Onboarding in the Digital Age

Read our blog on Onboarding in the Digital Age for more detail

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression”, a phrase we’ve all heard, we’ve probably all told ourselves, our family and friends and perhaps even our children and yet many companies pay little or no attention to making that first impression count when onboarding a new employee. Too often, day one is the first contact that a new starter has with their new employer since their interview congratulatory phone call – depending on notice periods this can mean a gap of at least four weeks.

So how can we make onboarding successful? The onboarding process should start from the point a job offer is accepted. Between then and their start date, a new recruit should be made to feel part of the team so that when they walk through the door, or as in most cases at the moment join the Zoom meeting, things already have a sense of familiarity. There are a various ways to onboard your new starters, some of which will depend on your company and their role but these simple principles should apply across the board.

Communication

Keep in touch with your new hire during their notice period. This can be as simple as a quick call once a week to confirm arrangements for their first day, to tell them that their laptop and phone have been ordered or to check their shoe size for that all important PPE. You might have a team WhatsApp group that they can be added to in the week before they start or you could share with them a few details about some of the work they will be getting involved in so that they know what to expect. Ideally having one point of contact and communication helps so as not to overwhelm the new starter, so decide on who is taking ownership and start building that relationship.

Culture

Every company has its own distinct culture and values, ideally you will have already touched upon this at the interview but making sure a new starter understands what lies behind the day to day work of their new business is important. You might choose to share this information in an onboarding pack along with the contract and usual HR related forms or if you have a shiny website or cutting edge social media output then let your new starter know so that they can follow the right accounts and bring themselves up to speed.

Commitment

By engaging your new starter before they come through the door you are already building their commitment to your organisation. According to a Glassdoor report the average cost per hire for a new employee in the UK is £3,000 and so it is important to make sure that this money isn’t wasted. New hires are more likely to stay with a company in the longer term if they experience a positive start to their employment and delivering an engaging onboarding experience also demonstrates a commitment on the part of the employer that the new member of staff is valued.

Check In

Onboarding doesn’t stop on day one, it simply morphs into induction and orientation. Make sure that your new starter has the basic tools to do their job and that there is a documented plan of induction for at least the first week or two. Don’t forget to cover basics like the location of the toilets, where they can go and get a drink and what to do in the event of a fire alarm, allocating a buddy is a good idea and always check in at regular intervals so that there are opportunities to discuss what is going well and nip any concerns in the bud.

If you do onboarding well then your new hire should seamlessly become a part of your organisation who is engaged and productive from the outset, you then have happy employees who will ensure that your customers are happy and in turn your business will thrive.

Do you have questions about pnboarding?

Give us a call at CUBE HR, we’ll be happy to advise you and we have policies and templates available to meet every HR need.

Why not check out our other blog on the same topic Induction – 3 Things You Need to Know to Do it Right

You can also watch a range of other videos on our YouTube channel