Why and how to incorporate new employees

The definition of onboarding is “the action or process of integrating a new employee into an organization or familiarizing a new customer with one’s products or services.”

Done right, onboarding new employees can increase productivity and improve retention. If done incorrectly or not at all, it can lead to the opposite: frustrated, underperforming employees looking for other jobs.

In a February 2014 survey by BambooHR, 23 percent of respondents who left a job in the first six months said that “receiving clear guidance about what my responsibilities were” would have helped them stay on the job. Twenty-one percent said they wanted “more effective training,” 17 percent said “a friendly smile or helpful co-worker would have made all the difference,” 12 percent said they wanted to be “recognized by [their] one-time contributions,” and 9 percent said they wanted more attention from “manager and co-workers.

Done right, the new hire onboarding process can:

• Create a positive work culture to attract and retain top talent
• Drive employee engagement and productivity
• Build trust and communication.
• Create connections between employees.

It’s actually quite easy to create an effective onboarding process. To make sure your new hires stick around and succeed, here are some best practices:

Before your new hire starts

• Reach out to them to let them know you’re excited to have them join you, offer to answer any questions, and send them information to read about your company. Include information about their dress code, directions, parking, and who to ask when they arrive.
• Send them the paperwork to complete before they arrive so the first day isn’t all about filling out the paperwork (boring!).
• Schedule meetings with key personnel.
• Assign the new employee to a colleague.
• Set up the new hire’s workstation with office supplies, phone extension, email address, etc.
• Send an email to the entire company to introduce your new hire.

The first week

• Give the new employee a tour of the office, including their workstation, restrooms, copier, etc.
• Schedule a company-paid lunch with the new hire’s teammates.
• Schedule a meeting between the new employee and their supervisor to discuss how to work together, company culture, performance expectations, the role of the employee and how it relates to the bigger picture of the company, etc.

The first three months

• Schedule any required training.
• Schedule regular meetings between the new hire and their supervisor to give and receive feedback and answer questions.
• Be patient. According to an article in Training Industry Quarterly, it can take a year or two before an employee is “fully productive.”
• Ask new hires to complete an anonymous survey about your onboarding process. Use that data to make improvements.

Effective employee onboarding programs increase employee performance and retention. What other best practices in new employee onboarding have you experienced?