Retention, Engagement, Satisfaction, Productivity — these are all important endeavors that you as business professionals consider when hiring a new employee. But, there’s an important process that encompasses all four of these areas, and it tends to be forgotten about. ONBOARDING. What does your onboarding process look like? Do you have an onboarding process? Is it effective? How do you know? If you don’t know, you should. So let’s take a look at 10 Do’s and Don’ts to help you adjust and reassess your onboarding process. Retention, Engagement, Satisfaction, Productivity — these are all important endeavors that you as business professionals consider when hiring a new employee. But, there’s an important process that encompasses all four of these areas, and it tends to be forgotten about. ONBOARDING. What does your onboarding process look like? Do you have an onboarding process? Is it effective? How do you know? If you don’t know, you should. So let’s take a look at 10 Do’s and Don’ts to help you adjust and reassess your onboarding process.
DON'T
wait until your new hire’s first day to have them fill out their employee paperwork. Ideally, you should have these documents available electronically and allow the employee to fill these out before they arrive.
DO
give your employee a buddy — someone who has been at the company a significant amount of time and is in the department that they will be working in.
DON'T
give your employee a tour and introduce them to their employees, just to leave them with training videos and other information that will be hard to retain in the first day.
DO
ease them into their new position, and give them some time to get acclimated to the position and the company.
DON'T
give your employee large projects to work on during their first couple of weeks on the job.
DO
have their workspace prepared for them with their computer, email and server accounts set up and accessible. If possible, have their business cards already made along with a name plate and standard office supplies.
DON'T
be too aggressive and uninviting. It is important that your employee feels comfortable to talk to you and ask you questions. Allow them the opportunity to give their feedback on your company — an outside perspective may prove valuable.
DO
reiterate feelings of comfort to your employee regarding his or her position, involvement and growth potential within your company and outline goals.
DON'T
just associate onboarding with new hires, onboarding applies to those who have been promoted and/or changed departments.
DO
have a structured and written onboarding process to follow. Make sure your “onboarders” have the proper training so that they may follow this process accordingly. With a structured process, it is easy to determine what works and what doesn’t.
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