How can you create an inclusive onboarding process for diverse hires?

Creating an inclusive onboarding process for diverse hires is a way to make them feel welcome, valued, and supported in your organization. An inclusive onboarding process can help we retain and engage our diverse talent, as well as foster a culture of inclusion and belonging. Here are some steps we can take to create an inclusive onboarding process: - Communicate our commitment to diversity and inclusion. - Provide a comprehensive and personalized orientation. - Connect them with their team and other colleagues. - Solicit and provide feedback.

It’s important to welcome new hires and create an inclusive orientation. Provide pre-boarding materials that introduce company culture, values, and diversity initiatives. Mentorship program, it can provide guidance, answer questions, and offer support during the onboarding period. Mentors can help new hires navigate the company culture and establish some network. Conduct training sessions or workshops to raise awareness about cultural differences, biases, and implicit assumptions. It can help foster understanding and empathy among all employees. The main goal of onboarding is to facilitate a smooth transition for new employees, enabling them to quickly become productive and engaged in their new role.

Provide comprehensive resources and materials in multiple formats, such as written guides, videos, or interactive workshops, to ensure accessibility for all. Incorporate diversity and inclusion training into the onboarding curriculum to help raise awareness of unconscious biases, promote cultural understanding, and reinforce the company's commitment to diversity. Offering mentorship or buddy programs can also help new hires from underrepresented groups feel supported and connected as they navigate their roles and the organization. Moreover, actively soliciting feedback from diverse hires about their onboarding experience and making adjustments based on their input demonstrates a genuine commitment to inclusivity and continuous improvement.

A robust onboarding process is vital. Its structure will differ from one company to another, depending on size and industry. Larger companies may already have pre-existing videos/live sessions in their protocols requiring only updates. Compliance in specific industries is a key consideration. Health and safety protocols vary across sectors, too. Introductions, contact information, and training materials are integral elements of any onboarding. Assigning an internal onboarding mentor who can address queries and guide new recruits during the initial weeks can be an efficient approach. Designing an onboarding process cannot be overstated; it impacts the rate at which new hires reach their peak performance levels. Contact me for further help.

Be honest. About where your starting point in terms of organizational and board culture really lies. Leadership culture, stewardship culture, supervisory culture are invariably the limiting factors for making aspects of organizational culture we aspire to truly a reality. So we are ready for diverse hires? What is our company's business calendar really, really like? Beyond the dishes from around the world that we serve in our canteen, are we welcoming enough for someone to pray on Fridays, midday? Or have we just sent HR on a fool's errand, because DEI is the done thing? In Davos, January 2024, some company owners felt free to say that "diversity and inclusion went far enough, we need to correct again." What's the real scope we have?

This is in my opinion the second most important point after ensuring a solid pleasant candidate experience (see my contribution in the end of the article). To ensure a successful on-boarding of diverse hires it is important to acknowledge that each new hire would have a different learning and communication style. Some would prefer to have as much information as possible from day 1, some others will prefer to digest piece by piece. Some would prefer to meet everyone at once, some would be more at ease with meeting few colleagues individually first before meeting everyone. Ensure that your onboarding process is flexible and has some room for adjustment with 2-3 alternatives. And ask the new hires which approach they prefer.

I believe that kindness is a language that all cultures can understand. When we approach new hires with kindness, we give them a license to ask questions freely and absorb the culture of the organization at their own pace. That's why I think that "Welcoming New Hires" should be the name of the onboarding process. It sets the tone for our communication and interaction style. As professionals, it's important to be precise and comprehensive in our approach. But that doesn't mean we can't also be warm and welcoming. In fact, I believe that confidence and professionalism go hand in hand with kindness and empathy.

Here is where a Stakeholder Engagement Action Plan can be of great value. Customizing your approach to each diverse hire in a small business may be feasible. But when you are looking at big corporations, that's not realistic - even with AI. However, you can use technology and tools to help you personalise at scale per your stakeholder group. That's why an internal stakeholder engagement plan will help you better understand and focus of the unique needs, challenges and characteristics of each diverse hire group.

After making sure that candidates have a positive and satisfying experience, this is, in my opinion, the second most crucial issue . Recognising that every new recruit will have a unique learning and communication style is essential to ensuring a successful onboarding process for diverse workers. While some people would rather learn everything at once, others would rather take things piece by piece. While some people would feel more comfortable meeting a select group of coworkers one-on-one before seeing the others, others would rather meet everyone at once. Make sure your onboarding procedure is adaptable and provides two or three options for modification.

Personalizing the training and onboarding of new employees means adjusting the training program and content based on the needs, interests, knowledge level and abilities of each new employee. This can help increase the satisfaction, motivation, learning and performance of new employees.

Fostering a sense of belonging for diverse hires goes beyond operational onboarding to include social and emotional integration. Making new employees feel welcomed, valued, and supported is key. This involves facilitating connections with peers, managers, and leaders, immersing them in the organizational culture, and clarifying their contributions. Celebrating their milestones and valuing their ideas enhances belonging. Such efforts not only improve job satisfaction and retention but also enrich the workplace with diverse perspectives, driving innovation and inclusivity.

Belonging, don't we all want to experience it when we start a job? Some aspects to consider here are: acknowledgement and welcoming celebration of some type, which can be done through direct support in relationship-building opportunities that can vary from 1:1 with a mentor assigned or team wise. Also, are high level leaders involved during that new hire onboard journey? Lastly, give a space of comfort where the persons can be themselves.

To foster belonging during onboarding, personalize welcomes, assign buddies or mentors, organize team introductions and social events, communicate clear expectations and available resources, offer inclusive training and development, provide regular feedback and recognition, implement diversity and inclusion initiatives, and schedule regular check-ins. These measures create a welcoming and inclusive environment, helping new hires feel valued and integrated into the organization’s culture from the start.

Emotional Intelligence is the most important factor that creates a culture of warmth and welcome without serious conflicts or unhealthy competitive environments. Despite this, there are not many companies training their resources in EI. Unnoticeably breeding hidden workspace toxicity. Contact me to discuss training alternatives if you are interested in improving your company culture.

It's crucial to introduce new hires to a diverse group of colleagues during the onboarding process. Encourage team members from different backgrounds to share their experiences and insights. This not only helps new hires feel like part of the team but also creates a sense of belonging and understanding. And don't forget about ongoing support. Check in regularly with new hires to see how they're settling in and address any concerns they may have. Providing mentorship opportunities or affinity groups can also help new hires connect with others who share similar backgrounds or experiences. Overall, the goal is to create an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and included right from the start.

Plan ahead. Onboarding is a functional responsibility and not something to pass on to HR and forget about. This is the part where you get to set your new hire up for success. Make the people engagement and introductions a key part of the plan. Personally, I wouldn’t want any of my new hires to get on to BAU tasks until a full onboarding is completed #thisistheway

Another main input for adjustment is the organizational strategy. Organization may be focused on stability, competition, innovation, rapid change aka digital transformation. All these are should be interpret from the early start - onboarding process

Continuous Improvement: Treat onboarding as an ongoing process rather than a one-time event. Regularly review and update your onboarding practices based on feedback, evolving best practices, and changes in your organization's demographics and culture.

El cuarto paso es fundamental: monitorizar y ajustar continuamente el proceso de incorporación según el feedback y rendimiento de los empleados diversos. No veas la incorporación como un evento único, sino como un proceso dinámico. Mantén conversaciones regulares para comprender sus experiencias, aprendizajes y necesidades cambiantes. Recopila datos sobre su compromiso, satisfacción y productividad para identificar desafíos y áreas de mejora. Por ejemplo, podrías implementar encuestas post-incorporación y análisis de retención. Utiliza esta información para realizar ajustes necesarios, demostrando un compromiso constante con la adaptación y la mejora.

That's why including this as part of your employee experience is essential to have a complete life cycle overview. Otherwise you will be treating the onboarding process in silos, and miss out on valuable cues and information from other sources and stages within the employee experience. Continuous and transparent communication is a fundamental pillar for developing an inclusive, human and successful onboarding process.

Team Psychological Safety is crucial when we talk about diversity and inclusion: a place where people are allowed to be themselves without fear of judgment, humiliation or retaliation is the mininum expected. How people react to mistakes, the way a team deal with problems and support each other, if we feel appreciated and our contributions valued in that team. Support, trust and respect, mature leadership (high EI) and a safe space for interpersonal risks are important elements to improve work conditions.

To on-board an employee successfully , make the new hires feel safe and comfortable. Help them visualise the way through various activities by creating 3 levels of induction 1) organization level - process, policies, department 2) project level - role responsibility, goals 3) team level - collaboration, work activities

One important additional aspect! In my experience an effective on-boarding process starts much earlier than the first day on the job. It starts from the first contact with the organization from the job posting itself, then the full candidate experience, communication during the recruitment process, the length of the process, the efficiency of the interview, the documentation, the offer process…all that first, then the first day on the job onwards. In my leadership coaching, I continue seeing organizations overlooking that aspect, and then wondering why the new hires are emotionally exhausted on the first days.

En este contexto, es esencial destacar la importancia de la flexibilidad y la adaptabilidad. La capacidad de ajustarse a situaciones cambiantes y aprender de experiencias diversas es clave para el éxito en cualquier ámbito, incluido el profesional. Por ejemplo, podrías compartir casos donde la adaptabilidad llevó al éxito en un entorno de ventas dinámico o cómo enfrentar desafíos inesperados fortaleció tu habilidad para superar obstáculos. La disposición a compartir experiencias fuera de lo convencional contribuye a un intercambio valioso de perspectivas y conocimientos.

Ensuring the onboarding process not only brings in diverse talent but also creates an environment where everyone feels truly included. It starts with tangible strategies such as personalized welcome kits tailored to diverse backgrounds and interests. Establishing diverse mentorship programs, pairing new hires with experienced employees who share similar experiences or backgrounds. Additionally, implementing cultural competency training ensures that all team members are equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate diverse environments respectfully and empathetically, revolutionizing the experience, and fostering a sense of value, respect, and belonging for every new team member from day one.