A good first impression is a good first step toward creating long-term loyalty and retention. Since effective onboarding is about making people feel welcome, appreciated and comfortable, you might want to ask yourself a few questions. How welcoming is your organization’s culture? What are you doing to ensure long-term success for new employees? What’s your new hire experience plan?
To help you get started, take a look at our tips on how to create a positive Workplace Culture or consider these action steps:
- Beforehand: Get ready, set
Taking certain steps before new employees start can make a big difference in how they feel their first days on the job:- Make sure they have the right tools and equipment on Day 1
- Let coworkers know when someone new is starting and explain their responsibilities
- Consider who to involve in the person’s orientation and training
- Set up welcome lunches during the first few days
- Ask a colleague to serve as a friendly “work buddy” to answer any questions that arise
- Day of: Paint the big picture
Orientations often include a blizzard of information ranging from vision, mission and values to benefits, policies and procedures. But sometimes they miss the most important stuff. Consider talking about:- Your organization’s culture—what makes it a great place to work
- Achievement—how you define and reward success
- Your customers—try to provide opportunities for new employees to talk directly with customers to learn firsthand what really matters
- Fellow co-workers and teams—talk about the team and consider adding photos to names and titles
- Early and ongoing: Provide clarity and direction
- Don’t hesitate to delegate specific, doable tasks right from the start—it helps people feel successful, engaged and excited
- Provide clear direction on duties, deadlines and expectations—greater clarity leads to higher productivity
- Talk about an employee development plan early on—it will help develop, sharpen and grow needed skills and competencies
- Check in on a regular basis to see how new employees are doing, if they have any concerns and if they have creative ideas for improvements
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