Learn how to deploy an onboarding programme that gives new employees the best possible start at your company.

Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into a company and its culture, giving them the tools and information they need to become a valued and productive member of staff. Often confused with orientation, onboarding is not actually a one-time event but a series of events – including orientation – which help the employee understand how to be successful in their new job.

That might sound like a smart and practical idea but research shows that companies regularly get onboarding wrong. For instance, 88% of employees state their organisation didn’t offer a good onboarding experience and 22% of companies don’t even have a structured onboarding process. But why should business go to the effort of rolling out a programme in the first place?

Benefits to your company

The advantages of an onboarding programme are both short- and long-term. In the short run, new employees will be more self-confident, offer greater productivity, and fit into the company better.

In the long term, the effects are more profound; rolling out a structured onboarding programme means 69% of employees are more likely to stay with the organisation for three years. In fact, great onboarding can improve employee retention by 82% while a poor strategy doubles an organisation’s chances of experiencing increased staff churn. By deploying an effective onboarding programme, the organisation will retain key talent instead of incurring the costs associated with replacing a departing employee.

The 4 Cs

To create an effective onboarding programme, there are four Cs that should be considered according to Dr Bauer from the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation (SHRM), a non-profit organisation providing research-based HR solutions to improve workforce and workplace transformation. These four Cs are:

Compliance

Make sure the new employee gets to know the essential company rules, policies and legal procedures and introduce them to the dress code and the clock-in procedures as well as any relevant regulations like confidentiality requirements and safety regulations.

Clarification

Give the employee a summary of the company’s structure, providing them with information about who is in charge of what and to whom they should report.

Culture

Introduce the new hire to the ‘norms’ of the organisation, both the official and the unspoken ones. Also ensure they know about the company’s work ethic and if appropriate, the type of leadership they can expect.

Connection

This relates to networking and building relationships; introduce the new employee to as many co-workers as possible and include them in as many formal and informal activities as possible. Another option to consider is the assignment of a mentor or buddy who they can turn to with any questions or issues.

Most onboarding processes make the mistake of only focusing on compliance and clarification issues, ignoring company culture and connection-making entirely. According to Dr Bauer, this type of programme is called ‘passive onboarding’ and misses out on the crucial onboarding processes designed to help the new employee transition into the workplace.

Instead, companies should aim for ‘high potential onboarding’, which covers culture and connections and are somehow effective at compliance and clarification. To ensure you cover all the four Cs and reach the best level, ‘proactive onboarding’, follow these steps:

Welcome aboard!

Before implementing the onboarding programme, consider its basic structure – for instance, when will it start and how long will it last? While 77% of onboarding programmes last three months or less, it is recommended they should last up to a year.

Before the first day

A great onboarding programme actually starts before the new hire’s first day through maintaining consistent contact. For instance, consider sending a welcome email to their personal mail address, encouraging them to ask questions and introducing them to new future team members and managers. Also tell the new hire before they start where to park, who to ask for in the lobby and what to bring for work (if necessary).

At this point, also encourage your team members to reach out to the new hire and set up a new workspace in time for their arrival. By using special onboarding software, you can also process the paperwork for the new employee ahead of time, saving valuable time and resources. Organisations that offer such software are for example BambooHR or Namely.

The first day

To ensure the employee is given a warm welcome, connect them with their co-workers on their first day and buy them lunch so they feel valued from the start. Furthermore, give your new employee ‘role clarity’ and train them in any office technologies they may be unfamiliar with.

Ideally, you should have already set up any accounts they need such as their corporate email address. You can also designate a mentor or buddy at this point who can answer their questions and offer guidance; 87% of organisations say that buddy programs help boost the new hire’s proficiency.

The first week

Within the first week, you should introduce the newbie to the stakeholders: managers, head of department, clients they are going to work with, etc. Help the new hire get comfortable in their new work environment and ensure they understand everything – don’t be tempted to take shortcuts or gloss over information. Remember, by deploying an effective onboarding programme, research shows 49% of new employees will already be contributing to their team by this point.

After the first week, you can also ask for feedback from the employee. Ask them if the first day met their expectations and whether they are struggling with any technology or processes. Also ask the new hire if they have all the necessary tools to get their job done and take some time out with them to talk about their strategic goals.

The first month

After the first week, the programme shouldn’t be wound down – even if 38% of onboarding programmes do at this point. This is actually the ideal time for the employee to gain deeper insights into your company. To achieve this, continue to provide training about job duties and company policies, but also impart more information about the company’s culture. While the first week might primarily be about getting to know everything, this period is all about getting work done – so set clear expectations for the new hire’s day-to-day responsibilities, and explain how their performance will be measured.

After a few months

Although many companies stop their onboarding programme after the first month, it actually takes eight months for a new employee to reach their full productivity.

Bear in mind that the ‘honeymoon’ phase will now be over and the new employee may find themselves struggling with their work for many reasons: unclear expectations, a lack of direction, maybe even feelings of isolation. You must be prepared for this – ask the employee for feedback such as what part of the onboarding process was most helpful and what they wish they had known in their first week. Perhaps there’s also something that they wanted to know by now – but still don’t?

Also continue to set goals and define expectations. Follow up on any training but also consider less work-related pursuits such as formal or informal team-building activities. Help increase your employee’s knowledge too and encourage them to develop a growth mindset. For instance, consider creating a reading list to sporadically send out to new and existing employees. This could include training materials, interesting articles or essential books.

General tips

During the onboarding process, always provide clear and consistent channels of communication. Be available for the new employee and present information in easily digestible amounts. To set them up for success early on, use milestones to gauge your new hire’s achievements. Also, reinforce the company brand and highlight the positives of your corporate culture.

Consider a mixture of standard and individualised onboarding elements so you aren’t required to create a new programme every time a new employee is hired. For the standard elements, highlight corporate values, mission and culture in combination with elements such as employment paperwork and company policies and procedures. You can also include info about key business processes and details on important people as well as organisational charts in a welcome handbook or email.

The more individualised elements can then be added to this basic programme (depending on the department). Consider introducing the employee to their specific workplace environment and culture – for instance, working on the factory floor differs hugely to working within an office space. Also explain the new hire’s role within the company’s strategy and give them a customised learning plan and list of objectives.

Get Started

Now you know what a great onboarding programme should consist of, roll out your own or adapt your existing one. Whatever the case, when it’s time to start hiring, contact global recruitment agency Tunnicliffe Hunt here to find the ideal employee for that vacancy.