10 Tips for a Successful Employee Onboarding Process

Your employees are the foundation of your organization. They’re the ones who help you meet your goals, carry out your mission, and reflect your value statement in every internal and external interaction they have. So how can you ensure that your employees are happy and giving one hundred percent of their skills? It all starts with the employee onboarding process.

What is Employee Onboarding?

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, “new employee onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee with a company and its culture, as well as getting a new hire the tools and information needed to become a productive member of the team.” If your organization hasn’t already established an onboarding process, here are ten steps to help you get started.

10 Steps for a Successful Employee Onboarding

1. Understand why this process matters
   Did you know that, according to a recent study, 45% of Human Resources estimates that $10,000 each year is wasted on poor employee onboarding? This happens because employee onboarding increases productivity and employee retention, not only saving your company money but also improving employee morale. Understanding why establishing a process is vital will help you get started.
   
2. Set your goals
   The hiring process can be very extensive. So, once you’ve found the right person you’ll want to make sure you’re as prepared as possible to make them stay. So what are you trying to accomplish with onboarding? How will you measure the success of the onboarding process? Clear goals will help perfect your process and ensure you’re continuously improving.
   
3. Have a checklist so you don’t miss any items
   Your employee onboarding checklist should be comprehensive and cover every step, goal and milestone. Share this with your team and new hire as it’ll be easier for everyone to be on the same page. If you’re struggling to develop this list, take advantage of tools like Virtus Flow that empower you by streamlining your onboarding checklists, forms and tasks.
   
4. Revisit your onboarding checklist regularly
   Your human resources team should be working regularly with hiring managers to make this list dynamic and always improving. Take advantage of employee feedback and industry changes to show your new hires how much they matter since day one.
5. Be transparent with your expectations
   During onboarding your main focus should be showing your new hire around the office, helping them get to know their new team and understand a bit more about the company culture. This is also a good time to start introducing more details about job responsibilities, milestones and expectations. So include this conversation as a step in your onboarding process.
   
6. Have your resources outlines
   Waiting a few weeks is a common misconception as even a short amount of time can make a huge difference in making an employee feel comfortable. In fact, did you know that employees who participate in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay with an organization for 3 years? To support your new employee, outline a list of all available resources for them. This will help them succeed and start thriving faster. 
   
7. Consider your company’s story
   Part of the employee onboarding process should be encouraging your new team member to start feeling passionate about the company. A great way to do this is to share your company culture by explaining how your company started, what makes it special and why it’s a great place to work.
   
8. Remember what worked for you
   From applying for a new job to first-day training, the entire hiring process can sometimes be overwhelming for both parties. Therefore remember how you’ve felt in the past when starting a new job and incorporate the positive aspects into your employee onboarding process.
   
9. Ask for feedback
   Hearing what your employees have to say is important. They’re the only ones who can help you perfect the process. Make sure to ask them what they think went well, what could’ve gone better and whether they were confused at any time. This will only make your company better and will make them feel valued and heard.
   
10. Consider your team’s needs

According to research, it takes 8-12 months for new hires to be as proficient as their tenured colleagues. You need to help your team members succeed. Reason why you may use automation software to automate your onboarding processes as well as other HR processes. It will help you to save time and money through empowerment.

→ How Dynamic Forms Can Help You with Digital Employee Onboarding

Virtus Flow you can easily automate manual tasks so you can get back to growing your business. Click here to learn about how we can support your employee onboarding process and every HR initiative.