Onboarding is an important business process that relies on a lot of planning and preparation in order to ensure it goes smoothly. When a new hire comes into the business, it’s important to make them feel comfortable in their role and that they know everything there is to know, to do the job well.
The process to onboard staff is a popular focal point for many businesses nowadays and it should be something that’s focused on further.
What is onboarding?
Onboarding is a process that’s whereby new employees are supplied with the knowledge and skills needed for their roles. Not only that but this training extends further to the company itself and the culture that exists within it.
With onboarding, it typically takes place during the first few days of starting the job. For some onboarding, it can be more extensive than others depending on the role. Great employee onboarding can help to improve employee retention by 82%.
This is something that is valuable for a company nowadays, especially with so many companies itching to get their hands on top talent through poaching and headhunting.
Seven onboarding tips to improve the success rate
To onboard staff is an important process to implement for every new hire, what onboarding tips will help to improve the success rate? Let’s look at several onboarding tips that will allow every new hire, the opportunity to get the most out of this initial training and induction.
1. Introduce a learning platform.
A great place to start when it comes to the onboarding process is to introduce a learning platform. This can be extremely helpful when it comes to monitoring the progress of the staff member, rather than having to do it all offline. It helps when there are multiple staff members to manage who may be starting at the same time.
With this learning platform, it can bring all the information together and create a realistic timeline and schedule that the employee can work through at a reasonable pace. It’s software that’s well worth the investment to onboard staff.
2. Invest time in training the employee fully.
Training is a big part of the process when it comes to introducing new staff members to the company. With time invested, the business is more likely to see great results from onboarding in general.
With onboarding, the more time and effort that’s spent on giving the employee everything they need to do their job efficiently is going to pay off for the business in the future. By not spending enough time or expelling enough effort, it’s only going to hinder the work that this employee does. No business wants to set off any new starter on the wrong foot.
3. Be clear about the expectations required from the staff member.
As a business, it’s important to be clear about the expectations that come from the employer towards the staff member. A company can’t just expect X, Y, and Z overnight, especially if the employee has received very little help in the beginning.
Try to be clear about the expectations that are required from the staff member and focus the first few days or week, solely on education on the role and the position itself.
4. Create easy-to-understand documentation.
Documentation is an important part of the process when it comes to onboarding. After all, the employee should be able to understand clearly everything they’re being taught.
Whoever is responsible for creating the documentation, make sure that it’s easy to understand and perhaps has been seen by HR first. Make sure to let the employee know that if there are any issues with understanding the documents provided, they let the manager or employee responsible for training know.
It’s helpful to use the learning platform that’s implemented into the onboarding process, to upload these files and keep them in an accessible place at all times.
Along with documentations, try to extra mile by providing your new employees their basic work needs, shop new employee welcome packages as early as possible well prepared welcoming.
5. Don’t rush the process.
The process of onboarding staff shouldn’t be something that’s rushed by any means. It’s one that will take as long as it takes. For some roles, the onboarding may be more extensive and last for longer.
Cutting corners doesn’t do anyone any good, so it’s important to take the time needed to train the employee properly. For some scenarios, repeating certain sections of the onboarding may also be required.
A quality process can take its time but it’s worth it for the business and the employee being trained, to do it efficiently and with attention to detail.
6. Bring together other colleagues for additional help.
With some roles, there may be a need for interaction with other colleagues. Those new starters who will possibly be working across a number of departments will be aided by the help of existing colleagues in place.
Where it’s required, involve other colleagues in the process to onboard staff, while trying to limit the time they’re needed so that it doesn’t delay their own workloads in place.
The help of colleagues can also be great for those who may be struggling to assist with the onboarding process alone. It’s always good to have a group effort involvement.
7. Stay connected with the employee who is onboarding.
When an employee is being onboarded, communication is key. Not just during the process but after onboarding too. It can be easy to get swept up in other business operations and forget that this new starter is still new to the company. They will still need guidance and handholding in some cases as they navigate the role over the course of the business year.
With that being said, always keep communication constant and where possible, have regular check-ins with the employee to ensure everything is going well. Their feedback can help with making any additional improvements and amendments needed to the onboarding process.
Benefit from a quality onboarding process from start to finish
With onboarding, it’s not easy to get it right the first time around if this is the first time it’s being implemented. However, with each onboarding process, it’s going to get easier as the experience gained helps those responsible for giving the induction itself.
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