Recruitment and retention get a lot of attention in work today. Yet, one of the most important factors in the success of companies and employees alike begins from the first day an employee starts with your company.

The onboarding process can have profound effects on how employees view your company, how successful they are at their job, whether they want to stay and grow at your company, and how they speak about your company to others.

Onboarding is an excellent opportunity for businesses to introduce new employees to their role, the work culture and the company itself. A successful process can engender new employees to your company for years to come, as they feel comfortable, confident and supportive come day one.

Below, we provide five tips for onboarding new employees to ensure your success throughout the process.

Start Before They Start

Companies that are proactive with their onboarding process set themselves and their new employees up for success. This means starting the process before the employee even steps foot into your building for their first day.

After employees have been extended a job offer and have accepted it, you can send them an introductory message via email that confirms their start date and time as well as the location they should report to.

Include any information and documents they’ll need to have with them for their first day, and provide them new employee forms so they can fill them out in advance. You can also provide them with a sample agenda or schedule for what they can expect for the first day and/or week, as well as a copy of your employee handbook for them to review.

All of this information will ensure that your new employees are as prepared as possible to hit the ground running when they arrive for their first day. It also shows them that you are organized and care about their success.

Give a Tour

On the first day, have someone designated to give new employees a tour of your workplace. Show them not just where they’ll work but also the entire building — including break/lunch rooms, bathrooms, kitchen and other places they might frequent.

Show them where different people’s offices are located, where they can go if they have any questions and anything else that would make them feel more comfortable navigating your office. The tour will also give you an opportunity to introduce the new employees to all the key people with whom they’ll have frequent interactions.

For remote employees, it is very important to have a face-to-face video call, which establishes better rapport. You should also include as many people as makes sense on the call to make them feel comfortable and bridge the gap.

Allow Them to Set Up

After completing required paperwork, giving them a tour and making introductions, it’s important to allow new employees to get settled in their new workspace. Let them sit down at their desk or station, and set it up how they think they might use it.

Provide them with whatever login credentials they’ll need to access your systems, and give them a basic rundown of how it all works. Once you do this, give them sufficient time to get comfortable on their own, browse around the systems and figure out what they might need at their desk to help them, if anything.

Set Up a Manager Meeting

After taking a break for lunch, set up a face-to-face meeting with their direct manager. That person might already have been involved in some of the steps explained above, but this will be a separate time dedicated to discussing the work at hand.

During this meeting, the manager can discuss with the new employee what their job description is as well as the expectations of them, as well as answer any questions the employee might have about it.

From there, the manager can set goals with the employee to give them an idea of what’s expected of them. It’s especially important to set tangible, realistic goals for the first few weeks of a person’s employment so they know whether they’re on track.

Set an End-of-Week Follow-Up

You’ll be throwing a lot of information at new employees on their first few days on the job, so it’s important to let things settle a bit before you circle back with them. It’s also important to schedule a follow-up meeting with them to recap everything at the end of the first week.

This meeting should be held between the manager and employee, allowing the manager to review what has happened in that first week and giving the employee a chance to provide feedback or ask questions, too.

Managers can review progress toward goals, set new ones if necessary and clarify anything that’s unclear. This will help the new employee go into the weekend feeling valued and supported, so they’re ready to come back after their break so the transition to the new role is as successful as possible.

Beckham Ellis Insurance Group Helps Support Businesses with New Hires

Onboarding is a vital part of the hiring process, ensuring that new employees feel valued, supported and part of the team. Launching a successful onboarding process sets up your new employees to be as successful as possible.

At Beckham Ellis Insurance Group, we help support businesses in the South Carolina and Georgia region in many ways. From creating robust employee benefits programs to other HR duties such as onboarding processes, our team has years of experience supporting companies just like yours.

To learn more, please contact us today.