Recruitment, onboarding and induction are a critical part of the employee experience and integrating new hires.
To successfully bring on a new hire who fits your company culture and the experiences you seek, requires that little bit extra.
Have you ever employed the best person for the role, and after they started their first week you’ve seen them become disengaged, they don’t collaborate with the team, and it’s like they didn’t ‘get’ the company culture at all?
We’ve all been there.
We’ve recruited someone with great potential, but saw our onboarding and induction program fall short. Neglecting our new hire, resulting in them stumbling, losing confidence and crashing out of the company.
Leaving you to go through the whole process again. Dreading the potential of hiring someone new, full of potential who leaves just as quick as they came. Now is the time to ensure you get your onboarding (and induction) right.
Let’s assume your recruitment is working and produced the right fit for the job. You know that your candidates need support and encouragement to become the best they can be, and the way to support our new hires is through a polished onboarding and induction program.
Onboarding and induction are like the ramp your candidate needs as they “jump onto your ship” and into your company – it’s either stable and smooth and they end up integrating safely into your company, or it’s rough and shaky and the whole thing collapse leaving them to sooner or later crash out of your company.
So, what does it take?
Hiring right. Every time.
No matter how much effort you put into a new hire – be it onboarding, induction or training programs – if you bring the wrong person into the fold, they will not succeed.
Hiring right is the magic we all need to get the best people jumping on board with us. The people you bring on to your team must be the right cultural fit for smooth sailing and have the right technical skills to get the job done.
How do you bring in the right person?
It’s about ensuring you have the right tools throughout the entire recruitment process to help you identify cultural fit, the experiences and skills your candidate brings to your team, and you are confident they align to the company’s future vision and aspirations.
But what should a successful, modern and snappy onboarding include?
this helps them hit the ground running. Inform them that on Day One that all the systems and technology they need to succeed will be ready at the right time – be it their IT login, company car, uniforms, or anything they require to do their role successfully. Not only does it help them understand what to expect, but it also places positive pressure on them to be productive and focused on their role straight away.
Ask them how’d they like to be involved in welcoming and supporting the new hire into the company.
On top of having all the tech and systems ready to go, help reduce first-day jitters by giving clarity on what they can expect on their first day and week. Have their direct supervisor and team prepare the priorities, this can include having the first-week calendar for meetings with key stakeholders and company leaders, and outlining core training sessions and induction schedules. Be clear with your new hire and provide a clear agenda from Day One. Help give them clarity and show you are prepared to welcome and support them now and into the future.
These go a long way to breaking the ice and building an immediate connection with team members. Can you set up their desk beyond the basics? This can be as simple as having a notepad, new pens, a welcome card and post-it notes set up neatly on their desk. Maybe you can go that bit further by preparing a company coffee mug ready for their first team morning meeting. Perhaps yourself and a friendly face from the interview will greet them on their first morning plus have time set aside throughout their first week to talk about their experiences and give them a friendly face to ask questions to during that overwhelming induction process.
But what does this look like? How do you welcome your new hire, so they feel included, understood, and positive about their future in your team?
You are the key to employee success and integrating new hires.
Not only are you responsible for finding the right candidate, but you can ensure there is a robust, effective, and smooth onboarding and induction program. The goal is to use the onboarding to set up your new hires for success. Recruitment, onboarding and induction are a critical part of employee experience. From Day One you have the potential to create a great employee experience, not only in creating an understanding of the company culture and the team they’re part of, but building an environment that cultivates productivity and a sense of purpose in their role straight away.