Thanks for joining us today. I’m your host, Jill Fowler of Songbird Leadership.
On today’s episode, I wanted to share some tips for the efficient onboarding of new staff as a way to save time for Future You. The hiring landscape of late is a challenge for everyone. You’ve just spent a significant amount of time, energy, and resources to hire the perfect fit for your open position. The last thing you need is to unnecessarily spend additional time on inefficient onboarding activities, or even worse, having to spend time in the future retraining or clearing up misunderstandings that could have been avoided had the onboarding process been solid. Yes, it will require some time up front to set up your onboarding program, but once you have a good template in place, it can be reused with minimal updates for future hires.
Efficient onboarding can save time in several ways. It can reduce the time spent on supervision in the future. When a new hire is provided with everything the need to succeed from Day One, they are able to quickly ramp up and work independently much sooner, making everyone involved more productive. Every new hire is going to have questions in the beginning, but by giving them the necessary tools and knowledge up front, it’ll reduce the number of questions and prevent them from having to put their work on hold while they wait for an answer.
Proper onboarding can also reduce errors and confusion. When a new hire knows their and others’ roles and responsibilities, how they fit into the organization, and how to navigate team culture, they will be less likely to make mistakes or create redundancies, which take time to fix.
Finally, a solid onboarding process improves employee engagement and job satisfaction. It creates an environment of support and sets the tone from the very beginning that they are valued. This can lead to higher levels of retention, which will reduce the need to spend time on a new search to fill the position, temporary coverage, and the additional training of replacements.
So, where to start? Well, like my seventh-grade teacher used to say, “Make yourself a plan.” Create a written SOP for onboarding that can be used for every new hire. Obviously, some minor adjustments will need to be made for each individual, but having a process in writing will prevent you from having to reinvent the wheel every time you bring on someone new.
Throughout my career, I have onboarded hundreds of new hires and I can tell you – onboarding starts the moment your offer is accepted. For the best results, you’ll want to make it personal and establish a relationship with your new team member right away. The pleasantries of the interview process are over and it’s time to begin effectively working together.
Think back to a time when you were starting a new job. Chances are, you really wanted that job and were very excited to begin. You may also have felt a little nervous. Will you fit into the culture? How long will it take to ramp up and start making an impact? Will the team accept you? Your new hire has these same butterflies, making it a great time to create a welcoming space and help them feel supported.
Again, onboarding starts as soon as the offer is accepted. So, in addition to sending the new hire your usual employment letter or preemployment packet, send them something more personal to welcome them to the team. Some flowers, an Edible Arrangement, or a box filled with your organization’s swag are great ways to build on their excitement and make them feel welcome before they even set foot in your door. If your budget doesn’t allow something like that, a nice, handwritten card welcoming them to your team is also a nice touch. Assuming there is the customary two-week period before they start and they’re local, take the new hire to lunch to get to know them a little better. This will put them at ease and put you way ahead on their first day since you won’t need as much time for introductory pleasantries.
You and your team want to be ready for the new person on their first day. Announce the hire internally and then get to work preparing their physical space, assuming it’s not a fully remote position. Make sure it’s fully furnished and clean. It is a horrible feeling to have to remove your predecessor’s personal belongings from your desk on your first day – I’ve been there and it’s not a great welcoming. Have all of their work tools in place and set up for use on their first day, including hardware, software, and anything else they many need. Add standing meetings to their calendar and set them up on your internal communication system. Order their business cards. Basically, you want to have everything completely ready for them to hit the ground running on their first day. From an operational standpoint, it should look as though they have been with your organization for years. Everything should be in place. Obviously, you’ll want to test to make sure everything is set up properly and in working order, and you may still have to make a few tweaks once they start, but this should be minimal.
You’ll also want to create an orientation and training plan for the new person. Again, this should be in written SOP format so it can become a template for future hires. Your orientation plan should include the usual facilities tour, if in-person, and introductions, as well as sharing of policies and procedures and a primer on your organization’s culture. The training plan should include an introduction to their role and how it relates to others’, as well as the basic use of any hardware, software, or tools they’ll regularly be using. You should also create 30, 60, and 90-day benchmarks for the role and communicate them during the orientation period.
In the vein of helping the new person feel supported, peer mentors can be a helpful option. A peer mentor is like the buddy you had when you were assigned when you were the new kid in grade school. They help you feel like you belong socially, show you the ropes, and are there to answer questions. The peer mentor not only serves an important role for the new person’s onboarding experience, but the act of mentoring can be an engagement opportunity for the mentor, as well.
Once the new hire starts, pull the trigger on your orientation and training plan. The new person’s first week should be fully scheduled, but be sure to check in on them daily during that time in case they have any questions or concerns. From there, for their first month, a weekly touch base should occur. Then, at days 30, 60, and 90, review their progress with the benchmarks you set for those periods.
It’s also a good idea to ask the new hire for their feedback on their onboarding experience. What did they like and dislike? What was most helpful? What would they like more or less of? The five-point scale survey is easy to produce, but it may not yield as much helpful feedback as open-ended questions. Whatever forma you use, keep it pointed and brief.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “This sounds like a lot. I thought this was going to save me some time.” And you’re right – it is a lot. In fact, it’s just the bare minimum of onboarding. But, as I said, by putting in a little extra time and effort now, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of time and potential headaches down the road. To help you get started, I have created an Onboarding Worksheet including these and other basic onboarding activities to help keep you on track and accountable. It’s available at songbirdleadership.com/onboarding.
And you don’t have to do onboarding alone. In fact, you shouldn’t. Delegate, as you’re able. By involving others on your team with onboarding, you’re saving your time, you’re empowering your team by giving them a leadership opportunity, and you’re helping the new person better get to know their co-workers. It’s win-win-win.
Another way to save more time in the long run by doing a little more up front is through the creation of SOPs for your organization’s common tasks and processes and then using them for self-learning opportunities during training. Written SOPs give the newhire everything they need to know at their fingertips and allow them to learn independently. Now, different people have different learning preferences, needs, and styles, and written SOPs will not replace the need to mix it up and also offer hands-on or classroom or video-based training opportunities, but they can certainly be a resource and, again, cut down on workflow pauses due to new person uncertainty.
Technology can also be leveraged to save your time during the onboarding process. Depending on your organization’s size and budget, onboarding software can really streamline your efforts and help get the new person up and running faster. Learning management software can also be a great tool to standardize and systematize training efforts. Your payroll company also most likely offers electronic onboarding tools that will save you some time by allowing the new hire to direct their own HR-related onboarding, while also reducing paper.
The last point I’d like to make today about onboarding is that it is a wonderful time for really great communication - communication about the newhire’s role, the organization, and each of your expectations. Be present and use active listening techniques. Let the new person know how to communicate with you and when you’re at your best to receive information. Ask about their preferences and remember them. Again, you’re setting the stage for successful collaboration here.
So, remember, onboarding doesn’t end after the first week, or even the first month or the first quarter. It might look different throughout an employee’s tenure, but they still need training, development, and support throughout their experience with your organization. Onboarding is an excellent opportunity to lay the groundwork for the future success of your team. And it does require an initial investment of time. By employing some of the ideas I mentioned today, you’ll be well on your way to a happy and engaged team, as well as some newfound time.