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Attracting and retaining talent is hard. For many organizations, deploying an effective onboarding process is even harder. It’s essential to create a positive and organized onboarding procedure, too, as failing to do so could set the stage for an overall negative employee experience. But how do you create an effective employee onboarding process to ensure that every new hire starts off on the right foot?

We first need to know why an effective onboarding process is so critical. According to a Gallup study earlier this year, only 12% of surveyed employees thought their company handled their onboarding process well. Good onboarding has been shown to improve job performance, reduce stress for the new hire and other team members, lead to better retention rates, and increase employee satisfaction. 

A Good Employee Onboarding Process Starts at Recruitment

For most companies. The employee onboarding process means getting a new team member set up on their first day and going through the motions of required training. However, that’s only part of the equation. In reality, onboarding starts with recruitment. 

Think about how you word the job description, carefully structure the interview process and create a favorable impression throughout the extension of the job offer. Just as you will be judging candidates on their resumes, they too will judge your company on how accurately you portray the position and depict life at your workplace. A few tips include:

• Write a clear job description
• Realistically convey the needs of the position
• Update candidates on their status throughout the process
• Personalize job offers
• Be flexible in negotiating the position

New Hire Setup

There’s nothing worse than starting a new job, only to discover that nothing is planned for, from workstation to tech tools and standard office equipment. Begin taking inventory of all required items for a successful first day as far in advance as possible. With a checklist established, supply the essentials:

• Tech gear, including computer, monitor(s), keyboard, mouse and phone (plus software/app accounts and passwords)
• Building access tools, including key codes, office keys/fobs and security badges
• Office supplies, like pens, stick-on notes, a notebook and stapler
• Administrative documents, like W-2 forms, employee handbook, direct deposit forms and nondisclosure/noncompete forms

The First Day

Your new employee’s first day is finally here. It’s bound to be nerve-wracking and busy for everyone, so try to make it as simple and welcoming as possible. Cover a few basics to ensure that you have the administrative information you need and that your new hire can begin learning right away.

• Begin with a 1:1 conversation to allow the employee to address any early questions, share company goals and outline expectations.
• Provide an office tour and facilitate introductions to team members
• Have the employee complete the above administrative documents and review policies.
• Introduce helpful learning tools, like company knowledge libraries or tutorials for necessary tools (project management, software, etc)

All of these tasks take time. If you’re in charge of handling your employee onboarding process, make sure to mark it on your calendar and/or communicate to the rest of your team that you’ll be busy. This not only allows you to manage the onboarding process more efficiently, but also demonstrate your company truly values your new hire.

Roadmapping Goals

The job description laid out the basics of the position, and your new hire has learned a bit more about the job throughout the interview process, but now that they’re here, sitting at a company desk, it’s time to get to the heart of things. 

The individual’s direct supervisor should be interfacing with the employee pretty regularly in the first few months of employment. As such, there are tremendous opportunities to collectively develop a growth path for the position. The supervisor can (and should) take the time to outline what the company needs from the role. This goes beyond job description, and dives deeper into specifics, like teams to coordinate with or projects the new hire could positively impact. At the same time, the new hire should be provided some ownership over their role and trajectory, with opportunities to discuss additional skills they wish to acquire and mutually beneficial goals they’d like to achieve (learning a new program, spearheading a passion project, etc). With every goal, set a timeline (within the first 90 days of employment, by year-end, etc).

Cultural Immersion

While job longevity has shifted in recent years, the base goal for both employers and new employees is to find a professional home in which to grow and contribute. Culture plays a huge role in this, fostering a sense of belonging, and a shared mission. From day one, each and every new hire should be made to feel welcome and easily get a sense of the general vibe of how the company works together. 

After all, when your employees connect with and understand your mission, they are more invested in their jobs and in company success. A few key considerations in sharing your company culture include:

• Emphasizing company values
• Promoting and facilitating mentorship opportunities
• Encouraging teamwork and collaboration

Immersing a new hire in your company culture isn’t a task you can simply check off. It happens organically and over time. Everyone’s always nice on the first day, but it’s important to carry that attitude long after the official employee onboarding process has ended. 

Create an Effective Employee Onboarding Process with isolved

An effective employee onboarding process is beneficial for both your new hire and your company as a whole. You want your new hire to feel as though they’ve made a great choice accepting your job offer. With isolved Onboarding, that’s never been easier. Through this ultimate HR software, you can take your entire process online. Not only does it provide a great user experience for new hires, but also allows your company’s HR professionals to manage all documentation, add e-verify functions, and keep all of your data in one central hub. 

Contact CTR to learn more about the entire isolved suite and how your organization can leverage it to make your humans happy.