The Comprehensive Guide to Employee Onboarding
Starting a new job can be quite nerve-wracking, with many questions involved. Even if you still need to go through a formal onboarding process, you may have some idea about the questions you’d be asked. Your mind will probably be bombarded with questions on your first day, like “Who should I reach out to for (x)?” “What do I talk about?” “What will be my responsibility?” “How are my teammates?”
Well, guess what? You’re not the only one, and these aren’t the only questions in your mind. The list of questions are never-ending.
So, how do you get out of the loop? With Employee onboarding process.
An employee onboarding process will provide new joiners with relevant information about the workplace. A proper employee onboarding process can answer the above questions and solve your doubts. The process is aimed at helping you become familiar with your workplace.
Employee onboarding can streamline various important information. This blog post is aimed at helping you understand how to simplify an employee onboarding process to achieve your goals.
Importance of Employee Onboarding
Every new hire needs clarification and is slightly nervous on their first day. Acting as a helping hand and answering their doubts will help them feel welcomed. But how does it help the employers? Let’s find out:
- Productivity Increase: When you answer all the questions of the new hires, they won’t have to ask anything else. This would mean they can immediately start working without any further doubts.
- Improves Workplace Culture: Workplace culture is one of the most significant aspects of business. Although the workplace culture is mentioned in the handbook, employee onboarding provides a first-hand experience to the new hires.
- Boosts Collaboration: The employee onboarding sessions can be a great way to boost collaboration. When the new hires meet their colleagues, it becomes easier to foster cooperation. This helps to create a positive workplace environment.
Since employee onboarding is such a crucial process, it is important to understand how long it will last.
Employee Onboarding Duration
The employee onboarding timeline or duration is a very debatable topic. Some say it lasts until the employee exits the organization as they constantly learn and grow. On the other hand, some may agree that the onboarding process ends after the new hire formalities are complete.
It is important to note that the employee onboarding duration completely depends on you and your company. However, it can last up to a few months until the new hire has completely become familiar with the work environment. Many organizations consider coinciding employee onboarding with their respective probation period.
Stages of Onboarding
In any organization, onboarding should be divided into different stages to make it easier for all the new joiners. It should start from the day of the offer letter acceptance. The new hires should receive every little detail about the business throughout the process.
Stage 1: Offer Letter Acceptance
Once the respective candidate accepts the offer letter verbally, you should start the initial stages of onboarding. During this stage, you can notify the HR department and send a document describing the terms and conditions of the employment to the candidate. It should also include their compensation details so they can sign and send it back.
Stage 2: One Week Before the Date of Joining
You should provide the candidate with an employee handbook and relevant documents during this stage. At the same time, you should collect the signed copies of all the relevant documents from the candidate. Make sure to mention the date and time of joining as an additional proof.
Stage 3: First Day of Joining
Once the new hire arrives, it becomes important to provide them with all relevant information on the day of joining. You can walk them through the organization, provide them with IT assets, and explain their roles and responsibilities. Out of all the things, you must provide an organizational chart to help them understand the hierarchy.
The first is the welcome day, where the candidate will become familiar with the organization’s structure. Once they are ready, you should add them to the respective team’s official groups and meetings. After all this, you can introduce the new hire to the manager so they can take it forward.
Stage 4: After Support
The employee may need help after their first day as well. They may need time to settle in the organization. Therefore, it is advisable to be proactive in providing support after their first date of joining.
Sometimes, the employee struggles in some areas but will not ask for clarification. To avoid such inconveniences, it is advisable to constantly check on employees a few days after joining. You should ensure they can handle problems at work and within the organization.
Virtual Employee Onboarding
When onboarding an employee virtually, it is advisable to use Sharepoint employee onboarding. Through this, you can provide the employee with all the relevant information in a centralized manner. Moreover, the information will be stored in the cloud, which will further help the employee to go back and reread the data if they miss out on any important detail.
Conclusion
Taking actionable steps to ensure the well-being of a new hire can pave an essential way to the organization’s success. While the employed onboarding can seem daunting, if you streamline it, things can become easier. Therefore, centralizing the information by storing the new hire information in any employee onboarding app is often advisable. The apps can help to make the process easy and smooth.
