8 Essential tips for onboarding new starters
According to a 2023 study by Jobvite, almost 30% of new starters have left a job within 90 days, which, when you consider how much time and energy went into bringing them on board in the first place, makes for stark reading. One way to reduce the attrition rate of employees is to improve the onboarding process for new employees.
Not only does onboarding improve the happiness of that employee, but it is also shown to improve productivity across the team. It makes new hires feel welcome, confident, and ready to contribute, all while integrating them into the wider team.
8 essential tips for onboarding new employees
Whether you’re working remotely, hybrid, or in-office, there are ways to integrate the tips below to ensure that your team remain happy, confident, and motivated.
1. Create an onboarding team
It’s tempting to tell yourself that the onboarding process is solely down to the HR team, but the truth is, a coordinated effort from various stakeholders is needed. Depending on the size of your company, onboarding might include a hiring manager, IT, HR, and a buddy to make sure everything runs smoothly.
The hiring manager should get the ball rolling internally, informing the other departments of the new starter’s start date, alongside their responsibilities. From there, IT will need to onboard the newcomer onto the IT systems, with HR providing the finance team with details of the starter’s employment, including start dates, their salary, and job title.
Ideally, there should be a single staff member who coordinates the effort. It’s important that the process is clear and transparent. Set up a timeline of tasks that need to be completed and ensure that each member of the onboarding team is aware of the role they have to play.
2. Commence operation pre-boarding
Proper preparation is the best way to make sure that the onboarding process is a success. Here are some actionable steps that you can take before your new starter’s first day.
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- Organise equipment and login access
- Construct a welcome email and schedule team intros
- Invite to first-day calendar meetings
- Share onboarding documents in advance (if relevant).
- Set up Slack/Teams access before they arrive and coordinate what channels they need to be involved in.
By setting up a clear pre-boarding protocol, your existing staff will be ready for the new starter, and your new employee can hit the ground running.
As a bonus:
Send an email to the new starter before their first day. This will keep them engaged and enthusiastic and allow you to convey important information in advance. Include dress code, documents to bring (e.g. passport, proof of address, right to work information etc.), instructions on when to arrive and who to report to. An email should also be sent to existing staff members, so that they can be present to welcome your new starter to the company.
Send an email to your existing employees and let them know the date of the new member of staff’s arrival. Even better, arrange an introductory lunch or coffee for them to meet the new team member.
3. Create an onboarding guide
To save time and increase the efficiency of the onboarding process, you can create a guide that can be used for future onboarding in a new starter’s first few days. This will include:
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- A list of team members and responsibilities (you could even include some fun facts about them)
- A breakdown of key customers or stakeholders
- Annual leave/disciplinary/other relevant policies
- Key contacts
- An overview of what success means for your organisation, alongside values and company mission
Although this may take a little time to create, it will prove an invaluable resource for your business. Once in place, it only requires a simple refresh for future new starters, too.
You may also want to consider asking your creative team(s) to create this. There’s a lot of info that needs to be conveyed, and if this can be done in a genuinely engaging way, it’ll be a valuable resource for the whole office.
4. Set up a buddy scheme
Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking, particularly on the first couple of days. A buddy system pairs your new starter with an established member of the team, who can inform them about the office culture, tools, take part in check-ins and help them integrate into social/work circles.
The buddy should be a peer, not their direct line manager or someone several steps above them in the pyramid. This gives the newcomer someone to ask their questions to, without having to go to their manager for small enquiries.
5. Set up a meeting with every team member
Allocate time to spend with staff from front-of-house, accounts, marketing and just about any other department. This enables the starter to see the company’s environment and culture from multiple perspectives and results in a well-rounded training schedule. Plus, it’s a great way for them to get to know other staff members and feel part of the team.
Check in regularly
During the first 12 weeks in particular, 1:1 check-ins are even more important because they can be used to iron out any nagging issues and ensure a smooth transition into their new role.
As part of the onboarding process, schedule meetings every couple of weeks to go over their responsibilities, their upcoming tasks, and how they’re finding the new role. These don’t need to be overly formal meetings; in fact, informal meetings might be a better way to build a rapport and get the new employee to open up.
Gather feedback to support their transition
During the 1:1, it’s a good idea to get feedback from the new starter to support their transition into their new role. The employee can be encouraged to write down the feedback anonymously on a form if that would make them feel more comfortable being honest.
Questions like “What was most helpful in your first week?” and “What was confusing or unclear?”, “Is there a type of working style that you prefer which I can adapt to?” can help to get the cogs turning in your new starter’s mind.
Using this feedback can help to make the onboarding process even better in future.
Provide structured training opportunities
As well as the informal learning that takes place during shadowing, buddying, or meetings, structured training through scheduled walkthroughs of software and access to self-learning tools can help to solidify your new starter’s knowledge base
This is an essential part of confidence-building when starting a new job. It will allow the new employee to confidently jump into their new role and perform it with confidence.
These platforms are incredibly important, as they build a real-world foundation of knowledge that can be applied to real-world scenarios.
Investing in your team from day one is key to building a strong workforce with low employee turnover. Take care of your hires on day one, and you’ll reap the rewards in the long run. Remember, the onboarding process isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Onboarding should be adjusted and tailored to each individual, using feedback to shape the onboarding process for future starters.
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