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Onboarding is a new hire’s first impression of your company. Expectations are set, and the process has the potential to effectively integrate your new employee into the culture of the company, or leave them feeling ill-equipped and unfamiliar with their new environment. If you want to attract and retain talent, the onboarding process needs to prioritize the person just as much as the paperwork.
If done right, your new hire should leave their first day feeling welcomed and confident they’ve chosen the right organization to contribute their time and talents. A people onboarding process is part of the culture of an organization. Orienting a new employee isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing philosophy. Here are the components of an effective people onboarding process.
Onboarding is about welcoming your new employee, but it also ensures your organization is legally compliant and gathering the necessary information to execute payroll and set up benefits. The first steps are often checking legal boxes, completing I-9s, tax forms, etc. It’s imperative this paperwork is completed and filed effectively so your new hire can move forward with their new position.
Integrating a new employee means familiarizing them with the company as a whole. Communicating an organization’s mission, goals, values, and vision helps seamlessly acclimate a new employee into the culture and perspectives of an organization. To ensure an employee can perform proficiently, they need to be well-versed in their new department and their own role. Outlining the new hire’s duties and responsibilities is essential to streamlining business operations. Expectations and standards should be set at the beginning of their employment for the success of your new hire and the overall organization. Note specific nuances throughout their department, introducing them to their coworkers and their new space. Your new hire should feel like a part of the team.
A people onboarding process is where you make your impact on a new employee. An effective onboarding process can determine how well your employee performs, affecting your organization’s success. Completing the legal and organizational items should be accomplished in the first week, but orienting a new employee will take longer. Ideally, the initial onboarding process should last about two weeks to a month, depending on the tasks at hand and the seniority of the position. Engaging your new hire and immediate supervisor is a given; however, a people onboarding process should involve peers as well. Meeting their team and coworkers fosters community and enhances relationships.
Additionally, consider introducing the new hire to business leaders, such as the CEO. Even a quick meet-and-greet or conversation can create positive, lasting impacts, leaving your new employee feeling like a valued part of the team. This is especially important if you work in a remote or hybrid environment. Simulating that in-person connection can be difficult when you're not in person, so greeting your new hire from multiple departments can help create a welcoming atmosphere.
A primary objective of the onboarding process is making the employee feel welcome and educated so they can apply their skills to the position and contribute toward reaching your company’s goals. The initial onboarding process allows the new hire to comfortably hit the ground running, but the process doesn’t end there. To retain talent, you must keep recruiting your employees, keeping them oriented and satisfied with their culture and company.
The building blocks to your new employee’s success in their role begin with the onboarding process. Allow your new employee to have the tools to do their job effectively.
The best metric of a successful onboarding process is performance. Is your new hire performing well? On the flip side, does that role have frequent turnover? As an organization, you can also record employee engagement or post-onboarding surveys, asking your new employees' perspectives about their recent onboarding process. However, don’t ask for feedback if you’re unwilling to adapt.
Integrating your new employee into the company is an ongoing process. Once the official onboarding process is completed, there should be a consistent feedback loop with the employee, monitoring performance and ensuring this is the right fit for both parties. The new employee's department plays as vital a role as HR post-onboarding. HR can support their departments, but ultimately, collaboration with management and their team will allow a new employee to truly succeed.
FullStack handles tactical employee onboarding so you can focus on building a professional relationship with your new team member. We provide you with what is needed to assist with federal and state requirements, handling benefits and payroll—consistently taking care of your new hire so you can focus on your company.
Download our PEO Buying Checklist to learn more, or reach out to start a conversation about your organization’s HR needs. We’d love to chat about how we can help you support your people so you can focus on business outcomes.