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The Importance of Employee Onboarding

 

An Onboarding Program Helps Prepare Employees for Success!

Employee Scenario: “A few years ago I started a new job at a well-known organization. Although I was very excited about the opportunity and new experiences, in the first few weeks my excitement started to decline once I realized that the company wasn’t all they made it out to be in the interview process. On my first day, I sat alone at an empty desk with a packet of new hire paperwork to fill out. There was no new hire orientation, no one showed me around the office, I was not introduced to my coworkers and my manager was not available that week to fill me in on my responsibilities. It wasn’t a very welcoming environment. When my manager returned, I met with him briefly and he rattled off several projects he wanted me to work on with minimal instruction. I left the meeting feeling overwhelmed, unprepared and unmotivated. It took me twice as long to complete projects because of the lack of training and having to figure everything out for myself. Ultimately I was unable to meet the productivity demands of my position and the expectations of my manager. I felt like the company was setting me up for failure.  I questioned whether I made the right decision and began preparing to seek out other options.”

New employees usually decided to stay or leave the company within the first six months.

It’s common to hear employers say they want new hires to ‘hit the ground running.’ But in reality, even the most experienced employees need some guidance in the first few months on the job. They may have the right skills to make an immediate impact, but won’t be familiar with the new employers’ way of doing business.  

Without an onboarding program, new hires not only struggle during their initial weeks on the job, but they also won’t have the tools necessary to succeed. Employer focus on being prepared, welcoming, and helping new employees increases the opportunity for new hires to want to impress their new employer and fellow teammates.  Effective onboarding programs help to make a smooth transition for all!

Onboarding vs. Orientation

Organizations often confuse the onboarding program with the new hire orientation.  New hire orientation is the first introduction the candidate transitioning to an employee has to the company.  This is when the employee fills out all the necessary paperwork, reviews the company’s policies and procedures, and discusses the benefits program.   

The onboarding program is in addition to the new hire orientation and is a plan that is put together by the manager and peers before the employee begins. This program introduces the mission, vision, and values of the company and usually lasts for the first six months to a year to ensure the ongoing success of the employee.

The onboarding program includes: 

  • Preparing a job description that outlines the essential and non-essential responsibilities of the position as well as the skills and experience needed.  Job descriptions are valuable not only during the interview process but are also used to set expectations for employees and helps manage their performance. 
  • Sending out an announcement to all staff introducing the new employee including their role, the skills they bring to the organization, and their start date.
  • Ensuring the employee has the tools and access they need to do their job successfully (desk, computer, phone, training, etc.). Being prepared for the employees first day will help make them feel welcome.
  • Scheduling one-on-one meetings with their manager to discuss the responsibilities and expectations of their role. 
  • An introduction to the team; consider a team luncheon to welcome the newest member. 
  • Assigning a mentor to assist them with training and direction in the initial phase of their employment.    

Strong onboarding programs build strong foundations.  It introduces the employee to the company culture and creates relationships with their manager and peers. It helps them become more confident in their role, increases motivation and productivity and boosts performance.  Onboarding shows new and existing employees they are valued, increasing job satisfaction, improving employee retention and reducing turnover.

 

 

Happier Employees, Happier You

Learn how happier employees could lead to a happier you-- here are some tips to keep your employees, and yourself, happy and productive.

As a business owner, you want to retain your employees and have them stay with your company for as long as possible as it can get costly to replace your staff frequently.  Nobody wants to put in money to hire and train employees only to do so again six months later.  Learn how happier employees could lead to a happier you– here are some tips to keep your employees, and yourself, happy and productive.

Why They Leave

Before getting into the tips, we must first get into the reason for why employee retention might be on the decline.  Business can lose employees for a multitude of reasons—whether it’s because of a whole family move, to stay home with the children, or going back to school.  However, most of the reasons why people leave their jobs are under the control of the employer.  Elements such as the company culture and environment, as well as how the employee perceives his or her job and opportunities there can all be influenced by you, the employer.

Communication

One of the best things an employer can do to improve retention rates is to have better communications with their employees.  An employer is too much of an integral part in employees’ daily work life that having a good professional relationship with their boss causes improved morale, productivity, loyalty.  It can also reduce mistakes that happen from lack of communications, and prevent angry employees from disrupting the workflow of your company.

To improve communication with your employees try implementing more of the following:

Having face-to-face conversations:  Interacting with employees personally not only

strengthens the work relationships, but it also helps build trust and respect that emails and text can’t provide.

Being approachable:  Before you can have face-to-face conversations, you need to

be approachable.  Be more engaging and take your employees out to lunch.

Keeping employees informed and up-to-date with company happenings

Listening to them or providing avenues for sounding off:  Communication is a two-way street, and you need to listen as well.  Hear them out by having regular staff meetings, a suggestion box, or have a running employee satisfaction survey.

 

Acting on any complaints:  What use is listening if you don’t do something

about it.  Act on what you hear and provide solutions to your employees’ complaints.

 Learn how happier employees could lead to a happier you-- here are some tips to keep your employees, and yourself, happy and productive.

Boost Teamwork

Another root cause of employees leaving work is disagreements or discomfort with fellow team member.  Employees spend most of their time at work with co-workers, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that improving the relationships they have with one another will help keep them happy and more likely to enjoy coming into work.

Try these tips with your teams to improve employee relations:

Outlining Clear Roles: Working with members to outline skill sets and deadline

charts before the start of projects helps identify individual roles and reduces stress levels.

Identifying existing problems: Leaving issues to resolve themselves over time may

not be the most optimal solution.  Having group members collectively discuss problems as they arise solves the

risk of the issues growing larger later.

Mediate Disputes: Providing detailed instructions to teams on how to remedy

issues will empower members of the team to solve them efficiently and productively.

Encouraging social activity: When workers know each other well allows them to be

more comfortable with discussing issues, thus increasing team work.

Implementing recognition programs: Rewarding your team for good performance

will encourage them to keep up the work and keep producing quality material.

 

Learn how happier employees could lead to a happier you-- here are some tips to keep your employees, and yourself, happy and productive.

Next Steps

Improving your relationship with your employees as well as their relationships with themselves will get you back on track for a productive year.  If these tips weren’t enough, HR Synergy can help you take care of the most important aspects of your business because we know that employees are everything to your business.

 

Written by:

Bianca Wee Sit, Public Relations Intern

HR Synergy, LLC.