Onboarding New Employees for High Performance and Staff Retention

Onboarding new employees is the HRM process of strategically designed with elements like grooming communication and interaction so new employees  can acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviors that ultimately convert them into value-generating team members ie, effective, engaged and long term workers. Research shows that effective onboarding can considerably reduce the rate of staff turnover among new employees.


Here are the key steps for effectively onboarding new employees.

• Reach out to new employees before the official start date. Some of the reasons for reaching out beforehand include the following.
• Explain their next action point(s) 
• Explain that (s)he will be required to undergo an onboarding process, what it involves, its duration and its review process. Some online workers are notoriously antisocial and prefer as minimal contact as possible and consider the expertise in their hard skills will suffice, when in reality, may not. Do this at a time when (s)he can still back out.
• Onboarding buddies may contact the new employee before the first day to complete some of the pre-work contact tasks.
• Get necessary details you need, perhaps for 
• a customizable welcome package (discussed below), 
• an online profile (which other team members may review even from the starting date and or any welcoming event)
• confirming time and agenda of the orientation process. 
• onboarding plan (and onboarding buddy, discussed below), the agendas for new employee's first day and first week at work. This shows thoughtful consideration that makes the company look more professional.
• directions, dress code for first day, security materials (like security clothing), things to (not) bring on the first day
• Inform the rest of the work team of the new arrival. In addition to introducing the hard credentials, also introduce the new recruit in a personal and relatable way that can encourage relationships with other employees. For instance, include fun facts like best vacations, pet information, favorite movies and so on.
• Get employee feedback from the rest of the team regarding how their earliest time with the company could have been better. They may also be able to suggest improvements.
• Train an onboarding buddy *** before the new employee's first day. An onboarding buddy is a workplace buddy selected from among existing employees who provides knowledge sharing to orient new employees. The buddy guides the new employee through the first few weeks or months on the job. A formal onboarding buddy system can become an unstructured knowledge base. For example, it can lead to a more efficient operation by helping the new employee get “up to speed” faster and even allow him or her to bring new ideas to the operation. Treat the recruitment and training for role with as much strategic and structured consideration as you would any other job. If done correctly, an onboarding buddy system can provide new employees with a positive early experience, and make him or her more likely to feel comfortable in the new role, maintain a confident attitude, understand the role faster than otherwise, become productive faster in the new role and stay with your company for a longer period of time. Ensure your buddies have the wherewithal to proceed as follows.
• Is a qualified company evangelist. For instance, the onboarding buddy should have a positive opinion of the corporate brand and therefore be able to encourage the same in the new employee, be willing to undertake the additional role (which should be reflected in the performance review) and should be able to discourage gossiping or other similarly negative behaviors within the relationship with the new employee.
• Knows the onboarding process, the goals and his or her role to this end.
• Can be perceived by the new employee as being approachable and trustworthy. For instance, the onboarding buddy should be a peer, ie versus a boss.
• Will be allowed sufficient time for training.
• Can teach and coach unfamiliar tasks and processes (as per the welcome package, discussed below). This may even involve role playing.
• Can demonstrate how to best  practices regarding the use of hardware, software, systems, accounts and so on.
• Can easily perform administrative tasks like obtaining office supplies, making travel arrangements, making plans for social and informal activities (like lunch) and so on.
• Can socialize the new employee on company's guidelines, norms, culture and even unwritten guidelines. 
• Have a backup onboarding buddy. Even if your onboarding buddy is absent, especially on the new employee's first day for whatever reason, illness or otherwise, consider it necessary to ensure that the new employee has an onboarding buddy.
• Deliver on your pre-hire promises. Although simple, this can easily break the much underrated 'psychological contract' between you and new recruits. For instance, even if the onboarding buddy falls sick on the new employee's day, someone else must step in.
• Provide a welcome package. The welcome package should ideally do the following. The onboarding buddy should be available to help with the new employee to go through this package.
• Ideal items for the onboarding welcome package vary. Here are some examples 
• items that are intrinsically related to the job and job performance. 
• very short and digestible information describing your corporate brand, core values, company's unique value proposition and how your new employee's job and each task contributes to it.
• expectations that include
• function-specific version of the brand style guidelines.
• a basic overview of job-specific processes (like deal stages aka the sales pipeline). Introduce jargon slowly.
• basic tour around the work environment, especially as it relates specifically to the new employee's job
• access to instructional material (without the unreasonable expectation the new employee can adequately digest all the details of hefty documents)
• work tools
• hardware (laptop, phone, keys, etc)
• company email address (along with the company's standard signature format)
• company live chat web page (along with shortcuts, profile and so on)
• An organizational chart with employee directory, including each employee’s phone number, email and username on the company messaging application.
• business cards
• items that promote your company's policies and branding
• an employee handbook or access to web pages to the electronic version.
• HR forms
• Employment contract
• Benefits forms
• Emergency contact form
• Confidentiality agreements
• Company policies acknowledgement

• stationary. Wherever possible, infuse elements of your branding. For instance, use every opportunity to highlight the company's unique value proposition.
• CDs, online videos and other digestible formats with a historical documentary and other information about the company
• If you can afford it, 'marketing swag', ie giveaway goods like branded t-shirts, caps and the like. Whenever possible, allow the freebies to reflect the brand's personality. For instance, if you are in the body building business, provide t-shirts with the logo and a catch phrase that represent your brand.
• Office map
• Avoid gestures that force unrealistic emotions like 'we can't wait for you to get here' cards that all team members sign. For many people, these gestures mean little as the people involved do not even know each other.
• Remember that first impressions matter. This even includes whether your onboarding process appears well organized, the care you take in introducing the new employee without still-unexplained company jargon and so on.
• Train new employees at a reasonable  and slow pace to ensure the new employee can learn the job in a meaningful way. This allows new employees to become productive faster than otherwise ... because they do not need to reinvent the wheel alone. Never attempt to cover everything immediately. New employees are likely to feel overwhelmed during the initial period in the new job and will need time to digest all the new information. Refer to the notes above regarding onboarding buddies ***.
• Consider using drip campaign techniques to teach new employees. However, such campaigns should be as customized as possible. For instance, have content for new employees at a certain onboarding stage and send only those items that specifically relate to the context and behavior of the individual.
• Schedule informal meetings with team members to allow for bonding.  Refer to the notes above regarding onboarding buddies ***.
• Give the new employees projects from the start. This includes even projects that are only splinters of the whole process they will eventually do.
• Hold 'lunch and learn' meetings and user-friendly resources for training.  Refer to the notes above regarding onboarding buddies ***.
• Schedule a review of the onboarding process. For instance, every so often, you can survey your new recruit for feedback of the onboarding process. See a sample of how you can ask new employees for feedback below. Be sure to take the requisite actions to remedy concerns new employees. Sample questions include the following.
• [Whenever possible, provide case examples for your statements, likes and dislikes.]
• How clear do you feel about the company's goals and understand how your role contributes to them.
• How well do you think your credentials will be utilized?
• How empowered do you feel? For instance, are your ideas valued.
• How accurately was the job described during the recruitment process?
• How useful was your orientation in preparing you to do a good job? For instance, how well trained were you and did you receive all of the necessary tools?
• How supported do you feel? For instance, are you receiving useful feedback and suggestions from an onboarding buddy? How invested does he or she seem to be in your success?
• How well do you understand how your performance will be evaluated?
• How reasonable are expectations regarding your performance?
• How welcome do you feel in the company?
• How may your experience be improved? If any, what potential problems do you see?
• Repeat this onboarding process for each new desired outcome or role. In other words, do not relate onboarding with only new people but also those new roles and outcomes. It is a strategic method of maximizing the potential for success of any plan. For instance, you may onboard existing employees in the practice of onboarding new customers correctly. 
• Good leaders considerably help in the retention of new recruits, even when the ongoing process did not go as well as it should have. Consequently, encourage good leadership skills and hold managers accountable for 'employee engagement' of new and other employees. For instance, use the Gallup q12 survey to measure this. Outside of the review after the fact, prepare your managers with employee engagement tips like the following.
• Ask opinions on processes (if the new employee already has experience or has already gained a sufficiently strong grasp of your process. Some new employees may be able to offer improvements to your current operation. However, avoid putting employees on the spot too soon if they are too new to the process).
• Show genuine interest in new recruits as individuals. Demonstrate that you are actively listening.
• Acknowledge their contributions.
• Demonstrate respect and trust.

CONTENT RELATED TO ONBOARDING NEW EMPLOYEES

• Before you plan the onboarding process, design and hold strategic job interviews for best recruitment success.
• Function-specific versions of the brand style guidelines should be included in the welcome onboarding package.
• Just as in Sales (which involves following sales pipelines), create a talent pipeline for the process that best converts new onboarding employees.
• What is your company's staff turnover rate? Staff turnover is the percentage of full-time employees who leave their organization (either voluntarily or non-voluntarily) within a given year. Example, if 2 of your 10 full time employees leave, your turnover rate is 20%.
• Hiring social media managers
• Allow new employees to see opportunities for career advancement and ways in which they may be helped to grow. Lack of this type of opportunity is a considerable reason for turnover that you can do something about. After all, some reasons are outside your immediate control like changes in the industry like retail becoming less centered around brick-and-mortar and more to being online.
• Set up new employees as users in your HubSpot CRM. Remember that your welcome package should also explain the implications of their registration in your CRM.
• Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment to act on behalf of the company and its goals, even with discretionary efforts. It should become a strong motivation for your onboarding efforts. (It should not be confused with intrinsic job satisfaction or extrinsic satisfaction. Staff picnics and nicer bathrooms will not cut it).
• Industries with the highest turnover and why
• In addition to the discussion above, HR Onboarding Management roles typically also include the following responsibilities
• Organizing orientation programs (day 1, week 1, month 1, quarter 1, etc)
• Creating and updating the employee handbook
• Monitor new hire turnover and retention rates
• Schedule and oversee training sessions
• Add new employees’ information to company’s payroll system
• Process employment paperwork
• Coordinate relocation procedures for expats
• Liaise with internal teams to create business accounts for new employees
• Introduce new employees to the corporate brand or 'personality'.
• Consider asking new employees for feedback on the onboarding experience. Here is sample script.
• Ensure new customers who you wish to become your evangelists share your core values. Well designed core values can be used as yardsticks for determining whether your new recruit is a good fit.
• Our goal is to offer a top-notch onboarding experience. Your feedback could help us considerably to know how well we are doing and what we need to change as we continue onboarding you. Please submit your feedback. Thanks.