For a company to be able to build an effective team, it needs to select the right mix of expertise and personality for the vacancies. The process of onboarding new employees is a process in which the new employee acquires the needed skills, knowledge and behaviors to effectively fit in the team and the company’s culture.
It can be one of the most crucial factors to ensure productivity and dedication. For almost every new employee, adapting to the new work environment can be a confusing experience as they are not sure how things work since every company has its own way of doing things.
Usually, the human resource managers take the responsibility of the onboarding process and help the employees while adapting to this new workplace. Considering the massive amount of initial investment in hiring a new employee, if the company fails to properly onboard them within the desired time, it will cause large sums of money and time to drain away.
An effective onboarding plan increases the employee engagement levels and develops a supportive and understanding bond between the new employee and the employer. This process should take place for every new employee in the company regardless of their level in the organizational structure.
Process
To ensure a proper onboarding process is conducted for every new employee, there should be a checklist that contains all the necessary procedures and follow-ups performed at various stages. This checklist contains all the instructions, starting from the period before the first day of the employee’s arrival and hence, consistently covers a daily or weekly basis of follow-ups till the employee starts adapting to the workplace. The basic phases of that checklist include are as follows:
Before the first day goals are listed, paperwork is prepared, and the required resources are gathered to ensure that the employee would have all that he/she needs to start working. This is when his/her job description with all of their relevant responsibilities are drafted.
On the first day, the employee is given a brief tour of the workplace after a formal introduction where the company’s lifestyle and culture are This is when a mentor might be assigned to aid the employee tackling any challenges they might occur.
The first week should end with an assigned work tasks and defined expectations for the upcoming period so the employee can make sure they are on track. A joint lunch or dinner with the colleagues within the first week of work is usually a good idea for the new employee to feel more comfortable in the team.
The first month wraps up with several meetings with the employee where long-term projects and goals are discussed and the employee is engaged with social encounters around the team until he fully adapts to his/her job and starts producing efficient results.