Deconstructing the myths of onboarding – Myth #7: Onboarding begins and ends on an employee’s first day
If there is one universal truth about starting a new role it’s new job jitters.
New hires worry about making a good impression, fitting in, finding the office/getting there on time, wearing the right attire, and more. Many are also concerned about whether they made the right decision to take the job.
One of the best ways to alleviate those fears and make new hires feel great about joining your company is a structured onboarding program. According to SHRM, new hires who experience a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay for three years.
World-class onboarding is way more than a meager first-day orientation. It begins the moment a new hire accepts your offer and continues well into their first 90 days and beyond.
Best practices for a thorough onboarding program include:
Preboarding
Preboarding begins the moment your new hire says yes to joining your company. New hires are most vulnerable during this stage – to other recruiters, counteroffers from their current employer, and concerns from family. 22% of new hires accept an offer but ghost before their first day.
Engaging new hires during this phase is critical. It demonstrates your commitment to them and helps make them start to feel like part of your team.
Our clients have had success with ‘welcome to the team’ texts and sharing information about what to expect on their first day. One client started sending gift boxes to new hires with company swag. It was (unsurprisingly) a hit and increased new hire engagement.
Starting onboarding paperwork during preboarding is an excellent way to give new employees time to read through all the materials and empower them to be productive on their first day.
First Day
An employee’s first day is very important – it can reaffirm their YES to joining your company or make them look for an exit. Taking the time to develop a structured first day demonstrates your commitment to their success.
Providing a first day agenda is a great way to make them feel confident and ready. We recommend including:
– Who they will be meeting with and why
– Paperwork/documents: what they need to bring and what to expect
– Orientation: building tour, team meet and greet
– Team lunch
– Mentor/ welcome buddy
– Helpful info: dress code, parking, building access
First Month through 90 Days
For the first month, new hires are still finding their feet. Setting achievable expectations and following up enables new hires to understand what is expected of them and shows them they have support if they need it.
It’s also important to remember that even 90 days in, a new hire is still new. They might have questions about company policies, procedures, or any number of things. It’s essential during this phase to keep the lines of communication open and actively check in to see if they have any questions or need any support.
Click Boarding’s configurable guided experience gives both HR and candidates confidence moving throughout the onboarding process.
Each step in Click Boarding’s onboarding process is clear, so new employees can complete their forms quickly and accurately – leaving HR with the time to make them feel welcomed, comfortable,and engaged as they ease into their new role. In addition, Click Boarding’s Action Center enables HR to manage employee progress through onboarding to ensure they’re seamlessly moving through each step.
If you would like to learn more about enhancing or automating your onboarding program we’d love to chat.
Click Boarding offers a modern onboarding platform that energizes HR and new hires by blending employee engagement, forms and digital process workflow and unified data integrations into smooth, flexible and compliant solutions. Delivering a day one smile on every new hire’s face.
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