How to Onboard a New Employee

Onboarding a new employee is not as simple as it might seem. It’s essential for new team members to feel welcomed in their workplace,  encouraged and motivated to be successful during their tenure.  Every organization has a different onboarding process– there’s no one right way to do it.

Across the board, though, it requires a lot of planning and the incorporation of multiple elements for the new person’ first day, month, quarter and beyond. By taking the time to do it well, you’ll set people up for  maintaining high morale in the long term.

How do you go about it? There are a few key elements you should never overlook. Let’s get started.

Start with an Employee Onboarding Plan

As soon as you begin taking applications for a position, you must have a plan in place when it comes to how to onboard a new employee. If you’ve got a system in place already, there’s no harm in going over it again to find gaps and improve it to create better results.

One of the more effective things you can focus on is ensuring new team members feel comfortable. Many businesses have now shifted to hybrid or work-from-home options to promote the safety of their employees. You can plan alternative days for them to come to the office and work from home for the other days. Doing so can help people better adjust to their new surroundings.

Make Onboarding Personalized

Personalized employee onboarding  is often more meaningful to newcomers  than anything else. But how do you know what  new team members will appreciate? The answers are available in the resumes and profiles that you receive through their applications. Typically, a candidate mentions their skills, hobbies, and other activities to showcase their character and life outside of work.

Looking closely into their resumes can help you identify what kinds of things they might like. This allows you to create a more personalized onboarding process for them. For instance, if someone paints as a hobby, the onboarding process can include a small goodie bag with a painting kit. Or it might be worthwhile to bring their interests up in meetings to make the new person feel more comfortable.

Give Attention to Detail with a Resume Builder

Heads up:  resumes are all built differently, so it might take a little effort to find the information related to employee interests. Online Resume Builder allows prospective employees to create the kinds of resumes that keep key facts front-and-center. 

The Onboarding Process

How do you onboard a new employee to ensure a long and successful relationship?  Let’s have a look.

1.  Connect With New Hires Before Their First Day

While you must be thinking that you’ll get to know the new employee once they start work, you should really be putting in the effort to connect with them even before their first day. Why is this essential? The new team member will feel a sense of belonging to the organization and will be less anxious when their first day arrives.

Set the mood– they’re now part of a family at the new workplace. Make sure all communication is  productive–  not just focused on filling out forms during the dreadful wait for the work to start.

2.  Clarify Job Requirements and Details

There’s nothing more underwhelming than starting a new job and not knowing what’s required. It’s crucial for people to have a detailed description and good direction so they’re clear on what needs to be done. If there’s no clarity, new team members may feel disengaged and tractionless on their projects.

Therefore, it’s up to the recruiters to lay out a plan and job requirements for them before they accept the position. This could cover some of the following elements:

•         The number of hours required
•         The objective of the job
•         The roles and description of tasks
•         The educational requirements
•         The experience and skill requirements

A streamlined job description allows new employees to know what is expected of them and helps them pace themselves accordingly.