Is your organization doing onboarding, right?
When you speak to any HR practitioner about retaining talented people, they will let you know the struggles with the war on talent on a daily basis. This is quite understandable because good talent is just so hard to find as not every candidate is a hot commodity and then, once you’ve found it, it’s another battle to keep or retain.
There are a number of factors that play a role in whether that talent stays or exits your company sooner than you would like it to. One of those factors is your onboarding process.
If you think onboarding is a waste of time and effort, please re- think.
When someone is about to start working for your company, they will never be more motivated and engaged. They are keen to start a new job, keen to meet and blend with your team, keen to identify with your brand, keen to grow through the ranks, keen to add value to your company growth.
It therefore is only common sense to take advantage of their enthusiasm. Take their enthusiasm to new heights by providing an onboarding experience that will not only impress but inspire them.
New talent cannot be treated like lost sheep and expect them to give of their best and stay with the company. If you’re not prepared to invest time and give to them, don’t expect them to give of their talent, expertise, and competence to the company.
A quick 10 step guide to onboarding talent is shared here
Preboarding — one week before
Step 1: Send a welcome email
Step 2: Organize their physical and digital workspace
Onboarding — the first day
Step 3: Be prepared to execute the details including welcome email
Step 4: Make time for employee and manager relationship building
Step 5: Give them time to settle in
Onboarding — the first week
Step 6: Assign small, achievable tasks – this will help in understanding of the business and key processes.
Step 7: Schedule check-in meetings once daily. Any needs? What’s going well? What’s not going so well? How can anyone help?
Onboarding — the first 90 days
Step 8: Plan a team activity to increase sense of belonging and bonding with colleagues.
Step 9: Prioritize clear and consistent 1:1 meetings on a weekly basis.
Onboarding — the first 180 days
Step 10: Have an interim six-month performance evaluation, focusing on what the key contribution, achievements and next steps to be reached by the one year mark.
Research by Brandon Hall Group has shown that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.
Mitch Gray wrote in his book – How to Hire and Keep Great People; “You must design a system for training and onboarding that gives people a real, fighting chance at success.”
And that all starts with an impactful and personalised onboarding process.
