You invest a great deal of time, money and effort into hiring the best talent. Once you’ve closed the deal, make sure you do all you can to set your new hires up for success in their roles.
Onboarding is not the same thing as orientation. It’s much more than filling out documents, taking a tour, and sitting through training before being tossed into your job and hoping to land on both feet. Successful onboarding introduces new hires to the most important aspects of your business: your values, your culture and your people.
Onboarding should be an opportunity for your new employees to:
- Become truly comfortable in their jobs and understand how their contributions impact business success.
- Learn which behaviors, as well as outcomes, are expected of them.
The Value of Good Onboarding
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently reported that organizations with engaging onboarding programs retained 91 percent of their first-year employees. New hires who completed a well-structured onboarding program are 69 percent more likely to stay at a company longer than three years.
In a related study, it was proven that efficient onboarding programs resulted in:
- 60 percent year-over-year revenue improvements.
- 63 percent year-over-year customer satisfaction improvements.
New employees need good onboarding because it provides:
- A learning curve: New hires are given the ins and outs of your work environment and culture.
- Feedback: Good feedback is a priceless motivator. If a new employee is left to fend for themselves, not knowing whether or not they are performing well, they may become disengaged or worse yet, leave.
- Socialization: Peers play a huge part in employee engagement. Being the new kid on the block can be stressful and isolating. If you make an effort to introduce new hires into their work community, they will settle in more quickly. The sooner they feel comfortable, the quicker they begin interacting with their colleagues.
Making it Happen
Follow these steps to implement an effective onboarding process:
- Be prepared and welcoming. Have every new hire’s workstation fully equipped, set up and operational before they arrive on day one. This includes their phones, computers, emails, buildings and facilities access, and everything right down to their parking passes. This shows not only that you are well organized, but also that you truly care about them and their introduction.
- Avoid information overload. There’s a lot for a new employee to absorb. Ease them into the necessary information and throw in some hands-on opportunities so they get a good grasp on it. Have them complete at least one work-related task the first day, however simple. This way, they’ll go home with feelings of accomplishment and inclusion. Moreover, they will have made an impact.
- Provide a greeter. Have someone meet new hires at the door, greet them and show them around. You may want to take this a step further and assign them a mentor, who will provide in-depth and inside knowledge that they couldn’t get on their own. SHRM research has proven that new hires with mentors become more knowledgeable than their counterparts and are more likely to embrace the key values and culture of their organizations.
For additional resources and tips to effectively source, hire, onboard and retain top talent, consider partnering with a specialized recruiter from Pridestaff Fresno. Read our related posts or contact us today to learn more.