Onboarding Tips to Find and Keep Better Employees

The quality of your onboarding process has a significant impact on both recruitment and retention. If your onboarding experience is poor, the odds that incoming employees will drop out go up dramatically. Additionally, if the process doesn’t set new hires up for success, the chances that they’ll get frustrated in the role rise, making it more likely that they’ll quit in short order.

Once word gets out that your onboarding process isn’t meeting new hire expectations, recruitment will suffer. You’ll have trouble attracting the best and brightest simply because they have concerned about this critical process.

Thankfully, by using the right approach, it’s possible to turn the tide. Here are some onboarding tips that can help you find and keep better employees.

Start Before Day One

A significant part of the employee onboarding process involves paperwork. While it’s a necessity, spending hours completing forms isn’t particularly engaging. Plus, it can take time away from other critical onboarding activities, slowing the overall process.

Instead of waiting for the employee’s first day, start the process earlier. Send over digital documents that they can complete in advance and submit before day one.

By using this approach, they can complete the paperwork over several days, making it less tedious. Plus, they can complete any documents you’ll need to secure their company devices and systems access, allowing you to get those squared away before they begin in the role.

Build Upon Successes

As you structure out the new hire’s first weeks or months on the job, use an approach that lets them build upon successes. Start by assigning them more straightforward tasks that help them get a quick win. Then, add increasingly complex but related responsibilities over time, upping the challenge level with each successive win.

Along the way, recognize their successes. Let them know that you appreciate their efforts in this new environment and that you value their contributions, even at this early stage. That gives each win a little extra punch, giving them the confidence to keep pushing forward.

If a task doesn’t go to plan, don’t reprimand. Instead, focus on guiding and coaching. Often, it isn’t the new hire’s capabilities that are an issue; it’s a lack of familiarity with your processes, systems, and expectations. By focusing on guiding, you can steer them in the right direction, allowing them to get back on track quickly.

Use Buddies and Mentors

Giving your new hire a touchpoint within the organization can significantly improve the onboarding process. Along with serving as an initial social connection, a buddy or mentor can help facilitate critical introductions, guide them through widely used procedures, and showcase the company’s culture, making the environment feel less intimidating.

When you assign a new hire a peer buddy or mentor, don’t just choose someone with job-related expertise. Instead, also find an employee with a gentle but outgoing personality. That way, the buddy or mentor will be happy to engage with the new hire but won’t come on too strong.

The tips above can help you improve your onboarding processes, making it easier to find and keep better employees. If you’d like to find out more, the staff at The Advance Group wants to hear from you. Contact us today.

 

 

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