According to business processes experts, a well-organized process for welcoming, orientating, and getting new employees up to speed increases staff retention. Further, a sound onboarding process enables new employees to quickly adapt to their surroundings, making them productive in a short time.
However, having an immaculate onboarding process is a bit challenging, especially for small businesses, unlike for large businesses with well-funded and organized firms with professional human resources (HR) departments. Fortunately, this post outlines easy onboarding tips that small businesses should incorporate without breaking the bank. Take a look to learn more.
Practice Preliminary Introduction
In many cases, the business usually has about two weeks to implement the onboarding process for the new blood. This means plenty of time for your team to prepare in welcoming new employees. For the best onboarding experience, create a realistic schedule before the employee’s first day at work.
Prepare a plan for the employee’s first week, including when they should arrive, what to wear, whether to expect breakfast and lunch with the team, and the tasks they’re expected to do. This helps them feel busy, needed, and valuable from day one. Furthermore, prepare all the required documentation and equip their workstation with the required resources.
It’s also an excellent idea to send a welcoming video or email to the new employees and notify the information technology (IT) department to create a personal file and other necessary documents before the employees arrive.
Ensure you inform your team members that a new employee will join them and the person’s role in order to manage their expectations too. It’s said that preliminary actions excite new employees about their new company even before they start working.
Get Integrated
New employees need to start feeling like they’re part of the team through the onboarding process. To be ahead of the game, inform them about their roles and introduce them to staff members they’ll be working with before the start date. This allows for friendly conversations and helps new employees relate with colleagues.
On the first day, make it a priority to formally acquaint your new employees with their key leaders and all other employees. This creates an inviting and warm environment that helps break the ice and unites the workers. You can accomplish this using a meet-and-greet process, which allows everyone to introduce themselves in a fun and interactive manner, or consider planning a welcome party with snacks and refreshments.
Worker engagement is key and will always remain significant in onboarding.
Ensure New Hires Follow The Rules
Suppose the government closely regulates your company or small business. In that case, it’s crucial to teach your new staff members to abide by the rules, regulations, and legal actions that govern operations in your company. Non-compliant employees can make your firm incur heavy fines or be shut down.
Therefore, ensure to read and emphasize all these rules and regulations as they could make all the difference. Provide a list of compliance instructions for them to know what to do and not do to stay in compliance with the rules. Plus, remember to provide frequent training programs to the employees to improve their knowledge and teach them about new regulations.
Stay Organized
During the onboarding process, you should check in with the new hires regularly to ensure they’re not overwhelmed and have everything they need. This is because new employees are often afraid or embarrassed to ask questions. For this reason, it’s helpful to have various contact points that the new employees may feel comfortable approaching. This may include HR professionals, receptionists, or office administrators.
You can provide a facility tour during the first day to reduce some common questions. During the tour, the new employees know where the bathroom, supply room, water cooler, and cafeteria are. The goal is to ensure the employees feel comfortable quickly and be productive.
Reinforce Business’ Mission And Values
Your business’ mission and values were researched and covered by the new employee and the hiring process. After the employee starts working, it’s a good time to reinforce the mission and the values into action. Show them how our business works to meet the desired goals, so they know what’s expected of them.
Follow-Up When Needed
Follow-up is essential to the personnel onboarding process. This entails calling new hires after a month to ascertain their progress. Know how they’re being incorporated into the team and ensure they have all the tools and resources they need to be productive. You can have a session with all the new hires and have them share their experiences and challenges. Their feedback helps you improve your future onboarding processes for better experiences.
Conclusion
An effective onboarding process sets the tone of your new employee’s overall employment experience. These onboarding tips are here for your business to feel organized and welcoming. They’ll also ensure your new hires transition successfully to their new positions.