Hiring a new employee can be an exciting time for both you and your new team member. With significant time and money invested in building a good employment brand to attract the right person in, it only makes sense to give them a great onboarding experience. A good onboarding experience ensures they have access to the training, resources and support they need to flourish in their new role and stay for the long term.
Though unfortunately for many businesses, in their rush to get back to business as usual, they skip necessary steps and make costly onboarding mistakes. These mistakes leave new employees disillusioned, isolated and questioning if they made the right decision.
To ensure you don’t fall into the same trap, here are five costly onboarding mistakes to avoid.
1. Starting the onboarding process on the first day
The first day on the job can be overwhelming enough for a new employee without having to add pages of paperwork into the mix! To make your onboarding faster and more enjoyable consider starting it before they come to work.
How might you ask? Consider putting together an onboarding pack that includes any paperwork they need to complete, outlines their first day and introduces some of the team they will meet.
2. Not establishing clear roles and responsibilities
A lack of clarity around roles, responsibilities and who to report to can cause confusion for new employees, and ultimately affect their productivity, performance and job satisfaction.
It is important to ensure new employees have a clear understanding of their role and what tasks to prioritise, are thoroughly trained, have the processes to back them up and know who to go to should they have questions or need assistance.
3. Neglecting the onboarding experience all together
As tempting as it can be to train new employees and get them working as quickly as possible (particularly during high periods of growth), don’t overlook the importance of a good onboarding experience.
You want new employees to be happy, excited and confident about working for your organisation. Think about what you can do to make their first experience with you a great one and show them they are already a valued member of the team. A good example of this is giving them a new employee welcome pack filled with handy information (FAQ’s, who’s who in your team, your organisation’s purpose and vision, etc.) and unique or interesting gifts to help them on their journey.
4. Not training in culture
It is also important to get new employees to buy-in to your culture. While their skills and experience might be the right fit for the job, you need to make sure that they are the right fit for your organisation. This induction into your culture will help them to feel as though they ‘belong’ faster and that they have more in common with your other employees. It will also give them a sense of purpose that can fuel productivity.
5. Not making time for team meet and greets
Keep in mind your new employee won’t remember everyone they have shaken hands with on the first day. To help them, make a list of the team for them to connect with on LinkedIn and organise one-on-one meetings or lunches with the key people they will be working with to help them to get to know each person better.
5. Stopping the onboarding process after the first day
A lot of organisations make the mistake of thinking that onboarding is over after the first day. But the truth is onboarding can take up to six months for a new employee to settle in.
Think of onboarding as an ongoing process and take into consideration what your new employee will need in the days, weeks and months to come to help increase their confidence, productivity and loyalty to your organisation.
Need help with the onboarding process to ensure your new employees are effective and confident from the very beginning in their new role? Call us today on 1300 278 345.
