Last month, we covered the importance of properly onboarding new or transferring employees. (For more, please see our post from September 20, 2023, “Why Onboarding New Employees is Important.) With so much information to cover, though, it seemed prudent to split this topic into two posts. Today, we will be discussing tips and insights into creating an onboarding process that works for your business and impresses the talent your recruiters worked so hard to bring to your company.
All ‘Onboard…’
With all of the onboarding recommendations below, it is important to remember that every company is unique, and not every suggestion will fit with every business. Building and perfecting an onboarding program will take time and energy, but the benefits will greatly outweigh any of those perceived losses. Don’t forget that a business with a fully functioning onboarding system is 69% more likely to retain new employees for three years or more! With the costs of replacing employees still rising, it is important to keep this mind.
- First, define what objectives need to be completed by new employees when they start. For many businesses, that definition stops as soon as they have completed a summary of the position they want to fill. This should only be the beginning, though! To get a new person started on the right foot, they need to know more than just their position. They need to understand the organization they have been hired into: What is the organization’s mission? What are the company’s values? How will the new employee fit into that vision? A new hire who is brought into an organization with no mission or values will quickly lose engagement. An unengaged employee is one that will leave quickly. Incorporate teaching new hires about the company when they start and begin to get them excited to begin this new journey with your business!
- Next, remember that onboarding is not just about overwhelming new employees with information. They also need mentors, peers, and someone to show them where the all-important coffee maker is! (Or the refrigerator that holds the Diet Cokes, if you’re one of my many friends who are school teachers.) New hires need someone to not only show them around, but also someone to ask questions to, someone who can guide them. By assigning new workers a buddy or mentor, the company guarantees that there will be someone that can be there to answer questions, help the newbie participate in team-building activities, or simply interact with them, giving the new hire someone they can trust and engage with on a regular basis. It is important that these peers are also engaged and loyal to the business; a toxic employee can infect a new hire if management is not careful!
- Something that may seem small, but actually has far-reaching potential is the idea of celebrating milestones and achievements. It can be fun to take onboarding to another level, and there are so many ways to do it. Give new hires modules to complete that tests them on their new responsibilities and environment, then, celebrate completing them. This will allow them to show their value to the new company, and it also shows management where their new workers fall on being ready to transition into a full-fledged member of the organization. Also, don’t forget to keep up the celebrations! Allowing time to honor those who have been with the company a while, whether they win an award or are retiring after years of service, is integral to showing new hires that the good times will continue to roll as long as they are there!
- Finally, on top of that, completion of these small steps offers management and the new employee the chance to provide constructive feedback to each other in a timely manner, which is important for keeping both parties engaged in the company. By using surveys, focus groups with peers, and one on one interviews, management can collect and study feedback, and this will allow the onboarding process to be adjusted to focus on strengths and minimize weaknesses. Any onboarding program will benefit from regular check-ins and optimization. Also, by asking these questions and then acting on the information, businesses show employees that they care about their workers wellbeing.
Conclusion
The above are just a few suggestions on how to implement an onboarding program at your company. Pairing this with the knowledge of how important these processes can be is just the first step of a long journey to find new and creative ways to improve employee loyalty and retention. By immediately impressing a sense of commitment on new employees, businesses are not only setting the new hire up for success, but they are also setting themselves on the right path to keeping their hard-won talent for years to come.
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Meaghan Goldberg covers recruitment and digital marketing for Lionzone. A Patterson, GA native, after graduating from both Valdosta State University and Middle Tennessee State University, Meaghan joined Lionzone in 2018 as a digital recruitment strategist before becoming the social media manager.
Resources:
https://www.apollotechnical.com/why-onboarding-is-important/
