How to Onboard Your New Employees and Maximize Your Training Process 9 Nov 2018

You’ve put a lot of work into improving your hiring process. After all, it’s the key to finding the best new employees. But, if your training process isn’t effective, did you know you could lose your great new hire? A survey by BambooHR found that 21% of new hires leave within the first few months because of inadequate training.

It’s evident that your training process has a direct effect on how long your new hire will stay. So, how can you maximize its effectiveness? Use an onboarding program.

Onboarding is a process that combines job training with instruction about the company’s culture and values. It aims to help new employees integrate into the company and be successful at their jobs. An onboarding program allows new hires to be productive faster. It also increases their long-term job satisfaction. With such positive results to be had, how can you create an effective onboarding program at your company?

In this article, you’ll learn five steps in an onboarding program, what you should do at each step, and why it’s an effective way to keep your new employees.

Prepare Your New Hire for the First Day

The first step of an effective onboarding process is getting everything ready for your new hire’s arrival. This preparation lets your new employee skip the setup process and start learning about their job. Here are some ways to get your new hire set up ahead of time.

• Create a welcoming environment. Let your existing employees know a new hire is coming. Encourage them to say hello and introduce themselves. Arrange for one of them to take the new hire out to lunch.
• Get the new hire’s workspace ready. Prepare their workspace by getting the computer, phone line, and work email set up. If they need any supplies for work, order them in advance. Include instructions for how to use the office equipment, such as the printer.
• Arrange any training the new hire will need. Identify any necessary training. Then, decide whether the new hire can complete it at your business. If not, prepare information about off-site classes.
• Have the new hire fill out necessary paperwork ahead of time. If this isn’t possible, schedule time to do paperwork on the first day.
• Send the new hire any relevant information for the first day. This includes telling them where they should park, what department to report to, and what your office’s dress code is. Send them a map, either by mail or email, so they don’t get lost on their first day.

Show Your New Hire Around on Their First Day

Now that you have your new hire’s workspace ready, you need to show them around the office. Since you got their office set up ahead of time, you have the whole first day to help them get acquainted with their new surroundings.

• Give the new hire a tour of the office. Point out areas that are relevant to their job, such as meeting rooms and coworkers’ offices.
• Introduce them to coworkers. Introduce them to people they will work with in various departments. Describe how these departments will connect to their job.
• Show them their office. If they weren’t able to fill out their paperwork before their first day, give them time to complete it.
• Define their job duties in detail. Explain what project they will be working on. Also, tell them how their productivity will be measured.
• Explain the organizational structure of the company. Share the values, goals, and objectives of the company. Clarify how the new hire and their job role fit in with the company’s mission.
• Identify helpers who can answer questions. Assign them a mentor or someone they can pose questions to if you’re not available.

Set Goals for Your New Hire’s First Week

The next step of the onboarding process is to get your new hire settled into a day-to-day routine. This step also includes setting goals for their career so they have something to work for. Here are some ways to help your new hire get settled into their job.

• Schedule one-on-one meetings with management. Schedule enough time for your agenda and any questions or concerns the employee may have.
• Set goals and objectives for the new hire’s first three months, six months, and year of working there. Ask them what kind of career they want at the company. Then, help them set goals leading to that career.
• Provide feedback so they know what to work on. Explain what they need to improve and how to improve it. Providing feedback shows interest in your new hire.

Continue Training During Their First Three Months

During the first three months, the new hire is still getting used to their job and deciding whether it’s right for them. This means the onboarding process should continue helping the new hire settle into their job and the company culture.

• Continue training and giving feedback on the new hire’s work. As their experience grows, you’ll want to provide more detailed training and feedback to help them reach their full potential. For example, you can explain how you tackle problems that are similar to theirs by describing your thinking process. This can help the new hire develop the right mindset for the job.
• Show appreciation for their efforts. The new hire is putting in a lot of effort to learn about their job and the company. Expressing appreciation for their hard work can help them feel valued and make them want to continue their efforts.

Keep Checking in Until Their First Year Mark

After three months, the newness of the job has worn off, and the new hire has settled into their role. Now that they understand what their job and the company are like, they’re ready to decide if they will stay or leave.

With an effective onboarding program, your company will reduce turnover and save money. According to research by SHRM Foundation, employees who went through a structured onboarding process were 69% more likely to stay at the company for up to three years.

• Keep checking in with the new hire. If the details of the job are different from what they expected or they’re not happy, consider making some adjustments.
• After the year mark, decide if they should stay in their job or if they might fit in better somewhere else. After that, shift from onboarding and on-the-job training to continuous development.

Now That You’re Onboard with Onboarding

In this article, you’ve learned to create an effective onboarding program to maximize your training process. First of all, have a fixed onboarding schedule, and stick to it. Next, teach your new employee about their job and the company’s culture and values. Finally, show interest in your employee by sharing your appreciation and feedback. By preparing your new hire for success, your onboarding program will help them fit in, be productive, and stay at your company.

Now that you’ve got a great onboarding process, you may want to hire more employees. How can you update your hiring process so that it’s as effective as your onboarding process?

Download Trusted Employees’ free ebook Supercharge Your Hiring Process. This 11-step checklist will help you streamline your hiring process. Download it today to jumpstart your hiring.