If you go down the memory lane to your first job interview, probation period, or any other onboarding experience, you’ll remember how nervous it made you feel. That’s a normal reaction because a new job means a totally different environment, even if you’ve been working for a while. It’s impossible to suddenly find yourself accustomed to the work environment and fellow employees in your first few days. According to a recent study, half the employees who quit their jobs do so in their first year in a new company, which suggests that the onboarding process is directly related to the retention of employees. We’ve created a guide that should help you wrap your head around the most popular practices used to welcome new hires with a positive onboarding experience.
Pre-Start Communication
A problem that almost all employees have faced at least once in their professional lives is the lack of communication before the first day on the job. Going to work on your first day without having a clue about what you are supposed to do can be very confusing and overwhelming. While this problem can be resolved in a couple of days by utilizing orientation practices, it’s not really practical to alienate an employee on their first few days until they learn the ropes. It’s always better to introduce a new employee on a positive note by giving them at least one week of preparation on what to expect during their first weeks or even months to come. This will help your new employee hit the ground running and quickly synchronize with the rest of the team.
Onboarding Overview
The chaos of the first week can be too much for a new employee to handle. It’s not uncommon for things to get lost in translation amidst the transitioning process. However, using specialized software to create an organized digital work environment will facilitate a lot of processes that usually take up a lot of time and resources from different departments. You can directly integrate employee benefits into the HR system to allow new employees to quickly manage and evaluate their benefits at a convenient pace.
The initial week at a new job can often be overwhelming for a new employee, with the risk of important details being missed in the flurry of the transition. By providing a centralized platform, HR software systems ensure that all necessary information and tools are readily accessible to the new employee, thereby reducing confusion and easing their transition into the company. This enhances the onboarding process’s efficiency and significantly improves the new employee’s experience, making them feel more welcomed and prepared to start their new role. Making these systems accessible for employees will help them feel secure as they progress and focus on their tasks. This is why it’s always better to streamline your operation using an automated system rather than conventional means.
Mentorship
Neither an experienced nor a first-time employee are able to instantly grasp the dynamics of the work environment without paying a close look at employee interactions or being mentored. The best to quickly allow an employee to understand the intricate complexities of a certain line of work is to offer them mentorship of a senior employee. A mentor can provide guidance, answers, and even nudge a new employee in the right direction to be able to learn how to perform well in their own style. Choosing a mentor is an important process that shouldn’t be randomly done. It’s best if you choose an experienced employee in the same department that the new employee is joining.
Checking up Frequently
A lot of businesses are under the impression that they’ve supplied their trainees or new employees with enough knowledge and training to sail into the sunset after the first week or two. The problem is that checking up on your employees during their first week only isn’t going to provide a complete representation of their performance and their ability to overcome challenging tasks. Routine and regular checks during the first few months are the best way to ensure you’ve gathered an inclusive representation of the employee’s performance, detailing their strengths and weaknesses. Checking up on employees regularly plays an important role in retaining employees because it allows for the resolutions of problems as soon as they arise.
Presenting the Value of Success
The relativity of success is caused by the varying goals each business may have. While all businesses aspire to grow and improve their operations, the methods used can extremely differ. Defining success is a very important part of a company’s culture and philosophy, and it’s very important for a new employee to understand the values of the company they represent. This can be done through a roadmap that clearly defines the path to success. You can ensure that the KPIs you set for each department are well-thought and accurately measure the employee’s performance, so they could know how they are doing. The earlier you clear this to your new employees, the faster their transition into more experienced workers.
It’s hard enough for new employees to feel at ease during their first weeks on the job. It’s your responsibility to ensure that they are comfortable so you don’t have to constantly worry about finding and hiring new employees due to the high turnover rate. Invest enough time and resources into ensuring that the onboarding process properly prepares them to excel in their new work environment.
