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Five steps to get employees onboard at all levels

Oct 18, 2022

Onboarding is one of the first signs of success for a new hire -- and for your company in general. Studies conducted by Brandon Hall Group suggests that a strong onboarding program will increase employee retention by 82 percentage and improve productivity up to 70 percentage.

The days of it was just a short office tour and lunch with the new staff. Onboarding documents video, training materials, as well as other tools help employees feel welcome and comfortable at a new company -- even when working from home.

To fully understand employee onboarding and creating a more connected workforce, we spoke with Ali Gross, Director of employee Experience. In this article, we'll walk you through the fundamentals of employee onboarding, the reasons it's important, and ways to create an onboarding program that makes every employee successful.

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What exactly is the employee onboarding procedure?

According to Ali Onboarding, according to Ali "the method of getting an employee who is new to your organization."

Employees onboard in two key ways: via cultural acclimatization as well as within the context of their job so that they can complete the work they were hired for.

"Onboarding begins from when an offer is made to the employee up to when the employee is an active member of the organization," shared Ali. In other words, from the time an employee is a member of your company -- even prior to their new job for the first time- they're officially being onboarded.

Managers are typically scheduled to have periodic introductions (like individual meetings or checks-ins) for the team's new members while facilitating exposure to different teams.

"The manager's role is to ensure the new team member has a clear onboarding roadmap in order to help them perform their duties," said Ali. "Managers could also provide the onboarding buddy or mentor to each new employee for guidance.

What is the look of onboarding from the perspective of an employee?

While this process varies between departments, companies and roles in particular the majority of new employees are assigned key projects to make their jobs and the beginning of their onboarding experience enjoyable right from the beginning.

The following plan of action will result in an optimum level of engagement, camaraderie within the team, as well as a favorable first impression of the company. The positive effects can last for years when a new worker feels that they are able to have an immediate impact.

When an employee is finished with their first day or week with your company and concludes that "I made the right decision," your onboarding program is a success.

Why onboarding new employees is crucial

Some team leads and executives believe that an extended time of onboarding is inefficient and sluggish. After all, don't you want your employees to begin to learn about the job you've hired them to do?

But, what many managers seem to overlook is the fact that an extensive onboarding process is significantly better than high turnover.

Let's look at some other motives to onboard employees.

The onboarding process helps employees to learn and become productive faster

A new employee needs an average of 12 weeks before they can be productive at work. According to Ali, employee onboarding can improve new hire time in terms of productivity, and speed up learning.

While speed isn't the only measure of success but it's nonetheless important. Managers and employees alike are eager to start the job as fast as they can.

But diving into job functions too early can cause employees to start off in the wrong way, taking three steps forward and two steps back as they gather the context of their work and crucial information about the company as a whole.

Onboarding accelerates learning by providing an opportunity and time for employees to take in essential documentation and other resources.

As an example, some jobs like sales or customer service are requiring a lot of understanding of the company's products and services. Without time to learn and learn this knowledge, the new hires in those departments will struggle tremendously.

The Onboarding process helps employees adjust and establish their role in the organization

Ali added that onboarding can create a sense of belonging as well as drive adaptation.

The process of onboarding for employees gives a distinctive sense of community. I've been a member of some onboarding groups for myself and been awed by the camaraderie that is immediately apparent between my colleagues who are new to the company.

Additionally, being provided with and having time to learn from crucial resources could aid new employees in feeling like they're part of the organization. It happens more quickly through onboarding than it would when employees were forced to study on their own.

According to Ali the employee onboarding process helps answer, "What does it mean being Vimean? Vimean?" This question will determine what forms of documentation and tools are provided to new hires.

5 essential things to consider when planning for a great onboarding process

Every employee onboarding process will be different for each employee. There are however a few best guidelines and best practices to be aware of when designing the process for onboarding. We've detailed those below with the assistance from our expert in-house.

1. Prepare new hire necessities

"To ensure that our new employees are set on the right path to success We prepare the new hiring requirements including office space, equipment, and paperwork -- to ensure an easy transition into the business"" Ali said. Ali.

No matter if your new hire is going to be in your office or work from home, gather and send all office equipment as well as company swag well ahead of the day they begin. My rule of thumb is that you should have at minimum 1 week.

2. Make sure you have expectations set for the first day and week

With their tools New hires must have clearly defined expectations for their first day. "New employees' initiations begin with personalized getting started guides," said Ali.

For Vimeans, this guide includes the input of their supervisors on their most important people they'll work with, the most important events for them to be at as well as important department and team documentation, as well as the process of orienting them for the first few days of their employment.

Consider sending the information prior to their starting date for a couple of days at the very least. This will allow new hires to become familiar to the information ahead of time (if they wish to do so) in order that the start day doesn't feel too stressful.

3. Video can be added to communications with employees

4. Establish goals and communicate them to the process of onboarding

It's essential to inform new hires the reason they're undergoing the onboarding process both company and culturally. This lets employees set individual as well as interpersonal goals for their experience on the job.

For example, according to Ali, "'s orientation covers company culture and vision, and provides information over a variety of times during the learning process for the employee."

Incorporated into the cultural education at the product and departmental levels, employees are aware of what to expect from their initial weeks and months at your company.

5. Get feedback

Onboarding employees at every level must be a process that is continuous. No matter the size or the age of your business, actively getting feedback from your new employees is incredibly important.

Studies from Sapling shows that asking new employees for feedback about their onboarding experience could improve the employee-employer relationship by more than 90%. Accepting feedback from new employees could also boost chances that they'll refer your business to friends and colleagues.

We've already mentioned that the process of onboarding employees isn't only concerned with education or preparation. It's about creating an impression that is memorable for new employees, explaining the ways they can develop in their new position as well as ensuring they're confident in their decision to join your company.

Set employees up for success

"At  Vimeans, we strive to get Vimeans on the right path to success starting from day one." shared Ali. "We consider the process of onboarding as a new hire's first impression of and want to make sure that our employees feel secure, grounded and prepared to impress as they enter their new work environment."

You can do the same by implementing a solid and well-thought employee onboarding. Make use of the techniques and tools we've talked about here for onboarding new employees at every stage, and be sure to iterate on your program when you get feedback from your team.