You’ve invested hours seeking, interviewing and negotiating to find the ideal employee for your organisation and they’ve happily signed on the dotted line. Your work is done, right? Not quite. Recruiting the perfect candidate is only the beginning. An employee’s first week on the job is an important time for your new team member. This is when they will form an impression of the company and begin engaging with their role. It’s essential to execute an onboarding process that will see a new employee transition seamlessly and get them started on the right foot.
To set your new hire up for success, here are some of our top employee onboarding tips.
Preparation is Key
There’s more to successful onboarding than learning about company procedures or where the fire exits are. As you may know, it’s vital to take the time to prepare for their arrival ahead of time. Ensuring they have all the necessary resources and tools on their first day will help set them up into their new role smoothly. From setting up their desk with a computer, phone and logins to providing the relevant documentation, stationery and employee handbook – having these ready will go a long way in making your new hire feel welcome.
It can be helpful to provide a print-out of the organisational chart and a directory of the phone extensions for the people they will be working with. Consider discussing your new employee’s first day with the rest of the team, so they can get involved in helping them settle in. This will expedite the onboarding process and help them integrate with greater ease.
Even though your new hire may have a good understanding of what their new role involves, setting expectations is still one of the most important onboarding steps. This may include start and finish times, dress codes, policies on annual leave, codes of conduct and other house-keeping matters, as well as how you would like things to get done.
Settling In
It may seem obvious, but starting a new job can feel daunting, so offering extra support in the first week is crucial for successful onboarding. The key here is to connect them to the colleagues they will be directly working with in their role. Encourage all team members to break the ice and get your new hire involved with their activities, such as sharing morning tea together or going out for after-work drinks. It may be worthwhile electing a team member to assist your new employee when their line manager is unavailable. Having a “buddy” system will help the new hire to start building relationships within the business and to develop an understanding of the company culture.
Onboarding best practice also encompasses some element of training or initial guidance. Does your new hire need additional development in a specific area, such as how to use specific programs or devices? Do they have gaps in their knowledge that may need further work? If so, spend some time ensuring they are brought up to speed on not only the systems but also the processes and procedures relevant to their role. We’re sure we don’t have to tell you that providing hands-on training will help new employees adjust to their roles much quicker than if they are provided with a manual or left to teach themselves.
Feedback and Setting Goals
As we touched on earlier, it is important to set expectations early on and provide your new colleague with information about how their performance will be assessed. You don’t want to give your employee too much work too soon, but setting a few goals for them to work towards in their first few months will provide them with a blueprint of where their focus should be. This will further ensure they are engaged from day one. Working with them to create a 30, 60 and 90-day plan that is broken down into achievable goals is a good way to communicate what is expected.
It’s also vital to remember that checking in with your new employee regularly is an essential part of your onboarding process. Encourage them to provide feedback about their experience so that you can iron out any issues early on. This will also allow you to assess how effective your onboarding practices are, highlighting what works well and what needs to be improved for future hires.
Summary
Getting new hires off to a good start is important for ensuring their engagement and retention right from the outset, and to achieve this, you need to implement a strategic onboarding process. By following our key onboarding steps, you will pave the way for the employee to make a smooth transition into your company continue contributing to your team for the long term.
For more employee onboarding tips or support with recruiting the best Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander talent for your organisation, get in touch with the Indigenous recruitment experts at First People Recruitment Solutions today.
