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One of the biggest reasons new employees don’t stay with a company is terrible onboarding. Although this happened years and years ago, I still vividly remember starting a new job, where the absence of any effort at onboarding still resonates with me. I finished the orientation (which is different from onboarding, by the way). When I reported to the department where I would be working, the supervisor showed me my desk, where my phone was, and left. That was it. Just "Here's your computer, here's your phone," and gone. I sat there, staring at a blank computer screen, wondering what I was supposed to do next. I didn't know my login credentials. I didn't know anyone who sat near me or who I had as a resource. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I didn’t even know where the bathroom was. The lady in the cubicle closest to me must have felt my frustration (likely hearing deep sighs and under my breath mumbling about what a mistake I had made taking a job at this company) and, through the cubicle wall, introduced herself and started giving me tips on how to find the information I needed to do my job. To say that it wasn't a great start to my tenure is a huge understatement.
I was fortunate enough to work my way to a manager position at that company. I introduced and incorporated training and onboarding into our department's new hire protocols. I'm 100% positive that my experience spurred my desire to change the experience for future hires. From that point forward, I have always worked toward continually refining the onboarding processes for every organization I worked for after that.
Onboarding is one of those things that paint the picture of what it will be like working for a company right out of the gate. A great onboarding experience sets up a new employee to have their decision to join a company reaffirmed and start their tenure on a productive and positive note. They lean into the position more engaged, excited, motivated, and ready to be a collaborative and contributing part of the great organization they had the good fortune to find and be hired by. Conversely, a poor onboarding experience leaves new employees questioning if they made the right decision. It starts their tenure with disappointment and doubt. It takes a lot, A LOT, for an employee to overcome a negative onboarding experience; often, they don't. A bad onboarding experience leads to lower productivity, higher turnover, and lower engagement. Regret and disappointment are not the first-day emotions that you hope to elicit from a new hire.
So, what does good onboarding look like? For me, it's interaction and interface. Think about the time spent recruiting a great candidate. If your recruiting effort is robust but fizzles at hire, you have an onboarding problem. After the offer is accepted, don't leave your new employee floating alone in the empty space of waiting for one job to end and the next to begin. Maintain the excitement of joining a new organization by continuing to communicate with your new employees. I like to have my team reach out to the new hire and welcome them to the organization. This creates a sense of excitement and welcome for the employee and allows current employees an opportunity to be an essential part of the onboarding process. I have had so many new employees tell me they couldn't believe the number of people who reached out before they even started to welcome them to the company. Do you know what else they said? That no other company they worked for in the past ever did that. They were treated differently as new employees before they even walked in the door. That pays dividends, my friend. It pays dividends.
I also send a welcome email that gives them their new company contact information and the contact information for their team. Again, it's an intentional and meaningful integration for the new employee into their team and the company. I always give my personal contact information, not just my work number, because I want them to know I will be available to help them integrate into my organization. I am their liaison; I will hold their hand and walk them to class, so to speak. They feel supported and not alone. Joining a new company and starting a new job is often accompanied by anxiety. I help minimize the anxiety and build excitement. I create a positive experience before they even walk in the door to start work.
What can you do to enhance your new hire onboarding? Lots of things. Easy things.
When new employees start, give them a great tour, highlighting exceptional things about your company. This continues to feed the excitement and optimism they are feeling and familiarize them with their new work home. Don't give a tour that feels obligatory. Use this opportunity to show your new team member how your office shines. See the break area? We offer free drinks and snacks. And we have birthday cake every month. See the office services area? We have an exceptional team to support your efforts, especially those huge discovery efforts! See that conference room? That's where our charity team meets to coordinate fundraisers for local charities; you should totally join that team! They would love to have a great new member!
Make their new office or work area feel welcoming. Have everything ready and set up. Nothing is worse than someone sitting at their desk on the first day, their credentials aren’t set up, half the software is still missing from their computer, and you had to borrow a chair from a conference room for them to sit in. Having their space ready is essential to their successful and positive integration into your organization. Have a welcome gift and a note saying you're happy they are part of your team. I always try to make the gift something branded with my company’s logo. Folks love having branded items when they are excited about the company. These little efforts make a big difference, so take the time to prepare for their arrival and meet them enthusiastically.
Introduce them to everyone. Current employees are always curious about the new kid and want to be included in their onboarding. Engage great employees to be part of your onboarding process. Have them do some of the introductions. It earns buy-in for your current employees and starts building relationships with the new employee. Again, select folks who emanate positivity, not the gal who complains about everything, including the free breakfasts every Monday. She's not the person you want to be the ambassador for your company. Choose people who volunteer for different committees; they will be great advertisements for opportunities within the company. Have a charity committee? Have someone on that team introduce new employees to the entire charity group. Have a training team? Do a group introduction so your new employee gets to meet the team that will help them learn the ropes. Introduce your new employee to your leadership. New team members need to be welcomed by the leaders in your organization. It speaks volumes to the new hire.
Take the new employee to lunch. Include the immediate team or a leader. It gives them some downtime to learn a little more about the organization, and it gives them a different opportunity to build rapport with a new co-worker. If you are a small group, plan a team lunch. Make sure you create opportunities to introduce the new employee to as many of their team members as possible and make sure you make them feel welcome.
You will have new hire training (you absolutely SHOULD have new hire training!!!). Make it innovative and varied. Nothing is worse than spending x number of days listening to a floating head drone on and on about some procedure or department the new employee will have to deal with. Your training team should be enthusiastic and positive. They should have different ways to deliver information because people learn differently. Be prepared for that. Have some practical application training available. If you train on software and show the new employee how to use it, finish up the training by letting the new employee spend some one-on-one time in the software. They'll learn their way around much better if they can see and touch it versus watching you. Create unique onboarding materials in a variety of formats. Create a welcome video for your new employee. Create eBooks for their onboarding documents (employee handbook, benefits guide, etc.). They can keep it electronically, highlight or make notes about sections they find that are important to them, and it's readily available. Create an orientation guide. It differs from the employee policies and procedures detailed in the handbook. Instead, it shows them the ropes about the day-to-day stuff they need to know.
Announce them as a new employee on your social media sites. This serves a couple of purposes. It shows the new employee that the company is excited that they are now part of the team and reinforces the positive, welcoming brand you are creating. It will also give them something to share on their social media because they will be proud to have received the welcome and want to share that with their connections or friends. This spreads your onboarding brand to others. It also shares your business with connections who may not have otherwise known about you. Most important is the goodwill it creates with your new employee.
So, if you don’t have a great onboarding protocol in place, get to it. You are undoing all the work you put into hiring a great candidate. Start their tenure on a very high note, and it will pay dividends in terms of engagement and tenure.
And if you want to put together an onboarding program for your organization and you aren’t sure where to start, call Peak Elevation! We can help you put together quality onboarding materials, handbooks, orientation guides, eBooks, welcome videos, onboarding videos, and defined, consistent onboarding processes. We understand the importance of a positive onboarding experience for the employee lifecycle, and we want to help you create a one-of-a-kind integration into your organization.
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