Quick and Easy Steps to Onboard a New Staff Member

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I recently received an invitation to attend an onboarding training program.  In a few hours I would learn how to design and develop a new hire orientation program for my staff.  It said that studies show that 69% of new staff will leave a company within 3+ years if they aren’t oriented properly.  I can vouch to that.

I remember when I accepted an opportunity to work with a large financial company in New York City. I received my new hire letter from the Human Resources Department where my official first day of work was listed. I was excited to begin my career with this new company and looked forward to meeting my manager and team members. I arrived at work and no one had heard of me.  The receptionist didn’t have my name (luckily I brought my new hire letter), there was no one to greet me, I had no office and on top of everything, I learned that my manager was married the previous weekend and off on her two-week honeymoon.  A staff member showed me to a workspace and settled me in front of a video where I would learn about the history of the company.  The next two weeks crawled by with hardly a visitor, a task, an orientation and no one to go to lunch with.  I felt like the new kid in middle school. I wanted to quit. I’d come from a company where I designed and delivered the new hire orientation program so needless to say, when my manager returned, I suggested that perhaps one of my new tasks would be creating a program and process for all future new hires.

Less than three years later (I wonder why) I moved on to a large pharmaceutical company and again there was no onboarding process. I did meet my team members and received an employee handbook so things were looking up. As I was working in the Human Resources department, I again suggested that we design a welcoming program for new hires. Here is a general idea of what we did:

1.    Planned a welcome meeting for the new hire for Day 1 on the job. This meeting would include a bit about company history, values, culture, products and services. It would also include a review of company and HR policies and practices and a tour. 

a.    The receptionist would receive the employee’s name and upon their arrival, the receptionist/security would call a designated HR department member.

b.    The HR department member would welcome the new hire with coffee and after they are settled, give them a tour of the organization along with an organization chart.

c.    Any paperwork and benefit information would be reviewed and acknowledged including policies, confidentiality agreements, employee handbook review, etc.

d.    The HR department would walk the employee to the new department and reintroduce him or her to the hiring manager.

2  Prior to the start date, the HR department would contact the hiring manager to plan the

d  departmental orientation.

a.     The department manager or HR will schedule meetings with various managers and staff members.

b.    Lunch dates with department members and team members would be planned for the first week of work.

c.    Assign a peer to help the new hire acclimate and to introduce him or her to the organization.

d.    Any projects or tasks will be introduced. It also helps to give the employee some satisfying work; something that they can do well and isn’t busy work.

e.    The Department Manager will meet with the new hire again on the last day of the work week to answer any questions and to see how things are going. Other check in meetings should be scheduled as well.

f.     The department manager will also schedule any meetings with internal and external customers.

g.    A workspace will be available and everything tested to make sure it works (hardware, software, passwords, phone, desk supplies, security information, etc.).

Depending on the position, there can be other steps. A friend of mine mentioned that she received an email from her hiring manager as soon as she accepted the employment offer. The informal email simply stated the manager looked forward to working with her and was glad that she accepted the offer to come work for the company.

It’s the little things that make an employee excited about working for a new company, want to give 100% and feel as if they are a part of the team. It benefits the employer too in that they have an engaged, eager staff member. It doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming; a planned, organized onboarding may be all it takes.