Three Ways to Make Your Onboarding Process More Welcoming
You’ve just hired a promising candidate, and the fact that they’ve accepted your job offer means that they’re as excited to work with you as you are with them. The next step, is to make sure they feel like part of the team. Your company’s onboarding process is essentially the first impression a new candidate will get of your team, so it’s important to make it as perfect and smooth as possible.
Check out our three tips below on how to do a better job of onboarding employees.
Map out a smooth chain of command
There are few things as off putting as an organisation without a clear and precise chain of command. Worth’s op-ed piece on what businesses can learn from military leaders highlights just how vital it is for those in management to lead by example.
A new employee might take some time to learn the ropes, so giving them an idea of who to approach for certain issues can give them some clarity. It’s very important that every point of contact is welcoming, and to make sure you keep an eye on them to see how the new employee is managing. Creating open channels early on makes a newcomer feel like their contributions and concerns are valuable, this helps managers and other colleagues to see how well they’re getting on.
Revisit the idea of a background check
Familiarising yourself with a new hire beforehand can help you and the rest of the team make significant connections right from the start. Comeet’s guide to effective hiring notes that background checks, should be done even during the recruitment process to ensure that a candidate is a good match.
This will reveal very important details such as criminal record history and past employment. A background check is needed to screen candidates, and revisiting their data during the onboarding process is an opportunity to get to know the employee on a more personal level. Check their cover letter and resumes to see if any interests are mentioned, as noticing these small details will help a new hire feel immediately welcome.
Put them into part of a team
Relating to the first point, introducing your new hire into a team can help them get to know the other people in the company. As mentioned in our guide to Hiring Employees More Effectively, team effort works best when it comes to finding a new member of the company, the same can be said for onboarding. Getting a new employee started on group work shows that interpersonal connections are very important, and that each employee is part of a bigger support system rather than just being left alone.
Team placements are also valuable for remote workers, as they’re able to feel like they’re part of a group despite the lack of physical interaction. Whether it’s Skype meetings or physical meet ups, organising your company into smaller teams helps minimise the potential feelings of isolation or awkwardness that come with getting used to a new environment. Effective on boarding isn’t just about following protocol, it’s an opportunity to truly welcome your new member to the team and build good working relationships that will help the company move forward.