Giving new employees a great onboarding experience is essential to their engagement and retention.
Yet, shockingly, around 60% of businesses skip setting any goals or milestones for their new hires. And only 12% of employees feel that their employer has a good onboarding program.
A poor onboarding experience can leave employees feeling uncomfortable, confused, and dejected.
According to one report, 51% of employees say they’d go “above and beyond” in their work if they had a good onboarding experience. A poor onboarding experience, on the other hand, could make your employees less engaged at work.
That’s why it’s important for you to have a clear and concise onboarding plan and we’re here to help.
Here’s your new onboarding checklist:
Before your new hire starts
- Don’t wait until your new employee’s first day to welcome them to the company and start the onboarding process!
- Prepare a detailed job description – Talk to their future manager to understand their aims and objectives for the first few weeks.
- Get all the essential documents ready for them, including induction checklists, new starter forms and an employee handbook.
- Make sure they have a clean, tidy workstation with all the equipment that they’ll need.
- Create accounts for them to access their email, software and any websites essential for their role.
- Send them any information you’d like them to read before they start, giving them enough time to digest it.
- Remember that new employees are entitled to receive their employment contract (or written statement of particulars) before or on their first day of employment.
Day 1
- Introduce your new starter to the rest of the team and give them a tour of the office or workplace. A warm welcome goes a long way!
- Verify their ID and right to work in the UK and go over their P45, if applicable.
- Provide them with all the materials they need to get the hang of their new role.
- Walk them through key health and safety points, like the location of fire exits and the first aid kit.
- Explain precisely what they’ll be doing and how their role contributes to the bigger picture.
Week 1
- Assign them a challenging-yet-doable project that showcases their skills without overwhelming them.
- Make sure they’ve read and filled out all relevant documents, such as employment contracts and induction checklists.
- Set clear goals and milestones for their probation period and schedule regular probation review meetings.
Month 1
- Share your company’s long-term goals and how you envision them contributing to the journey.
- Check in with them to ensure they’re happy in their role and are clear about your expectations.
- Help them build relationships with colleagues who they’ll be working closely with.
Going forward
- Utilise the probation period by having regular one-2-one meetings with the employee and ensure that there are lots of opportunities for 2-way feedback.
- Consider implementing a mentor scheme to ensure that new starters have a dedicated mentor to assist them in integrating into the business and focusing on their personal development
- Sometimes despite following your recruitment and onboarding process, a new starter will not meet the requirements of the role. If this situation arises, be sure to carry out an exit interview to understand any changes that can be made to better your onboarding process for future new starters.
