5 Steps to Successfully Onboarding New Employees

When searching for the perfect candidate to fill a job opening in your company, you dedicate time and resources towards recruiting, interviewing, and hiring. But once you’ve gotten the accepted offer from the perfect candidate, what does your business do next? Do you have a solid onboarding process in place? If not, your onboarding actions (or lack thereof) could be a major detriment to your company causing you to struggle with employee retention, job satisfaction, and productivity. Consider the following statistics:

28% of employees quit within the first 90 days on the job

69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3 years if they experienced great onboarding

Only 12% of employees say their company does a good job of onboarding

Here are 5 steps to successfully onboard new employees

Onboarding needs to start once your candidate has accepted the job offer and should be a standard process. In fact, companies who have a standard onboarding process experience 50% greater new-hire productivity. Before your new hire’s first day on the job, send them an email with practical info for their first day and beyond. It should contain information such as:

• A personalized message giving them a warm welcome to the company 
• Any paperwork that needs to be completed prior to the first day
• Dress code
• Safety protocols
• A directory or contact info for team members
• Information about who they will be reporting to
• An employee handbook or introduction to your company values, regulations, mission, and culture

2. Make Them Feel Welcome

As soon as your new staff member arrives, give them a warm welcome by gathering the team in the lobby and introducing them to everyone. You can help break the ice with a meet and greet team, breakfast or lunch during their first day. Upon arrival, make sure to give them a tour of the office, meeting rooms, restrooms, office supply closets, and where they can have lunch. Having a positive and memorable experience will leave a lasting impression on your new employee.

3. Assign Them a Mentor

Starting a new job is overwhelming and new employees often have a lot of questions. Since they may not know who to go to for answers or may feel uncomfortable asking too many questions. Pick a person from your team who is not only knowledgeable, but also patient and inclusive. Having someone as a go-to for questions and to learn from will help new hires become better acclimated. 

4. Give Them an Organized Plan to Follow

On their first day, make sure the new employee’s email and computer is set up and fully functional. Give them a clear plan for what they can expect from you as well as what is expected of them for the first week. You can share a list of what tools, software, and processes they will need to learn during training and what you would like them to have accomplish in 30, 60, and 90 days.

5. Check in Regularly During the Onboarding Process

Schedule time to check in with your new employee once per week during the first couple of months. Ask them how they are adapting and if you can help them with any concerns they may have. You can also ask for feedback about their onboarding process and suggestions for future improvements.

Remember, your company only gets one chance to make a good first impression on your new employee, so make it a good one! Effective onboarding is more than just focusing on getting paperwork completed. It’s creating a positive and inclusive environment, equipping new hires with the tools and information they need to succeed, and supporting them as they get to know the company and their coworkers. Having a standard and effective onboarding process will help people better assimilate, feel like part of the team, and keep them productive.

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