4 Tips for Creating a Successful New Hire Onboarding Experience
Once you hire your dream team member, it’s time for them to get started! Now the fun really begins. But you might have a few questions about how to create a successful new hire onboarding experience, such as:
What should I do to make sure my new hire gets off to a great start?
How do I help them get up to speed quickly without killing my own momentum?
What exactly should I be going over with them in that first week?
Today, I’m going to share four tips with you that will answer these common questions and help you create a great experience for your new hires.
1. Have a Plan
I’m sure you’ve heard the quote by Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I’ve always loved this quote because it’s true in so many different situations in life. And it’s true about welcoming a new team member into your business, as well.
At some point in your life, you probably had a job working for someone else. I want you to think back to that time for a minute and ask yourself these questions…
Have I ever started a new job and no one knew I was coming in on that first day?
Did my new manager or team seem to be at a loss for what to do with me all day?
Was my manager busy or distracted and did I feel like they were frustrated I was even there that day?
If you’ve experienced any of these situations, how did that first day or week make you feel?
You might have felt upset, angry, frustrated, annoyed, or even like an inconvenience. Maybe you felt unimportant or like you made the wrong choice by going to work for that company.
I bet that whatever feelings you had about that experience, they weren’t positive ones.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen situations like these happen many times with managers and leaders in both large organizations as well as in small businesses.
In order to avoid this awkward situation and create an exceptional experience for your new team members, you’ll want to have a plan in place – before you even begin hiring.
Things start to move quickly once you’ve made your selection. You don’t want to end up welcoming your new hire to your team like an afterthought or an inconvenience!
By having a plan in place for your new hire, you’ll save time and energy, and your new hire will feel valued, excited, and eager to get started right away!
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2. Warm Welcome
As part of your onboarding process, consider how you will welcome your new hire to the team. This goes beyond having a great plan in place as we discussed above.
We can provide a warm welcome and start building rapport and trust with our teams by taking time to make our new hires feel welcomed and valued. Relationship building is a critical part of creating a successful onboarding experience. (tweet this!)
69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3 years after a great onboarding experience – which is huge if you’re not interested in hiring team members for the same position every few months.
Here are a few ways you can welcome your new team member (without breaking the bank!):
Welcome Gift/Basket – Get creative! Add in some of your own products, branded items like pens and notepads, or snacks and goodies. The possibilities are endless. A welcome gift or basket is sure to surprise and delight!
Team Lunch/Snack – If you have an in-person team, invite everyone out to lunch to spend time with the newest member or bring lunch or snacks (like cupcakes!) in for all to enjoy. If you have a virtual team, consider asking everyone to meet over video conference to enjoy lunch together. The idea is to get everyone talking and interacting about topics other than work – because relationships matter!
Unique/Fun – Try implementing a unique or fun way to welcome your new team members that fits within your culture! For example, Google calls their new team members “Nooglers” and has them wear colorful propeller beanies (silly but fun, and people geek out over those hats!). This might not be your jam and may not fit your culture, and that’s okay, but it totally fits Google’s culture! Find something you can do to welcome your team members. Is it a fun nickname for new hires (be careful here, you don’t want to accidentally create something insensitive or derogatory) or is it that everyone sends the new team member a special handwritten note on their first day?
Whatever you do, make sure that it fits with your culture and that it’s heartfelt.
3. Set Clear Expectations
Another important step you can take to make sure your new hire gets off on the right foot is to set clear expectations upfront.
I know, I know. That sounds scary! But it’s not – I promise.
Think of setting expectations as creating the rules for a game. No one’s upset that there are rules. We need the rules to tell us how to play the game. And to let us know if we’re winning or losing!
The same is true in business. If our team members don’t know the rules, they won’t know how to play the game – and they’ll never know if they’re winning or losing.
You can set expectations around work hours, deadlines, time off requests, and more. Just make sure that you are clear, fair, and consistent in your expectations.
Help your team win by being super clear upfront and it will pay off in the long run!
4. Discuss Goals and Celebrate Success
Creating thoughtful goals and discussing them with your new hire during their first week will help them feel like a part of the team from the start.
When we don’t set goals for our team members, we lose out on the perfect opportunity to help them feel empowered in their new role and start having an impact immediately. Which translates into helping you maintain your momentum in the business.
Share the company’s big goals and vision for the future. Then share the new team member’s goals for the first 90 days with them and make sure to tie them to those big goals.
As your new hire starts accomplishing those goals, celebrate their success! A handwritten note of appreciation, a shout-out in front of the whole team, or a special treat. A little goes a long way, especially when the team member is brand new.
Final Thoughts
New hire onboarding is critical to your new hire’s success, as well as the overall success of your company.
Companies with a standard onboarding process experience 54% greater new hire productivity and 50% greater new hire retention! As a small business, you really can’t afford to avoid this important part of the new hire process.
Onboarding is more than just an employee’s first day or a checklist… it’s a relationship and an experience. When done properly, it can lead to happy, productive employees who are with you for the long haul.
Authored by Ashley Cox, PHR, SHRM-CP
