Getting the onboarding right

Your Recruiter has represented your brand and ensured a positive 'candidate experience'. The offer has been made and your soon to be employee is ready to join. Brilliant! High fives all around, job done - right? Wrong. Simply sticking a new employee in the corner with 18 policy docs to read, no one to talk to and tote bag of swag isn't a good start. Provide them with the right tools and support to be productive as soon as possible, instead of squeezing a company stress ball and regretting their decision to join your company.

New starters want an on-boarding programme that aligns to the experience they've encountered up until now. But does it really matter? Well, yes it does. Dr John Sullivan?is an internationally renowned HR thought leader. He states as businesses grow, their turnover rates will naturally increase too. Line managers and HR leaders need to understand the impact onboarding practices have on new starter's productivity and longer-term retention.

Do you remember what it was like to be the newbie? To them, joining your company is a big deal.

First things first

• Get your house in order. Identify gaps and define more efficient onboarding workflows, collaborate with external specialists to process map. Be realistic around what you can create and the support/ budget you will have to do so.
• Always be authentic, don't try to create a programme that is too far from your brand and can't be delivered. If it's too difficult it won't work.
• Save the trees and time wasted on manual tasks. Do you really need to print the contract, personal detail forms and all other brochures to stick in an envelope and post? And what about those 18 policies, do they need to be printed, signed and scanned? Set up electronic signing.

But they don't start for another 4 weeks...

Every good Recruiter will tell you the weeks between a candidate resigning and starting with you are the most crucial. In the current climate, counteroffers are coming out of nowhere, and your competitors who were initially slow to respond have now come sniffing. Engage your new starter from the moment they sign the contract.

Treat every new hire as a celebration, rather than an admin task...

Invite them to join company social groups or facebook communities so they know a few names and faces before day one. If starting large numbers together, consider forming a new hire group and if relocating families send information packs about the area with useful links to rental agencies, schools, car hire etc.

Limit the number of tasks, reading material or work that needs to be completed before their first day. In most instances it is unnecessary and why should they?

Who owns onboarding?

Well, responsibility doesn't just sit at HR's door that's for sure. Onboarding is a 'team sport' and there are a number of factors to consider:

• Workflow 101. If you're onboarding in person but working with a reduced on-site team who will collect and greet the new starter on their first day, are the desk arrangements ready? Who is doing the initial induction and are they prepared? What other activities have been scheduled, and has IT been informed. It does not create a good impression if your new starters are waiting to have system access granted before they can get going!
• If onboarding remotely, has hardware been couriered in preparation for day one with accounts/ tools and permissions set up ready. Notify the new starter (at least a week before) of what to expect during those first few days, times to start and who they'll be "meeting". Also, provide a contact list of useful names and numbers. Have members of the team reach out to introduce themselves before day 1.
• Information overload. What paperwork needs to be signed, personal details collated and policies read by the end of week one? Set up point in time notifications for completion of all other non-essential form filling and policy handling.
• Cultural alignment. Every team has different characters, embrace them! These people are what makes your company unique. Get the Line Manager involved and create a buddy system. Educate them all in the crucial parts they'll play in the onboarding process.

Google found texting Line Managers a reminder the day before their new starter joined, decreased ramp up time by 25%

It's all about the swag

News flash, I've squeezed a desk into my bedroom and I don't really want a corporate stress ball, 10 pens, a cap, a keyring cum torch and a stack of post-it notes. If a desk groaning with 'goodies' is your company's thing, give some thought to your swag. Be original, think beyond leftover conference giveaways and more about your brand and the message you're trying to convey to new employees.

Technology

Understand your current pain points and limitations. There are lots of systems with varying costs, depending on your size. All in one solutions, best in breeds like HROnboard and Simon (70% coverage of all tasks) and onboarding modules (cover approx 40-50% of tasks).

Sometimes the truth hurts...

But data is your friend, analyse real-time feedback from your new starters. How did they feel after their first few weeks? What moments really mattered to them, what did they enjoy and find tedious. Your onboarding programme will become a continuous improvement journey.

Get it right and over time you will improve your employer brand, have engaged, culturally aligned new starters with increased on the job performance and better longer-term retention. The alternative? Order two more boxes of stubby holders and a truckload of paper.