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Onboarding is the process of providing your new employees with all the tools necessary to start their job and better fit into the company culture. It’s also a good way to make a first impression, as the new hires get to know the company, its policies and even their colleagues for the first time. We can’t stress enough how crucial the onboarding process is – if done right, it can win you the loyalty of newcomers. If done wrong, you risk losing them.
Set up your onboarding flows and tailor them to meet your global workforce needs. Create tasks for managers, IT, and peers to ensure that your new hire has everything they need from day one and throughout the onboarding period. The number of onboarding flows is unlimited.
Automate your onboarding workflows so that once created, they are ready for more new joiners in just a few clicks.
Ways to Efficiently Onboard New Employees
There are several ways in which you can conduct an efficient and downright fun onboarding process. In this article, we’ll be taking a closer look at some of the best practices. So if you’re interested, just keep reading to find out more!
1. Use Specialized Tools
Depending on the role they’ll take, your new hire might need to familiarize themselves with the tools they’ll be using on the daily. We recommend you start out with a list and then go in-depth into each one. For example, a new project manager might need to know how Jira or Asana work, while a creative person might just need access to some dedicated group chats on Slack.
The best way in which you can present everything to them is by using a whiteboard. And if the whole process is done online, you can use a digital one. An online whiteboard tool will allow both you and your new hire to make edits and leave comments on the materials presented. You should encourage them to make suggestions and give feedback, as this shows that the work environment is open and that discussion is always welcome.
2. Give Them a Welcome Message
Before you start introducing your new hire to their colleagues, we recommend you offer them a “welcome package”. This is usually done through an email that contains (but is not limited to) the following:
- The necessary paperwork they’ll need;
- The company’s dress code (if necessary);
- The company’s address and instructions on how to get there;
- A schedule of their first day or week of work;
- A detailed copy of the company handbook or brandbook.
You should take your time with this process and offer your new employee as much information as you can. This will help them be prepared and make a good first impression on their fellow peers. On top of that, the whole process will be smoother and more efficient when both parties know what to expect and what they have to do.
3. Get More People Involved
It’s no secret that the new hire will be working with multiple teams and colleagues. Because of that, we strongly recommend you involve everyone in the onboarding process. Now, don’t think you have to bring all departments together – just have the managers around. Besides creating realistic expectations about the workflow and interactions, this will also help the new hire socialize and get to know the team better.
However, there are other benefits to including members of other teams in the onboarding process:
- The new employee will learn about the company as a whole;
- Upper management and executives will not appear as intimidating;
- It encourages the new hire to make faster social connections and better integrate in the team.
Having a new employee that is open minded and eager to work, may give your team a boost in working with a better productivity, in getting their individual tasks done faster or more efficiently.
4. Show Them Around
You should always take some time to show the new hire around. Usually, this is done by an HR person or the manager of the team. In the case of small and very small companies, the business owner takes this task upon them. No matter the case, the new employee should always be introduced to the physical environment as well. When they know the layout of the place they’ll be working in, they’ll be more efficient.
During the walk, you should introduce your new hire to various colleagues from various departments. By doing that, you help them better adapt and fit into the organizational culture of your company and, why not, even make friendships.
5. Keep Offering Support
For a while, the new hire will need constant support in understanding and familiarizing themselves with the various tasks and tools they’ll be interacting with. By offering them constant support, you will make the whole process smoother, as they’ll adapt to the company’s culture. During the first month, you should assist them with any questions they might have. There are a few things you can help with during the first week as well:
- Have daily check-ins with them;
- Send them links to any useful materials they might need;
- Create a profile for them on the company’s website;
- Create an account for them in the company’s software.
6. Follow Up
After a couple of months on the new job (3 to 6 usually), we recommend checking in with your new employee. See how they settled in and if their productivity is at the desired level. Get their feedback on the whole onboarding process and see if there are some things you could’ve done better. At the same time, you’re free (and encouraged) to offer your feedback as well.
If you are a start-up company and don’t have much employees, or big company with a supervisor for each team or department, you can check their development, productivity and feedback on a monthly basic.
Another important thing, that you or your assigned person, should check if the way your new employees have integrated in your company, have they get along with their colleagues, have they understand your company goals and culture. This will give them a boost in their day-to-day tasks.
Our Final Thoughts
An efficient onboarding process provides many advantages both to you, the employer and your new hire. Whenever you have a new employee, you should give them your full attention for the first week. This time is crucial in making a first impression and making sure your new hire is integrating in the work culture and adhering to the company policies.
Besides this, a smooth onboarding process will help the new employee become more efficient. The better understanding they have on what your company goals are and how they can help achieve those goals and the benefits you offer them for doing the job they’ve been hired to do, the better the chances to do a better job.
When everything is laid out in clear steps, you will avoid wasting time on inconsistencies or confusions. All in all, we hope this article provided you with some useful insights on the onboarding process and its importance.
If you have any tips and tricks you’d like to share, our comments are always open. We’d love to hear your opinions!
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