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As we head into the final months of 2023, it’s a good time to evaluate your processes and make sure your business is operating as efficiently as possible. Focusing on the employee experience is always important, but because of the ongoing labor crisis, you should be extra sure that your employees feel like they’re cared for — and that includes your new hires.
The onboarding process gives your new employees insight into your company and their individual role, but it’s also the perfect opportunity to get your staff excited about working for your company over any other.
Every role is essential to your bottom line, so running an engaging and effective onboarding process is the best way to demonstrate that. Ensuring that your team knows their worth from the beginning can make or break your retention rate. Organizations that invest in an effective onboarding program retain 50% more of new hires than their competitors do, so put in the work up front if you want to keep your employees around. Here are some surefire ways to get your new hires thrilled about their new career from day one.
Roll out the red carpet
Your new hires should feel right at home, even before their first day. Give them a warm welcome with company merchandise that they can sport around the office, a video message from your team welcoming them aboard, or simply ask a few of your team members to reach out to congratulate them about joining the team. Have those they’ll work with often schedule time to chat during their first week, and announce their arrival at the next all-company meeting to pull out all the stops.
Send paperwork before Day 1
Don’t let your new employee come in for their first day, only to spend hours filling out paperwork. Get all paperwork digitally processed ahead of time using your hiring platform so there’s no productivity loss from your HR team and your new hires can focus on the more stimulating parts of their onboarding experience.
Get everyone together
Get your team all together for a welcome event that’s sole purpose is to get to know each other. You can order lunch for your team or host a happy hour, but setting some time just to get acquainted will take the stress out of your new employee’s first week. Come up with games or icebreaker questions to ask to make sure there’s enough interaction, and don’t be afraid to stray off work-related topics. Ask about hobbies, favorite movies, or anything that will allow them to open up a bit more.
Showcase your culture
One of the main differentiators between you and your competitors should be your culture, so show it off throughout the onboarding process. Dive into the ways your company goes above and beyond for your staff, like team outings you sponsor, continued education covered, and your benefits offerings. Talk about career progression and your employer brand as well as your bonus structures or merit increases. All of these elements will put your team in high spirits right away.
Designate a mentor
Create a mentorship program where your current employees can have a hand in training your new hires. Offering incentives to current employees for participating in the program, like a free lunch, will get you more volunteers and help the program function better.
A mentorship program for new hires will help them get better acquainted with your company as well as their new teammates. Mentors provide new employees with an easy avenue to ask questions and observe the day-to-day tasks they’ll be required to handle, and make them feel welcomed onto the team.
Don’t wait to assign work
You want to let your employees know that you trust them and they are a valuable addition to the company, so don’t wait too long to assign them their first project. Make sure they have what they need to feel confident that they can get the job done, but don’t hold back in assigning them responsibilities.
Set up check-in times to make sure they’re comfortable handling their workload, and remind them that you’re always available to answer questions. This will help create an avenue of communication and trust that is necessary for career development.
Create a 30/60/90 day plan
Give your new hires a way to measure their success in their first few months with a 30/60/90 day plan. You can fill it in with objectives you know they should be able to master in their first three months, but leave some goals open for you both to fill out together based on what they want to accomplish. Setting these goals will help them know if they’re on the right track and will instill confidence in them as they start their career at your company.
A well-devised onboarding plan can increase your employee engagement and retention rates dramatically. Almost 70% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years after a standout onboarding experience, so it’s worth the effort to keep your amazing staff around.
Interested in seeing how Hireology can help with your onboarding process? Schedule a demo here.
