12 Steps To Make New Hire Onboarding A Success

Use These Tips To Increase Retention Rates And Boost Employee Engagement 

Finding suitable candidates for your open positions can be challenging. You’ve worked diligently to create a recruitment process that attracts the best talent and craft each job description just right to ensure you extend the job offer to the ideal candidate. 

But HR professionals like you know that finding the right employee is only half the battle. 

Your company must execute an effective onboarding process that will help the new employee feel comfortable with their new role and set them up for success. 

After all, companies with high-quality onboarding programs have retention rates that are 82% higher than a company with a bare-bones process. 

And new hires who attend highly structured onboarding sessions are 69% more likely to remain at the company for at least three years. 

Good onboarding practices not only benefit new hires and employee retention rates and help hiring managers and your HR team streamline the hiring process. 

Let’s take a look at twelve steps you can take to craft an effective onboarding program and reduce the workload for your HR team so they can focus their energy on other essential tasks.

1. Save Time By Finding A Platform To Automate The Onboarding Process 

Your human resources team has a lot of responsibilities outside of new employee onboarding. 

Additionally, many companies are adding more work-from-home positions, meaning your team must also train and onboard remote employees. 

So hiring managers must find ways to streamline the onboarding process to allow their HR professionals more time to spend on essential tasks. 

Look for a training and development platform with an easy-to-use interface that allows your team to keep track of onboarding progress and requirements. 

This will reduce the amount of manual work your HR team will need to do, freeing them up for other essential tasks and responsibilities. It will also keep your new employee informed and on track to complete the onboarding process. 

2. Set Goals For Your Company’s Onboarding Program 

Before you optimize your onboarding process, you’ll need to identify what your team hopes to achieve. 

Identify the overarching values and ideal goals you hope to achieve with your new hires. 

Is your organization looking to increase employee retention rates? What components of your company culture are essential for new hires to know? What does a cohesive team look like to your brand? 

By answering these questions ahead of time, you’ll be able to better formulate an effective onboarding program. 

3. Obtain Buy-In From Stakeholders By Asking The Right Questions 

Before overhauling your new hire onboarding process, you’ll need to ensure the stakeholders, such as existing employees and members of upper management, are fully supportive of the program. 

Send a survey that asks key questions that will help you formulate the most successful onboarding program. 

Here are some helpful questions you can include: 

• What first impressions are most important on the first day? 

• What should new hires know about the work environment and company culture? 

• How long should onboarding last? 

• What things do you wish you had known when starting with this company? 

• What role will each team member play in the onboarding process? 

• How should we gather feedback?

• What metrics should we track to evaluate the program’s success? 

Once you’ve obtained feedback for these questions, your human resources team can work with upper management to devise an onboarding program that will allow new employees to acclimate to your company’s policies and culture quickly. 

4. Identify Key Information Every New Hire Needs To Know On Their First Day

Is there anything more frustrating than arriving on your first day of work and not having immediate computer access, a desk, or a place to store your belongings? 

Prevent stress by preparing essential information for new hires before their first day with your company. 

Create an onboarding checklist that includes their company email, computer log-ins, necessary apps, phone extensions, and other important information. 

Prepare their workspace with everything they will need, such as office supplies, a chair, and other items to make the area inviting. 

This will allow them to be ready to hit the ground running without the awkwardness of feeling like a guest rather than a team member. 

5. Craft The Perfect Welcome Email 

Email marketing isn’t just for customer acquisition. The right welcome message will make a great first impression and help new employees learn names, faces, and company policies. 

You can use an email welcome template to make the process easier, but be sure to include the following information to really make your welcome email shine:

• Welcome messages from new team members

• Employee photos 

• A friendly note from management 

• Information about their start date and where they should report

• A glossary of commonly used terms and acronyms

• A virtual employee handbook 

• Details about the new hire’s role, responsibilities, and job description 

Some of this information may be outlined in the offer letter, but it can’t hurt to reiterate it. 

Look for automation software that will allow you to craft, schedule, and send welcome emails without having to draft a new one each time. 

The clearer the picture you paint in your welcome email, the more comfortable new hires will feel as they learn the ins and outs of their new job. 

6. Streamline And Frontload The New Hire Paperwork Process 

New-hire paperwork can be overwhelming for employees and your HR team. So hiring managers like you must find ways to streamline the process. 

Use a new-hire portal to allow new employees to fill out essential paperwork and preview employee training modules ahead of time. 

Implementing digital paperwork will also allow you to create an efficient organizational system that will make finding the right documents easy, especially if your company is facing an audit. 

7. Meticulously Plan The New Employee’s First Week 

Your new hires are anxious to get started, but sometimes downtime can be stressful, especially if they don’t yet understand their new role or what is expected of them. 

Craft an agenda that will outline what your new hires can expect on their first week with the company.

Will they attend employee training meetings or have a set list of tasks that need to be accomplished that day? Who will guide them through these activities? Where will they eat lunch? 

By planning out what your new hires’ day one will look like, you’ll create a welcoming atmosphere and reduce common first-day jitters for everyone. 

8. Use Technology To Elevate The Employee Onboarding Experience 

It’s no secret that technology is a part of our everyday lives. Harness its power by crafting engaging content and hosting webinars and webcasts. 

These online events will allow new hires to consume training information on their own time in a low-pressure environment. 

Additionally, if you pre-record these components, you can reuse them in the future, saving your HR team valuable time when onboarding new hires. 

9. Schedule One-On-One Supports For Each New Hire

Onboarding programs that incorporate mentorships boast a 50% better employee retention rate than programs that do not. 

So identify employees who can show new hires the ropes and help them build valuable connections within the organization. 

Choose individuals who uphold company values and are willing to dedicate time to help new employees integrate into the company. Ask them to schedule regular check-ins with their mentees so they feel comfortable asking questions and seeking clarification. 

Consider offering a small stipend or incentive to sweeten the deal. 

10. Focus On Employee Engagement 

Employee satisfaction starts on the first day of employment. So ensure your onboarding process focuses on employee engagement. 

Incorporate gamification, social media hashtags, and fun extras like gifts with your company logo to show your employees that you care about them as people. 

11. Develop A Training Program For The New Hire’s First Month 

Onboarding is more than just getting new hires through the first day or week on a new job. 

Essential training sessions, such as compliance, company procedures, and best practices, must be offered over time to ensure participants absorb the required information. 

Focus on crafting engaging virtual training sessions that help participants grasp key knowledge that will help them be successful in their new role. 

Use the feedback you received from existing employees and upper management to ensure you choose the right topics. 

The more relevant your training sessions, the more likely participants will retain the information. 

12. Evaluate Metrics For The First Year Of Your Revamped Onboarding Program 

The best way to know whether or not your onboarding program is effective is to track specific metrics. Track these particular areas to test the success and effectiveness of your onboarding program: 

• Turnover and retention rates 

• Workflow vs. productivity 

• Performance measures 

• Employee engagement 

• Employee feedback/focus groups

Revisit company goals to see if your program has met them. Send out another survey asking for feedback from your program participants. 

These insights can help you work out areas of the onboarding process that may need to be fixed for future new hires. 

BeaconLive Can Enhance And Streamline Your Employee Onboarding Process 

Employee onboarding aims to help new hires acclimate to their new role and use their unique skill set to make their mark on the company. 

If your onboarding process is lacking, your human resources team may be scrambling to get the job done on top of their other responsibilities. 

BeaconLive knows what it takes to streamline onboarding operations. Our user-friendly interface makes it easy to track onboarding progress and helps companies reduce the need for manual tasks that clog your employee’s workflow. 

Contact us today to find out how we can help your company optimize and streamline its onboarding process. 

References: 

Kolmar, C. (2022, September 26). 17 INCREDIBLE ONBOARDING STATISTICS [2022]: HR TRENDS IN HIRING, TRAINING, AND RETENTION. Zippia: The Career Expert. https://www.zippia.com/advice/onboarding-statistics/

Wolverton, M. (2022, July 18). 3 WAYS MENTORING HELPS CREATE SUCCESSFUL ONBOARDING PROGRAMS. Mentor CliQ. https://www.mentorcliq.com/blog/onboarding-programs