What is Onboarding?
Onboarding is not easy to define. Some organizations limit it to a simple orientation process. Others go further to include company culture. Onboarding, however, is so much more. Onboarding is a systematic method that allows employers to hire the best employees and align them to the company vision. It will also provide employees with the necessary tools, help them assimilate, and speed up their training process.
Employees typically “break even” 20 weeks after they begin working at a job. This means that their productivity equals what the company has invested in them. They begin to generate more value for the organization over time. Onboarding can improve the time that it takes for employees to become profitable once they are hired. This is accomplished on a functional level and a social level. Companies often focus on the functional level at the cost of the social. This can overwhelm employees and leave them feeling uncertain about whom to go to for help.
Checklist for Onboarding New Employees
When hiring new employees, it is not enough to just walk them through the office, hand them paperwork, and ask them to read manuals. You must make them feel welcome to alleviate anxiety and help them acclimate.
- Contact the employee after he or she is hired: This can be with a welcome letter or phone call.
- Send information early: Send the handbook and any paperwork that than be completed early.
- Choose a mentor: Assign someone to mentor the new hire.
- Prepare for the first day: Have everything ready for the new employee to begin work on the first day.
- Have the new hire meet people the first day: New hires should engage with their supervisors and mentors on day one.
- Schedule lunch: Schedule lunch with coworkers to introduce a new hire.
Onboarding needs to be a professional program. Companies frequently ignore onboarding responsibilities and simply assign the task of orienting a new hire to the least busy employee. This can cause confusion, impede the onboarding process, and give the impression that the company is not well run. It is essential that everyone involved in the onboarding program remain friendly and professional.
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