Your employee onboarding plan should be treated and executed like any other critical operation of your company. You are welcoming a new and productive team member, this is their introduction to your company.

So, here are a few tips to make the onboarding experience positive and productive for both you and the newly hired employee.

Use A Checklist

Use a checklist to guide the employee onboarding experience. A list ensures the employee knows what will happen in the future, and it assures you your process meets all your requirements. The checklist should be employee and job specific, this way you don’t have to worry about training the employee in tasks they don’t do as part of their job.

Don’t Lose Contact

There will probably be a lag time between the day you hire a person and the first day of work. If it’s longer than a few days, don’t lose contact with the person. Contact them and make sure everything is going OK during their transition. Let them know you understand changing jobs can be hard (because it can be) and you’re there to help them out when they need it. Make the tone of the calls informal and friendly.

Make Their Arrival Special

You should have a special time set aside where you welcome the person to the company and make introductions in a relaxed atmosphere. This would be a great time to give them a gift bag with some company swag and, if they are comfortable, ask them to introduce themselves.

Along similar lines, be prepared for their arrival. The new employee’s desk and work area should be ready for them to set up. Try and avoid the delay of having a computer assigned to them or having to wait for somebody to clean out an unused area, have a place where they can immediately go and put their belongings.

Begin Employee Onboarding With Company Values And Culture

Try to have a member of the executive team explain your company values. The meeting with an influential person of the company will impress on a new hire that the company values are essential

If your company is too large or there are regular scheduling conflicts with meeting people, consider producing a video explaining the mission and values of your company. Then follow it up with a discussion between the new hire’s manager or mentor. Don’t make this part of a PowerPoint torture session. Really emphasize your core values and company mission.

Assign and Prepare a Mentor

The biggest challenge of employee onboarding is teaching the nuances and unwritten protocol of a company. There are the aspects that just can’t be captured in a handbook. Create a mentorship program within your company that teaches the new hires not only the logistics of the company but also tells them about the intangible facets of your operation.

Assign Meaningful Work

Meaningful work motivates people. Don’t immediately dump tedious and mundane tasks on the “new guy.” Make their first few tasks important and let them know they are important, not just tasks everybody else is trying to avoid. Eventually, they are going to be given boring requests, but to get and build engagement, don’t make their first jobs mundane.

Equal Parts Consulting works with companies in designing and implementing impactful employee onboarding programs. If you would have questions or would like to discuss the topic further, we encourage you to contact us for a consultation.