Articles 2 min read

How to Successfully Onboard New Hires (and Make Them Stay)

Starting a new job is an exciting and important time in anyone’s life. It is a big deal; it becomes a part of how that person defines themselves.

When candidates are successful and begin a new position within your company, it is vital a planned and smooth onboarding process is in place. An organized onboarding process allows new employees to feel more connected to the team, less stressed and therefore be more productive.

The first 100 days are the most vital. Within this first trimester, an employee will be adapting to their new role and grasp if they have made the right decision to work for your company. An unorganized onboarding process may result in a high employee turnover or disengaged team members. You should press a positive company brand, culture and future vision onto the boarding process.

What new hires want on their first week of a job:

To meet these requirements and successfully onboard a new employee you should be:

Rolling Out The Welcome Mat:

First impressions are everything.

When boarding new employees, it is essential to make them feel welcome – which is not only achieved by the team popping over to say ‘hello.’

Experienced staff members, with strong people and leadership skills, should be encouraged to get involved with the onboarding process. Managers should regularly network with newer members, a great way to break down barriers for employees who may be inexperienced and intimidated by their superiors.

The new hire must be taught about the background of your company and understand the long-term vision of the business. Doing this will help new comers understand where their role will fit into the organization and how their work will be contributing towards the company’s goals.

Setting goals and providing a transparent understanding of the companies aims, will drive the new employee to be more productive and motivated to help.

Through a friendly team welcome, a positive company culture and experience will immediately be pressed.

Tools and Training:

A work space should be set up before the new arrival joins, equipped with the basic supplies they will need.

Typical ‘housekeeping’ questions such as team chat rooms, the building layout etc should be promptly addressed. New hires should also learn about their flexible benefits, pay slips, what systems they will be using, businesses technologies and the company finance system.

If new employees are unfamiliar with certain systems, then appropriate training should be organized in order for them to be able to do their job effectively. If an employee isn’t trained, they may feel undervalued.

Brand Experience:

If your company brand has an overall positive experience, both internally and externally, then new team members will be more passionate and inspired about their new role.

A positive brand experience is created through both your customers and employees believing that the company products or services are valuable and delivered to a high standard.

Internal workplace experiences, such as the attitudes of your senior staff members towards the rest of the team, can affect new employees’ motivation and engagement levels when they come onboard. It is therefore vital that your business ensures a dedicated and respectful company culture on a continuous basis.

If your organisation can achieve this, it will give them a distinct competitive advantage and help attract and retain talented employees.

Though onboarding a new recruit may take up time and resources, following the procedure properly will ensure new employees succeed and integrate fully into their new roles, benefiting both them and your organisation.

Managers should collect feedback on the onboarding process after the new hire has spent around three months within the job, so you can evaluate what worked and what didn’t. This feedback should be taken into account for future onboarding procedures.

The Business Transformation Network shared this article in partnership with Jigsaw Cloud.

 

Hear it first

Stay up to date with our latest content and events

Watch, read or listen to content from the brightest leaders across the world of People, Process & Technology.

Find out about the latest events across Europe

Network with like-minded professionals in your industry

Find and apply for the best jobs

See content that you like?

Share your experience by joining your exclusive roundtables, or contribute to our content like industry peers.

Get involved