A good and effective onboarding program limits the time it takes for an employee to be productive, reduces the stress levels of the new joiner by providing the information they need to get started and it builds stronger relationships internally and externally a lot faster than otherwise could be.
Onboarding has the second highest impact on employee engagement, recruitment being the activity with the highest impact, according to a Research by the Boston Consulting Group.
The urban legend states that the first 90 days of employment are ‘make or break’. And for once, the urban legend is true! But why are the first ninety days of an employee at your company so crucial to how things are going to go? It looks like a good beginning facilitates long term employee success.
Studies from the Society for Human Resource Management show that about 20 percent of employee turnover happens in the first 45 days of employment. That means that one of every five people who start a new job today is likely to have left that job within just three months.
During the first three months, you are establishing if the person is responding to your management style, has the expertise they sold during the interviews, if there is any excessive absenteeism if they are good managers and build relationships with the rest of the staff and with external stakeholders. All of these things need to be monitored during the probation period
If you really have a great 90 days plan for someone to start off with, you can determine very quickly if this person is a fit or not, and above all increase engagement and make the learning curve more successful.
20% of employee turnover happens in the first 45 days
Only 37% of companies extend their onboarding programs beyond the first month
Some simple tips for how you can do onboarding right to create the highest impact possible.
1. From Job Offer To Start Date
Onboarding doesn’t start on the employee’s first day at your office but as soon as they accept the job offer.
You should make them feel engaged and welcomed. Let them know how the first day is going to look like, share tips on what to wear and go the extra mile by sending your welcome pack.
It is recommended to send all the paperwork to the new employee together after the job offer was accepted and before their commencement. Most of the time, the future employee will have plenty of days to gather the information they need to complete the paperwork.
Have the Hiring Manager send an email the day prior to their start to let them know they are looking forward to their start.
2. Make the Most of Induction Training
The first day should not be spent in troubleshooting their laptop all day. The new joiner should be spending time on induction, learning and meeting colleagues, so everything should be ready beforehand.
An overview of the company history, culture, values, processes and procedures. The induction is the best opportunity to share as much valuable information, in an engaging way, so the new joiner comes up to speed and you can breach the knowledge gap.
This is your opportunity to emphasise your company and values. Do a spotlight on your leadership team, cover your annual key results and goals.
70% leave a leading company if it had a bad culture, 71% would take pay cut to work for a company that shares their values and have a mission to believe in
(Linkedin Study)
3. Plan For Weeks And Months
Expecting the employee to jump right into their responsibilities and duties is not the best decision.
The new joiner needs time to adjust to the new procedures, and it is best they do so in order to become more productive and sooner. It typically takes eight months for a newly hired employee to reach full productivity according to broad data collected from Harvard Business Review.
The most successful employee onboarding programs last weeks or months, and establish milestones and goals for new employees to hit during that time.
60% of companies fail to set goals for new hires
During the first weeks, the new joiner should be attending meetings and training sessions with other team members instead of straight away jumping full on to their responsibilities. The new starter will add more value by gathering all the information they need instead of guessing. They should be learning about the company’s goals, the company’s culture and be clear of how their role can contribute to the overall success of the business. They should be getting to know other staff members so they can start building relations and this way increase collaboration later apart from making them feel comfortable in the new job.
The direct manager or supervisor should have a dedicated one on one where they go through expectations of the role, goals that need to be achieved and alignment with company strategy. Take the opportunity to show the path to success and demonstrate how the new joiner will be successful in your business.
69% of employees are more likely to stay with their company for 3 years if they experienced great onboarding
4. Make Them Feel Welcome
Many business owners and or Managers take the employee out for lunch on the first day.
Find a suitable person and assign them to show the new joiner the office, introduce to colleagues, show how things work, show emergency exit and first aid. That way the new employee won’t be lost and will have independence to get things if they need them.
Think and plan different activities in the first few weeks so the new joiner has various opportunities to get to know everyone, and feel welcome and comfortable.
The best is to create a workflow of events that need to be scheduled before the new joiner starts, start putting together the welcome package and events on calendars following a checklist.
Ask for feedback so you can get better. We have designed surveys for many of our clients where we gathered very valuable insights that helped us work on continuous improvement to stand out.
A structured onboarding program that stands out, will have a great impact on your business. Get in touch for a chat to discuss what you can do to reap the benefits.
