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If you can recall your first day in college, the first day in your first apartment, or the first day driving on your own, you will find that the first day or days at something or somewhere come with a mix of nervousness and excitement. However, none compares to the first day in a new job. You have no idea the type of people you will be working with. There are questions running through your mind such as whether you are going to meet the company’s expectations, whether you will fit in, and many more. Such questions are capable of making even an experienced worker a nerve wreck. Your new hires could be feeling as such or even worse.
However, you can make the experience feel better and inspiring. Your new employees don’t have to cave in fear or anxiety if you employ the following 5 onboarding tips.
There are many things that new hires need to complete before starting to work on tasks officially. There could be forms that they need to fill, take pictures for the badge, and fill out their details in the systems to create their profiles and passwords among others depending on the nature of your job. Waiting to do all these on the first day can be overwhelming for you and the new hires.
You can start the process early enough to avoid this. Have your new hires come days before the first day to have some things completed. You can also allow them to carry home some paperwork that they need to read so they can have ample time to read and understand. In addition, relay to them what you expect of them in terms of dressing, reporting time, who they report to, and such things. If you need them to bring anything, inform them early enough.
Some people find it hard to fit in and integrate with other people on the first day. They might result in sitting at their desk the whole day since they have no one to talk to. You can prevent this by assigning a mentor on their first day. The mentor can come in handy in giving the new employees a tour of the office, and introduce them to the rest of the team.
In addition, the mentor can onboard them to the company’s social sites. If you have Slack, for instance, have the new hires join so that they are acquitted with the rest of the team, learn how things go by viewing previous pictures and videos.
Even as you think of onboarding on-premises new hires, don’t forget your remote employees. Businesses are expanding globally, and having remote employees is inevitable in such areas. Things are challenging when operations are far away from you. You might need to seek help from local experts. For instance, if you are expanding to Hong Kong, you might need help in Hong Kong company formation from a local expert. This will ensure that you are setting up your company compliantly. In the same way, you will need help with hiring and onboarding new employees for your new company. The local experts can work towards streamlining the onboarding process to ensure employees have settled in well. The expert should also ensure that support is extended in filling out paperwork, training, and explaining the expectations of their roles.
Most people abandon their work in the first few days of joining a new organization. It could be due to pressure or something that didn’t sit well with them.
You might think that everything you are doing is good, but you can never be sure unless you ask. Ask your new hires for feedback on the onboarding process. Rectify the areas that they point out as bad and improve on what they like. It is also important that you stay accessible to them. Besides having a mentor, it is good to establish good manager-employee relationships from the get-go.
It might be unavoidable, but it is good to have your new hires join your organization on a good day. This means that the rest of the team isn’t running up and down chasing deadlines, or the systems aren’t down and such things. This will help the new hires have a glimpse of what happens on a normal day without the pressures of a bad day. Give them less-pressing tasks on their first day as well.
In addition to making a good first impression, welcome them with a gift and happy smiles. In the coming days, recognize the work that they accomplish no matter how small a task is. This will usher them into a positive culture in the organization.
Whether you’re a startup or a big corporate, how you welcome your new hires is very crucial in how they perceive you as an employer. To some employees, the onboarding process could be a determinant of how long they are going to work with you. In a world where there is a vast war for talent, there is a need to put in all efforts to retain your employees. And, it all starts from the onboarding process.
Andy Latkovskis is an HR Officer specialized in employee training and development. He is truly passionate about nurturing talent and ideas that evoke transformative change in individuals, teams, and organizations. When he is not working, you can find him exploring the deepness of nature.