(authored by Reverb consultant, Eliza Polly)
Why take the time to plan out how you will onboard new hires?
Having a structured and robust onboarding program is well worth the investment. At a minimum, a great onboarding program should result in the following outcomes:
- New hires feel welcomed and confident that they made a great choice by joining your organization
- They understand the mission, vision, and values of the company and how they fit into that framework
- They are exposed to the company’s cultural norms that help demonstrate “how we do things around here.”
- They have a clear understanding of their job and how success is defined
- They are prepared to start being effective and adding value
Ultimately, the goal is to have new hires quickly become excellent and valuable employees who want to stay. You likely invested significant resources on hiring and need a return on that investment. Losing an employee and replacing them is incredibly expensive and detrimental to the business. The onboarding journey has been found to directly impact employee retention.
In a 2021 article, Gallup showed that employees who report having an excellent onboarding experience are “2.6 times as likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace — and consequently, far more likely to stay.” On the flip side, a poor onboarding experience can cause the employee to wonder if they made the right decision and whether they should reconsider. It’s a vulnerable time for a new hire, so companies should do what they can to solidify a mutually valuable and rewarding relationship from the start.
Goal of Onboarding: Employee Experience
Onboarding sets the tone for an employee’s experience, particularly in how they integrate and get socialized into the company. New employees want relationships that make them feel supported, included, and respected. So, it’s important when building your onboarding program to include interactions that will give them a sense of belonging.
One approach to onboarding is to think about the way your company treats new customers or clients. Your goal is likely to quickly establish a trusting relationship and help them feel a connection to, and a respect for, your mission and products. You also want to provide them with a seamless transition and positive first experience with your product or service. It can be very helpful to review any established processes that you use with new clients and potentially replicate them for use in onboarding new employees.
Goal of Onboarding: Learning
You want new hires to be able to start adding value as soon as possible – it’s good for the organization, and it creates a good experience for them as well. This requires a thoughtful plan to get them exposed to and trained in the responsibilities of their role. The pace of learning is an important factor here. Sharing chunks of information at a time is more manageable and effective than day-long sessions which can be exhausting and make it hard to retain information.
A good approach is working backwards to create a framework and roadmap for training and orientation. First, consider the ideal end state. What does a person in this position need to understand (knowledge) and be able to do (skills) to exceed expectations in this role? Some questions to consider:
- Who do they need to meet? Which are critical now and which can wait?
- What parts of the business should they be introduced to and in what order?
- What tools and resources do they need access to in order to quickly be effective?
- What processes do they need to be trained on and who will do that training?
The next consideration is the different ways the information will be presented to the new hire. A number of meetings with current staff will be important, but consider including other options such as:
- Hands-on experience: shadowing an employee, sitting in on calls.
- Media and visuals: videos or webinars they can watch.
- Case studies, documentation or presentations from past business reviews or company meetings.
- If applicable, have the new hire act as a customer for a mock implementation or support call.
Goal of Onboarding: Manager Relationship
The success of an onboarding program can only go so far if you don’t have the managers’ involvement and commitment. Managers are central to learning and helping new hires integrate into the team. New managers in particular should be given guidance on their critical role in the process which should include:
- Tactical how to’s such as work schedules, requesting time off, preferred method(s) of and cadence of communication
- An in-depth walkthrough of the new hire’s roles and responsibilities
- Big-picture goals, both for the employee and the department overall
- Managers should create a 30/60/90 plan. Goals are critically important for new employees because they create purpose and direction. Establish specific goals they should achieve by the end of their first 30, 60 and 90 days of employment
- Ways to help new hires collaborate with and get to know their teammates
Daily check-ins with their manager during the first few weeks can make a big difference for new hires. They can report on what they have learned, ask questions, and work with the manager to redirect or modify the learning plan. When the time is right, switching to weekly 1:1s will help deepen the relationship with the manager as well as ensure they are on track for success.
Managers should not forget to encourage, motivate, and engage with their employees by highlighting their triumphs and milestones, no matter how small. A little recognition goes a long way to make people feel valued, proud of their progress, and eager to improve.
Looking Forward
Onboarding should not have an end date. You don’t want new hires to feel forgotten, so It’s important to keep the momentum going by doing the following:
- Continue to immerse them in the company culture. This could include pairing them with an ongoing “buddy,” and continued meet-and-greets with new colleagues including senior leadership.
- Managers should discuss development opportunities including career pathing.
- Conduct pulse surveys to get the new hire’s feedback on their experience.
- Interview new hires to learn what they wish they had known or experienced so that you can continuously improve your onboarding process.
- Keep an eye out for comments about onboarding during exit interviews to learn what can be done better or to confirm that the process was valuable.
- Continue to think of onboarding as a longer journey and wrap the entire employee lifecycle with care from their first to last day and beyond.
In Conclusion
Creating a robust onboarding program for new hires takes time and planning, but can pay off in dividends. When you think of onboarding as a critical piece of the overall employee lifecycle, you can ensure that new hires add value quickly and have a positive experience, which can all lead to better business results and retention.
Need help creating your onboarding process and employee experience? We can help – contact us at info@reverbpeople.com.
