Tactics to Make Onboarding New Employees a Huge Success

You put so much effort into recruiting top talent but do you keep the momentum going after that talent signs on with you? Too often, managers place so much emphasis on recruiting, they neglect to make sure that they make a good first impression starting with their new employees’ onboarding and their first day on the job. You only get one chance to make a first impression yet many managers fail to make it as good an impression as it needs to be.

According to SHRM Foundation:
• Half of all senior outside hires fail within 18 months in a new position
• Half of all hourly workers leave new jobs within the first 120 days
• 30% of organizations use “passive onboarding” — onboarding that focuses mainly on compliance and little or no focus on clarification, culture, and making connections.

Connecting with new hires and making a meaningful first impression is vital if you want that relationship to thrive.

Beginning with day one, new hires should be connecting with their fellow employees and learning day-to-day procedures and learning the most important things they want to know.

Here are three great ways to make your onboarding process a great success:

Welcome them
Introduce them to their home base whether that is an office or a cubicle. Having that space ready for them is an easy way to welcome them. Have a computer ready with all the programs they will need already installed and leave instruction for how to log in so they can easily start to explore their new role. Some companies present their new hires with gifts like a company coffee mug, t-shirt and other welcome goodies. If you know they have a family, give them extras!

Introduce them
It should not be a surprise to anyone that a new employee is joining their team. Prepare everyone in advance, share the person’s name and some background so that everyone is at least familiar with the new hire. Set up a team lunch on the first day so everyone can share their roles and connect. Share stories and talk about experiences and do what you can to make this individual feel welcome.

Be a good manager
Show your commitment by being a good leader. Ask them to start a bit later on their first day to give yourself time to get organized before they show up for work. Managers should be available to answer questions, plan a training schedule, set up meetings to talk about progress. They should also be the company culture guru and let new hires know where to park, the best places to eat, what the work flow is like, and when people come and go. Be honest and set up realistic expectations and most importantly prepare goals for every milestone in the first two to three months that are realistic and achievable.

Just make sure you are going above and beyond to make them feel welcome. If they are sitting by themselves filling out paperwork you cannot expect them to stick around if that is the best welcome and first impression you have to offer.

And don’t be left wondering how your newest employees really feel about their new role. Ask them using an Onboarding survey. Our InsightONBOARD new hire survey system was designed to give you the insight you need to know if you have made a good first impression. It also lets you know how well the job matches your new hire’s expectations. It can also reveal weaknesses in your recruiting process.
We have helped thousands of new companies keep their new hires and would love to help you. To find out how our employee survey can measure employee opinions in your organization and provide you with the diagnostics to see what change is needed, give us a call at 866-802-8095 ext. 705 or send us an email at info@insightlink.com.

To read the SHRM Foundation report visit: http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/documents/onboarding%20epg-%20final.pdf