Hiring Masterclass Part 4: Successful Onboarding

Over the past few weeks, we've taken a practical and easy-to-understand look into the recruitment process. We started the series by looking at ways you can attract more candidates and following that - we discussed some considerations for interviewing candidates. In the last blog, we explored some tips to consider - when selecting the best candidate for the role. Today, we're at the end of the recruitment process and will look at how you can ensure the successful onboarding of your new hire

Key Takeaways

1. Onboarding your new hire is also a great way of getting them comfortable in their role and confident to start performing and engaging with other staff 

2. How you onboard your new hire is dependent on the type of job they will be doing and should inform the type of onboarding process you use

3. A great onboarding process helps the new hire become acclimated to the organisation, and facilitates relationship building between employees

What is onboarding?

In human resources, onboarding is defined as "the process of familiarizing a new employee with the organisation." It is a process that begins from the moment an offer is made to the employee and is ongoing until the employee becomes a productive member of the organisation and department.

Source: www.spiceworks.com

Why is onboarding important? 

Onboarding new employees is an essential foundation for determining their success at your company. It is an in-practise guidebook which helps your new hire integrate into the company, learn about your systems, infrastructure, regulations, culture, values and more about their role & expectations on their deliverables. 

Onboarding your new hire is also a great way of getting them comfortable in their role and confident to start performing and engaging with other staff. 

Onboarding 101

Human Resources studies have produced a wide range of literature that deals with onboarding, what this process should entail, how long it must be and what criteria it should meet. However, many organisations have had to adjust how they work over the past 2-3yrs, and through this adjustment learn newer and easier ways of ensuring successful onboarding. 

The thing to remember with onboarding is to not over-complicate things, start small and ramp up the process in small but progressive steps. What this will do is keep your new hire engaged, open to learning more and not overwhelmed by too much information too quickly - which can have adverse effects on their expectations of the role and affect their willingness to stay & enjoy the experience of a new job. 

How you onboard your new hire is dependent on the type of job they will be doing, effectively meaning that not all onboarding processes will be the same. Some may take longer, some may require extensive product training, and some may even require testing on certain aspects of the job. However, its importance remains the same - when your goal is to ensure that your new hire is successful in their role. 

Five practical tips for successful onboarding, from HR thought-leaders

1-Have all working tools and infrastructure ready on day 1

Some people hit the ground running and want to perform right away. To do so, they need access to the tools and resources they will need. By ensuring this, you also give your new hire confidence in your company and its processes. - Purdeep Sangha, Sangha Worldwide

2-Provide information on company policies and benefits

Provide comprehensive information about policies and employee benefits on the employee's first day in the organisation. The training session or materials should include everything from compliance to insurance to tax liabilities to company policies on leaves and diversity and inclusion. In this step, also have the employee sign all the compliance forms that formally validate them as members of the organisation. -  Puja Lalwani Editor, Toolbox HR

3-Customise onboarding for each new Hire

Any new hire is chosen for what they bring to the table. That said, they need to understand the context better to start creating value. - DN Prasad, GovTech, Singapore

4-Provide role clarity

What exactly is an employee expected to do as part of their job? A breakdown of all their daily tasks is essential to help them gain clarity about their role and give them the tools to start developing their way of doing things. - Puja Lalwani Editor, Toolbox HR

5-Help them transition into your cultural norms

We've recently spoken about the importance of organisational culture and how it can help attract new candidates, while also retaining existing employees. With that said, it is also important to remember that onboarding is not limited to the technical aspects of the new role; it also includes a successful transition into the organisation’s cultural norms. 

When developing the ideal onboarding strategy for new hires at any level, consider what resources and relationships are critical to their understanding of the written and unwritten norms for operating successfully within your organization. - Sheila Carmichael, Transitions D2D, LLC

In addition, onboarding is not only associated with new employees. When current employees move laterally into new roles, we use the term cross boarding. This is the same as onboarding, however, excludes factors such as training on company policies, structures and culture as they may already be familiar with these.  

So whether you are onboarding or cross boarding - keep in mind the benefits of doing so for the employee and the organisation. It helps your new hire adjust to their new role better and ensures you - the hiring manager, the peace of mind of knowing that you've set up your new hire for success in the organisation. 

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