How to Develop an Effective Onboarding Process
Effectively onboarding new talent is paramount for businesses wishing for growth and stability but sadly, the onboarding processes of many companies fall short in providing new workers with the tools and information required to be successful. Often, critical aspects of onboarding go overlooked or unaddressed resulting in a longer learning curve for new employees, diminished performance, culture clashes, and decreased retention. Understanding how to develop an effective onboarding process at every level of the organization will benefit the work environment and theline.
Onboarding processes should be documented and, when reviewed, should demonstrate an obvious flow in procedure, ownership, and follow up. It is likely that more than one department in an organization will play a role in onboarding. Recruiting, human resources, training, production employees and anyone else owning a piece of the process should understand their role and be held accountable for the successful execution of their deliverables. To insure compliance with the process, many companies use an onboarding check list. This way, should part of the process be missed, it can be quickly revisited and measures can be taken to ensure consistent delivery in the future.
The end goal of the process should be clearly outlined. Good onboarding processes provide employees with an overview of the company culture, the expectations of the job, company policy and processes, and the information and tools required to successfully execute their job duties. This begins with effective and responsible recruiting practices. Potential employees should be provided with information that will help them determine if they are a right fit for the organization. Someone with a strong technical background may not be comfortable in a sales environment. Likewise, someone who has experienced a great deal of autonomy in their career may not like working in an environment where schedule adherence is strictly enforced. In essence, weeding out the majority of candidates that would be a poor fit for the organization is the first step in effective onboarding.
Once a new employee is hired, they should receive a structured orientation. This can be done by providing them with a formal presentation of the company and its values. Their behavioral and performance expectations should be clearly outlined and they should be provided with helpful documentation including the rules of conduct, employee handbook, code of ethics, and job description. Some larger companies have incorporated the use of technology for this step providing a number of online course modules designed to allow the employee to receive the information in a self paced learning environment. Performing this step electronically provides companies with documentation that the modules were completed. For an electronic orientation to be successful, however, employees need to know where to direct their questions or concerns with the material.
The next step in onboarding is the delivery of training. This can be done in a formal classroom setting, through job shadowing, or through e-learning depending on the complexity of the job. Regardless of the chosen method of delivery, evaluating employee performance during this step is critical. Information is only valuable when it is received and understood and companies will waste a great deal of time and money retraining employees if they miss any key information in their training. Employee surveys conducted immediately after training can be very valuable. The results of these surveys may be used to evaluate the performance of the trainer and evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum.
A common misconception in onboarding is that theprocessends once the employee has been hired and trained. For onboarding to be effective, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Employees are apt to experience fear and insecurity during their first 90 days on the job and many will chose to leave during this time frame if they don’t feel supported. The onboarding process should account for this by including structured checkpoints at the 30, 60 and 90 day employment marks. This can come in the form of focus groups, continuing education classes, or feedback sessions between the new employee and members of management.
Failures in onboarding tend to occur when there is no accountability placed on those who fail to follow through with the process. To ensure success, those directly involved with the process should meet regularly to discuss concerns and review employee feedback.
