What is employee onboarding and why is it important?

It is no secret that the world of work is changing rapidly.

We have heard terms like the great resignation and quiet quitting showing just how difficult it is to keep hold of talented people.

We know it is hard to recruit but no one really talks about the challenges that come with making sure the person that you hire is set up for success.

Whether you are recruiting your first team member or you are adding to your team then creating a fantastic onboarding experience should be high on your list of priorities (and there’s a lot more to it than just throwing someone in at the deep end and hoping they swim).

So what actually is onboarding?

Onboarding is introducing your new hire into your business. It starts the moment that they accept your job offer and involves educating them on what your business does, your vision and values, your policies and processes, who they will be working with, what is expected of them in their new role and finally the training they need to build the skills and knowledge to do the job.

Why is it important?

A report by Bamboo HR showed that around 31% of people leave a job within 6 months - frightening right?

Not only is this disappointing but it is also extremely costly in terms of finances and time!

Leavers cite their main reasons for leaving in the first 6 months as:

●?????Not having clear responsibilities.

●?????Not having enough training.

●?????Feeling neglected.

●?????Feeling overwhelmed.

The impact of great onboarding has so many benefits which include:

●?????Quicker learning and faster integration to the company and role.

●?????Increased happiness.

●?????Enhanced performance and productivity.

●?????Positive employer brand reputation.

●?????Stronger employee-manager relationships

Why wouldn’t you want to invest your time and energy in making sure your onboarding experience ensures your new starters achieve all of those things?

I imagine a lot of the time organisations don’t want to provide a poor onboarding experience, they are likely short on time and don’t actually know where to start…

Here are my top 10 tips on how to create a stand-out onboarding experience:

1. Send out all paperwork (offer letter, contract, policies) as quickly as possible and ask your new starter to sign and return these before their first day.
2. Send them a welcome pack (this can be physical or digital) with company information, benefits information and perhaps some branded merchandise.
3. Organise some time for your new starter to meet their team for a coffee before their first day (either in person or over zoom).
4. Make sure you have all their tech ready for their first day.
5. Make sure everyone in the team knows your new starter is joining and encourage them to say “hi” - a great personal touch is having your founder or CEO send them a message on their first day to wish them good luck!
6. Organise a session to explain company history, vision, values, key policies, benefits and culture.
7. Organise orientation meetings with each team (not just the direct people your new starter will be working with). This is important for understanding who to go to with what questions.
8. Have a clear plan of action for at least the first two weeks that includes familiarising your new starter with processes and delivering in depth training along with providing some initial tasks and projects that they can own.
9. Make sure training is supported with guidance documents so that your new starter feels confident to start contributing from day one.
10. Create time for regular feedback.

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Hi. My name is Jennie, freelance HR consultant and Coach based on the Wirral.

I help SME's build and retain high-performing teams and create a culture where individuals thrive and organisations achieve sustainable success.

If you would like support in designing a winning onboarding experience for your organisation drop me a message at [email protected].