The excitement of bringing on a new employee is contagious. But when teams have the promise of workload relief on the horizon, it can distract from a solid onboarding experience. However, just as when building a house, building a solid team starts with a solid foundation.
When organizations build out an intentional and strategic onboarding experience, new hires have a greater chance at success. After investing in new employees, the last thing you want to do is make a wrong impression once they’re on the job! To bring them into the fold effectively, create an onboarding program focusing on mutual success.
1. Get the Basics in Order
When candidates consider accepting a job offer, many have a set of criteria they hope to meet. Whether it’s compensation, benefits, purpose, or a mix, each individual has specific needs. Make things clear so that when considering your organization’s offer, candidates understand the available options.
Things can get tricky if your organization is hiring remote or even global talent. Fortunately, engaging external partners can help you navigate the complexities of global benefits and legalities. Increase your chances of success by utilizing an employer of record or a professional employer organization. In doing so, you can ensure your new hires have a great experience while efficiently managing your existing HR capabilities.
In considering a PEO vs. EOR, it’s important to understand the differences. A PEO requires you to open a local legal entity in the country or region where you hire. An EOR employs global hires on your behalf without the need to establish a local entity. They both can manage payroll, benefits, and taxes, which can provide relief to HR teams and a consistent employee experience.
2. Build a Training Schedule
Without specificity, your onboarding process can vary greatly between departments and even among managers. This can lead to a disjointed new hire experience and dangerously differing misinterpretation of company culture, processes, and rules. Avoid future headaches by creating a consistent training schedule for all employees.
Develop a core schedule and checklist for company-wide training requirements for things like policies and procedures. Then work directly with departmental managers to determine a department-specific checklist. Partner with management teams to ensure greater alignment across departments while leveraging the expertise of HR trainers along the way.
Often, you’ll find efficiencies across departments and identify opportunities for cross-functional training and collaboration based on business needs. This can go a long way to help build relationships across departments. It can also ensure that your new hires have a professional, measured experience versus one that’s inconsistent and ad hoc.
With a well-thought-out onboarding schedule, you can help boost your new hire’s confidence in your organization. They’ll appreciate the team’s shared excitement and preparation for their arrival and trust their choice to join the organization.
3. Deploy Engagement Strategies Early
While the nuts and bolts of new employee onboarding are necessary, it’s the building of relationships that drives it home. Relationships are everything, whether your team is remote, in person, or somewhere in between. Even the most technically inclined individuals yearn for human connection, so it’s essential to have an intentional relationship-building strategy in place. As you devise your onboarding program, build in engagement at every step.
Hold space for having conversations, socializing, and connecting with like-minded individuals. There will be plenty of time for tasks and status meetings, so allow open space in your newbie’s first weeks for establishing connections. Doing so will plant the seeds of trust, yielding far greater results than the minor sacrifice of time.
Start with the basics of ensuring your recent hire has the right equipment, plus some personal touches. Assign a guide to your new employee outside of their hiring manager. This might be a team member or colleague with whom the individual will work frequently. Don’t feel you must shower new hires with company swag or fancy lunches. Instead, encourage team members to welcome their new co-workers just as they’d like to be included somewhere new.
Teams that know and understand one another do better work. And although these relationships will build over time, dedicating space for them within your onboarding process can make a massive difference. If you’re already competing for highly sought-after talent, skipping out on building employee engagement can do serious harm.
Prioritize this exercise to integrate your recent hire with the rest of the team. If your organization has affinity groups or employee-led clubs, ensure your newbie gets an overview of those opportunities. The more you do to bring them into the fold, the better they’ll feel about staying with your organization.
Refreshing Your Approach to Employee Experience
A global talent pool has allowed organizations to grow like never before. But this growth also comes with flexing and adjusting for a diverse workforce. Release expectations of a traditional employee onboarding experience, and don’t hesitate to take a fresh approach.
Partner with leadership teams and meet with staff to assess the current state of your onboarding program and the opportunities before you. Plan for growth as your organization adds global talent and stateside remote workers. Stay nimble as your company grows, maintaining awareness of employee needs and global employment requirements and leaning on partners as necessary. When you do, your company can focus on its mission and vision, all made possible by engaged and well-trained teams.
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