Is your office experiencing challenges with retaining good team members? Often the onboarding and training processes are key factors in why people leave a job. According to a BambooHR survey, three-fourths of new hires said training during the first week on the job is most important to them. If you aren't communicating what new hires are supposed to be doing and arming them with the tools to do it properly, you're setting them up to fail.
New employee onboarding is the
process of integrating a new employee with an office, team, and its culture, as well as getting a new hire the tools and information needed to become a productive member of the team.
Finding the best candidates for positions in your office is only part of building a productive, cohesive team. The process of onboarding new employees can be one of the most critical factors in ensuring recently hired talent will be productive, contented workers. A clear training process is also a key piece to the new employees'
success.
Before implementing a formal onboarding program, offices should answer some key questions, including:
- When will onboarding start?
- How long will it last?
- What impression do you want new hires to walk away with at the end of the first day?
- What do new employees need to know about the culture and work environment?
- What role will HR play in the process? What about direct managers? Co-workers? Doctor?
- What kind of goals do you want to set for new employees?
- How will you gather feedback on the program and measure its success?
Once these questions have been answered, a plan of action can be developed to help new employees quickly assimilate office policies and workflow while getting fully acquainted with the office culture.
The two main goals on the first day should be setting expectations and introducing objectives. Employees need to have crystal clear ideas about what their job duties and responsibilities are on Day 1. This should be clearly outlined in their job description.
New employees need to get to know the job and get to know their new co-workers. Social interaction is critical. I like to take the new team member out to lunch on the first day. This will help them get to know the team outside the office on a personal level.
To keep existing team members from resenting a new employee, make sure roles and responsibilities are outlined for the entire team. S
ometimes existing team members could feel threatened that someone new could take over their responsibilities. So, it's a good idea to clarify the position of the new hire as well as other team members whose work is closely related, how they'll interact with each other, and how duties/tasks will run.
Reviewing and giving thoughtful feedback on your new hire's early training are also important during onboarding. I recommend meeting with the new team member daily for the first week and then weekly until training is complete.
Your new team members will thank you for setting them up on the path to success and your office will be well on its way to turning those new hires into long term team members.
