, we can say that this is a socialisation process to help recruits adjust to the social and performance of their work environment as fast and smoothly as possible.
To get this right, your human resource department can adopt new and improved techniques. Some of which include;
Welcoming the New Recruit
There have been cases of employees turning down job offers on their first day at work. Warmly welcoming the employee on their first day and making them feel like part of the team already is a good way to reinforce the recruit’s decision to work for your firm. Before the recruit’s arrival, it is best to inform the rest of the team and encourage them to give the new hire a warm welcome. On arrival, give the employee an overview of the itinerary while encouraging them to ask any questions. Making them feel welcomed on the first day is a good way of forging a long-lasting relationship.
Start the process early, and don’t end it too soon
Don’t wait till the new hire is at your doorstep. The onboarding process should begin with the first email you send confirming their appointment. Getting the process started early is a good way of getting all the necessary paperwork out of the way, making the recruit’s first day a fun-filled and exciting day. As discussed before, the process also involves recruiting all the necessary tools and information needed to get their work done. This being the case, you can take advantage of starting the process early to provide essentials such as software access, email address, and desk to make their first-day experience perfect.
Don’t stop once the employee joins the company. Keep the process going till the recruit is fully inducted. Most companies continue with the process for three months, while others extend the process for almost a year.
Consult with your Employees on the best Onboarding Practices
This process varies from one firm to another; hence you need to consult with your team on the best practices or even new onboarding ideas. Examples include;
- New Employee Introduction Ideas: most new hires meet their colleagues on the first day during a tour of the firm. You can decide to do online video conferencing to introduce the new employee.
- Buddy System or Mentorship: in most cases, the firm partners the new recruit with a seasoned employee to help with the process.
Adopt Employee Onboarding Software
It is important to have a repeatable employee onboarding process that can be used for every new recruit. This way, all employees get the same experience. To help with this, you can get an employee onboarding software Australia to ensure no step is skipped throughout the entire onboarding process. When hiring few individuals over an extended period, project management software can help with the entire process. However, if your organisation consists of a complex department with various roles, you will need a well-established onboarding software.
This software can automate most of the roles and tasks throughout the entire process to ensure the recruit gets all they need while assigning everyone their roles at the right time.
Make a good first-day impression
Once all the paperwork is done, you have to make the best first-day impression. Give the new hire some leeway to come in late and welcome them with a meal, say breakfast with their superior, buddy, or colleagues. After that, you can give them employees a lay of the land to help them get their bearings. His is the best time to hand them over to the orientation manager.
Check-in regularly
Research has it that more than thirty percent of recruits tend to quit their job within the first a hundred days. It is best to regularly check on your new recruits to gauge how they are settling in. Make these check-ins at least once a week, and during the meetings, discuss with the recruits their roles and company expectations. This way, the employees can put in effort knowing what is expected of them.
Get Employee Feedback on the Onboarding Process
Coming up with a perfect onboarding process is still in the workshop. Engage your recruits throughout the process to determine what went well and the downsides. This way, you will be able to come up with an improved process for the new hires.
