A potential employee has just accepted your official offer to fill an open position – now what?
Many company onboarding processes start with an employee’s first day riddled with paperwork and formal training. Or they may be bounced around from person to person with no clear direction on what they should be learning to help establish them in the business.
Do you really want that to be how they start their career with your company?
There are many ways to make the onboarding process easier, and possibly more enjoyable, for everyone.
Invest in Software
One way to make the onboarding process easier for you internally is to invest in onboarding software. This software tracks and manages new hire tasks and form completions to make the transition smooth for all involved.
This can also help your new hire fill out and read over information ahead of their first day so when it comes to it, they can dive in headfirst to the tasks at hand.
Go Paperless
The above software is a great way to go paperless when it comes to filling out the possible myriad of forms that are presented to a new hire. This information can include banking details, withholdings, important addresses, and emergency contacts.
Utilizing a paperless system means collecting all of this information and immediately integrating it into payroll and administration without a single sheet of paper being passed from desk to desk.
Keeping a digital dashboard of paperwork like healthcare information or retirement plans also makes it easy for the employee to peruse this important documentation at their leisure, instead of rushing them along.
Get Social
Many new employees are given a quick office tour where they are rapidly introduced to teammates. It can get awkward, and isn’t really conducive to forging real bonds with others in the company.
Create an onboarding process that connects your new hire with the people they’ll be working with directly, as well as other important figures in the company.
This can be a group chat on company messaging tools, or having them peruse profiles of their teammates via onboarding software.
Additionally, they can fill out information about themselves that may go beyond the professional to give others on the team an idea of who they are.
Send Something Special
Create a personalized touchpoint with your employee before they even set foot in the office. This could be sending along a small gift or care package a week ahead of their start date, which can also include a list of or actual materials they will need to start them off on the right foot on their first day.
This shows them they are more than just a cog in the machine and are valuable to you and the company at large.
Make the First Impression Count
Studies show that 22% of employee turnover happens within the first 45 days of being hired. Right off the bat, you want to show your new employee that they are valued, and lay out the goals of their job as well as how you’re going to set them up for success in achieving those goals.