Your company’s employee onboarding process is much more than a courtesy for incoming hires – it is their first taste of what life is like as a part of your workforce. It is also often a key factor in employee turnover. Each employee’s first few weeks should be spent learning how your organization works, what is expected of them, and where they can turn for assistance, inspiration, or support.
Our three-stage overview of onboarding best practices will help you fine-tune this critical process within your company, ensuring that you can attract, retain, and develop the talented employees your company relies on.
Stage 1: Setting Up for Success
Some of the most important parts of the onboarding process should be completed well in advance of a new worker’s start date. For instance, your new employee should have all the equipment they need ready and waiting for them when they walk in. Depending on their role, this might include:
• A desk and/or office.
• Computer hardware, necessary peripherals, and a company phone.
• A company car.
• All necessary logins and access keys.
• Any special tools they will need.
Many roles that deal with sensitive information, such as analysts and researchers in biotech market research companies, also require some form of security clearance.
All paperwork should be completed and signed before your new employee's first day on the job. When they arrive, check that everything is in order. You should have completed versions of:
• Their employment contract.
• Their payroll forms, including tax and banking documents.
• Their work visa (if applicable).
• Any company policies that require a signature.
• Any background or credit checks needed for their role.
Stage 2: Breaking the Ice
Once the new employee is on-site, it is time to begin integrating them into the team. Consider assigning your new worker a buddy from among their peers. This person will be responsible for showing them around the office, introducing them to their coworkers, and generally helping them get used to their new role. Choosing someone of a similar rank for this task gives your new employee the chance to form social bonds within the group of people with whom they will be working most closely.
However, some aspects of this process can only be handled by someone with workplace authority. Designate a specific higher-up to oversee the employee’s transition and answer any technical and role-based questions they may have. Interpersonal interactions like these are not every leader’s strong suit, especially in scientific and technical industries. Healthcare executive leadership training can teach these high-ranking staff members the skills they need to confidently handle these managerial duties and make every member of the team feel welcome and valued.
Once the appropriate introductions have been made, you can slowly start to assign tasks to the new employee – perhaps under the guidance of a more experienced mentor. You can use this initial period to familiarize them with your company culture, gauge their competence, identify their weak spots, and begin planning their professional development within your company.
Stage 3: Charting the Future
Employees perform better and are less likely to leave a position when they know that structured growth opportunities are available to them. After the first few weeks, set aside some time to let your new employee know what career development initiatives you have available to workers in your organization.
If you don’t already offer additional training for your workforce, consider doing so going forward. Basic managed care training courses provide an excellent introduction to the managed care market for people entering the healthcare industry. You can offer courses like these to whoever is interested while reserving higher-level material such as strategic account management training for dedicated and promising employees who master the basic courses first.
These programs give employees a way to hone their skills, improve their work in their current role, and demonstrate their readiness for further responsibilities within your company.
Improve Your Company's Onboarding Experience with The Brooks Group
A quality onboarding process leads to higher productivity, greater retention, and an overall stronger organization. The Brooks Group has the training programs you need to get your new employees off to a strong start. With our help, your company can implement a custom onboarding training program that will teach new hires everything they need to know about your company’s policies, culture, standard workflows, and more with a limited need for in-person instruction. Our instructional design services take your training programs to the next level, ensuring greater engagement and knowledge retention on the behalf of the trainees.
This blog was originally posted on https://thebrooksgrouponline.com/2021/08/employee-onboarding-best-practices/
