onboarding.
what is onboarding?
Onboarding is an all-encompassing term that relates to the time period from when your candidate accepts your offer through to when they are fully integrated into your organisation (this is normally several months after they have started).
What is preboarding?
Preboarding is the part of the journey that starts from when the candidate accepts your offer through to when they start. It focuses on ensuring your new hire feels engaged, has all their preliminary questions answered so they are happy and confident and looking forward to their first day.
induction vs. onboarding.
Some people easily conflate induction and onboarding. However, there is a distinction. Most induction activities relate to learning about the company. Induction normally begins with an overview of the company’s policies and procedures, including an employee handbook and an understanding of what is acceptable behaviour for the employee in the daily process of performing their work.
the importance of onboarding.
It can be easy to assume that hiring someone is the end of that employee’s journey of learning about your organisation and deciding to work there. However, everything that the employee does from interviewing to emails to paperwork to onboarding informs their opinion of the company and their colleagues.
Onboarding not only sets the employee up for success, but also:
establishes the company culture
How you onboard employees says a lot about how much your organisation cares (or doesn’t) about new hires. From their first day, new hires are exposed to your organisation’s brand and culture. From there, they are analysing how they fit, not just from a job standpoint, but from a cultural perspective.
decreases employee turnover
Employees who feel as though their organisation cares about their success in a role tend to be more loyal to that organisation. Additionally, by incorporating tenured employees in the onboarding process, you further validate their experience and knowledge. This all leads to happier employees who will be hesitant to leave.
promotes your organisation’s brand
Employees talk. They share their experiences with their friends, former colleagues, family, and networking groups. Providing a well-planned onboarding experience further promotes the idea that your organisation cares about its people and their ability to be successful. This can help greatly as you continue to hire.
the basics of onboarding.
The primary goal of onboarding is to set up the new hire with the tools needed to perform their role successfully.
email & IT access
As part of their onboarding, the employee should be given their email handle and instructions on how to access their email, as well as specific information from their supervisor or a co-worker regarding how to access files or servers specific to their role or department.
introductions
The new hire should meet with their direct supervisor within the first day or two of work. Assuming that they already met during the interview process, this is a chance to become reacquainted with each other. The supervisor should explain the job duties in more depth, sharing more details than would have been possible during the hiring process.
Ideally, the employee’s supervisor or a colleague will lead the new hire around the department and provide introductions to other members of the team, as well as other co-workers they should know. If working in an office setting (and not remotely), it’s especially important to introduce the office manager or receptionist and the IT contact. Also, the employee should be given a tour of the facilities, including the kitchen or break area, the nearest toilets, and an overview of their working area. They should also be shown where they can get office supplies or how to request them.
training
Training can take anywhere from one week to several months. It is up to the discretion of the organisation to develop a training plan that will allow a new hire to learn their role and become a contributing team member as quickly as possible.
Training can take many forms, including:
- Webinars or videos
- Organisation-wide meetings or classes
- One-on-one mentoring from a colleague
- Manuals and handbooks
In many organisations, training is some combination of the above.
assessment
After completing all of the onboarding steps, it is best to have the new hire take some type of assessment. Incorporating an assessment into your onboarding will:
- Provide a benchmark for the employee to be measured against. This can help with reviews later in their tenure.
- Supply the department and human resources with data relating to the effectiveness of their onboarding process.
- Bolster the employee’s confidence to know that they have absorbed the information and are competent enough to begin working on their own.
- Give an overview of what the employee may still need help with.
how remote work changes onboarding.
While workplaces are becoming more remote, the truth is that onboarding is still the same. Instead of office tours, Zoom meetings or Google Hangouts are the norm. However, the basics of onboarding still apply.
hireful and onboarding.
Hireful’s approach to human resources is made for the 21st century. We work with you to attract and retain the kind of employees you need to be successful now and in the future.
Hireful’s ATS includes an onboarding module that will streamline the onboarding process and ensure your new hire gets off to a great start. To find out how hireful can supercharge your recruitment and onboarding game, contact us today for a demo.
