Do you offer onboarding for your new hires? How does it work out? How robust is your onboarding program?
The Importance of Having a Good Onboarding Program
Research shows that most companies offer new employee orientation. But many organizations don’t go far enough. The result can be that new employees don’t reach productivity quick enough, causing stress and additional overtime among other workers. And, particularly if the new hire doesn’t feel socially comfortable or connect with colleagues, you might lose the individual shortly after he/she starts the job. After all, many recent hires still have résumés out on the market, and may be looking to net further offers. And if they haven’t planted deep roots yet, there may not be a lot to keep those new hires at your organization.
What to Include in Your Onboarding Program
As part of their onboarding of new employees, most companies include things like:
- An office tour
- Benefits & payroll information
- Policies and procedures
- Meeting the staff.
But beyond that, does your organization cover these?
- Your organization’s mission, vision, and values
- Information about your competitors
- The employee’s job description and performance targets
- An overview of the organizational chart
- The new hire’s training schedule?
If you used assessment to select your new hire, how about going over the results to provide a roadmap of strengths to accentuate and perhaps a challenge or two to work on for development.
These additions can help make your onboarding program more robust and effective.
In addition, have you considered assigning a peer mentor to help acclimate the new employee socially? Feeling comfortable in a new organization — and perhaps in a new city — is an important factor in whether your new hire plans to stay with your organization.
Another point to consider is the new employee’s family life. If the individual has a spouse or partner, does that person feel comfortable in their new city? If his/her family never connects with the city, you might lose a great employee, even if they’re doing well in the office.
All of the above ideas take extra time and effort beyond the standard Day 1 office tour. But investing that time and effort into your onboarding program might be the difference that leads to an employee investing their own time and effort back into your organization, leading to higher engagement and lower turnover among your staff. Good luck!
