So, you’ve hired someone new. Congratulations! As if getting the candidate wasn’t hard enough, welcome to the next challenge: onboarding.
First impressions are important. For new employees, the first days at the company can make or break their tenure at your company. A solid onboarding culture not only has the ability to affect staff retention, but also your company’s reputation. But it doesn’t have to be hard. Here are a few items to consider in creating an onboarding process that is effective and enjoyable for yourself and your new talent:
1. Make onboarding straightforward
Consider this from the employee’s perspective: the onboarding period can be quite complex. With no former knowledge of how the business operates, it’s easy to get lost in the countless procedures, manuals, and names. One way to help your new hires get up to speed is to send a comprehensive welcome brief before their first day, containing information such as orientation schedule, relevant materials, benefit forms, and an extensive FAQ. When your new hires can access this information before onboarding, they are more likely to start on the right foot, avoiding potential conflict or misunderstanding on the first day.
2. Don’t make new hires learn the hard way
Every workplace has its own rules and regulations, benefits, culture, and traditions. All employees, especially new hires, should understand every set of rules within the company to make them feel at ease. For example, if your company has a Casual Friday rule, make sure all new employees know this before they show up at the office on their first Friday in a neatly-pressed suit. Additionally, the company's benefits and perks will seem more valuable the earlier you inform your new employees. You can give new employees an easy way to keep track of what they're eligible for and how they can take advantage of these benefits. Make onboarding as interesting, painless, and as simple as possible – this will enable new hires to transition into the company smoothly.
3. Make orientation more human
Building strong relationships at work is essential for company growth. When employees feel connected with their team, they are more likely to take positive actions toward their company. Rather than making day one all about paperwork, prioritize connecting with your new employees. You can also consider assigning a welcome buddy or mentor, so the new hires can get a feel for your organization's personality from a peer-to-peer level. Let the mentor guide the new hires in their first few weeks; have lunch together with other colleagues, break the ice and build closer bonds with the new work family. You want your hires to go home and feel more connected to their work community.
4. Get employees up to speed with a centralized library
Orientation should not only be focused on training; the more important part is to get new employees adjusted to the new work environment quickly, and as smoothly as possible. To do this effectively, you’ll need to meet new talents where they are. Sometimes, this also means allowing employees to digest and learn on their own time.
Atiom makes onboarding easy by consolidating your training and company materials on a centralized platform. Employees can log in to the app, search for the materials on their mobile phones and learn about their new company on their own time. Atiom turns complicated training materials into digestible, bite-size content, and you can even set quizzes and tests to check for your employee’s understanding. Rather than sending out emails with numerous links and attachments, you can simply create an Atiom account for your new hires, so they can access all the information on one platform anywhere, and anytime.
The takeaway
The key to a perfect onboarding process and experience is to put yourself in their shoes and understand how a new hire would feel on their first day!
Atiom is a mobile-first training solution that makes training and engagement measurable, efficient, and effective.
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