The onboarding experience has a significant impact on a new hire’s success. Not only does it introduce a worker to the role and the organization, but it also leaves a strong impression, impacting the employee’s feelings about the position and their expectations. As a result, the quality of your onboarding program affects retention dramatically as well as a worker’s performance and how quickly they reach full productivity.
A modern onboarding experience involves more than just a quick meeting on the first day and some paperwork. It includes a variety of steps and can easily expand beyond the first day, week, or even month. If you want to make sure you are setting up your new hires for success, here are some tips for modernizing your onboarding experience.
Start with Preboarding
Today’s onboarding process doesn’t start on the employee’s first day. Instead, it begins with preboarding, a series of steps that occur between a candidate accepting a job offer and actually walking through the doors to start in the role.
During this period, you can coordinate the completion of personnel paperwork, provide the employee handbook, and send over a copy of the onboarding checklist with a basic schedule of events. That way, the new hire can handle a few initiate parts of the process, familiarize themselves with the company’s rules, and get an idea of what their first days will look like.
Include More Than Paperwork
While completing various forms is critical when you bring on a new hire, that process shouldn’t encompass the entire onboarding experience. Instead, you should add other features, including everything from facility tours to team introductions to initial training. You might want to pair the new hire with a team member, a person who can serve as a buddy and provide them with support. Including social activities can also be wise, giving everyone a chance to bond.
Think Longer Term
In many cases, a successful onboarding can’t be finished in a matter of a few days. Instead, you might need three months or more (depending on the nature and complexity of the position), ensuring the new hire has the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive as well as a suitable amount of support and guidance.
By offering a longer onboarding experience, your new hire will reach full productivity faster. Additionally, they won’t feel left to their own devices, as they know the company is offering them support during the most critical period of their time with the company.
Plus, by using this approach, you don’t have to throw everything at a new hire during their first few days. You have time to share information and get them acclimated, ensuring they don’t become overwhelmed by an onslaught of details they’ll struggle to remember.
Do You Need L&D Experts That Can Create an Ideal Onboarding Process?
At Clarity Consultants, we have over a quarter-century of experience in the learning and development (L&D) field. By partnering with us, you have allies who can make it as easy as possible to locate the skilled L&D pros your company needs. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive service offerings and see how our L&D expertise can benefit you.
