8 Onboarding Strategies You Should Include in Your Hiring Process

Isn’t it fascinating how quickly the HR strategies for hiring keep evolving? One of the most important segments post-hiring is onboarding which is very crucial. However, it's often neglected and underappreciated. An efficient onboarding process can either set new employees on the route to success in your firm or the other way around.

If you are involved in the business process as an HR or a small business owner, you will realize how vital the onboarding process is. The way you strategize the onboarding would Plant the first impressions in the minds of the newbies. 

Now that organizations are investing more than ever before in attracting and retaining top talent, what else can they do but help their workers reach their full potential?

Onboarding Strategies You Can Include

Several components go into an effective onboarding process. The most fundamental of these requirements is understanding the differences between onboarding, orientation, and training. Contrary to popular belief, these two concepts are not synonyms.

Onboarding doesn't end with orientation and training; it's a necessary but not sufficient step. Onboarding entails a lot more. It's a method of acclimating a new employee to the company's culture and guaranteeing a smooth transition to a valued and loyal employee. Here are a few things you can do to help make it happen.

1. The Importance of Learning and Development

Prioritize L&D as a key component of the onboarding process. Onboarding is all about enabling new hires to perform at their highest level after joining a company. It's a waste of their time if they take weeks or even months to become comfortable with your organization, learn to use self-service tools, and execute regular activities.

As per the 7shifts restaurant hiring guide, “The purpose of the onboarding process is to teach new hires how to do their jobs successfully, and to catch them up on the company's culture and procedures.”

For this reason, learning and development (L&D) are so important for a successful onboarding process. Short one-on-one sessions with a line manager and pre-recorded movies on business values and ethics may all go a long way toward easing the transition for new employees. It provides a great step if you are looking to grow your business.

2. Have a Pre-Onboarding Process in Place

An onboarding program is a norm starting from the first day and lasting roughly 90 days. New employees may find this procedure overwhelming since it entails a lot of paperwork, an abundance of information, and a lack of clarity. 

Moving a few steps to the pre-onboarding stage will simplify this procedure. Information such as the employee handbook and a business culture brochure might be shared during this pre-onboarding phase. 

Paperwork like tax information and direct deposit data can be completed to save time later. A face-to-face meeting or phone conversation might be organized to see whether the new hires have any additional questions or concerns. It's a great way to stay in touch with new hires and show them that you're concerned about their well-being.

3. An Organized Strategy Reduces Anxiety

Starting a new job may be nerve-wracking for everyone. A difficult circumstance is made worse by companies that don't have a strategy for when they'll show up. 

A lack of preparation indicates to the new employee that the organization doesn't appreciate them enough to anticipate their arrival. You can prepare some stuff like presentation templates, or a speech for the first day. This will take down your stress level of onboarding.

For example, Percolate's content marketing platform has an excellent onboarding procedure that follows a well-defined schedule. There is also a delightful welcome packet waiting for them when they arrive on their first day at work and they even create content about the new hirings. There has been nothing but praise from those who have gone through this process. The program's details have been meticulously planned, and its base has stayed unchanged since its inception.

4. Schedule Meetings for Your New Starter with All of the Necessary Stakeholders from Around the Organization

Having the meetings scheduled and prepared before they begin guarantees that they may begin forming relationships and imbibing crucial components of your company's culture as soon as feasible once they begin meeting. A good practice is organizing live streaming events and choosing an internal mentor to assist in the integration of new employees.

5. Engage Supervisors in the Onboarding Process

Hiring managers may overlook important aspects of the onboarding process since it involves many people from different parts of the firm. This difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that a recruiting manager's daily schedule includes more than just onboarding. 

Creating onboarding checklists that clearly outline each step needed to enhance the onboarding process is a great idea. HR managers can set up emails with the internal marketing team to keep hiring managers informed and motivated. Using an email client is a great way to manage email accounts on your desktop. 

Google, for example, provides managers with just-in-time onboarding procedures to make the process go more smoothly. To maintain a sense of immediacy and urgency, the company releases this list only 24 hours before the arrival of the new hires. 

It's important to get to know the new employee, assign them a friend, develop a social network by setting up social media management tools, and set up regular check-ins to get a sense of how they're doing at the company.

6. Focus On Building Relationships Rather Than Just Filling Out Forms

It was more common for workers to learn about their new employer and coworkers in casual settings than informal information sessions before COVID-19.

Organic possibilities for engagement are difficult to come by in the hybrid work period. Thus, this dynamic isn't as strong as it once was. For many new employees, even a simple question via project management tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack might be perceived as an invasion of privacy by their coworkers.

Focusing on connections rather than processes can significantly impact staff morale and relationships in the initial few days.

Regardless of where the team members are located, in a hybrid setting, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to their coworkers, learn about their backgrounds, and establish personal connections to begin developing the trust that is so crucial to effective team collaboration. As new employees, they get a sense of who they'll be working with and whom they can turn to when they have a question.

Welcome gatherings and coffee dates should be part of any remote ramp-up strategy to avoid isolation in the early stages. It's also a good moment to introduce new hires to affinity groups and appoint mentors.

7. Make a 365-day Commitment

The first day of onboarding is just the beginning of the process. Without a doubt, making the first day memorable is essential. On the other hand, great organizational integration requires a lot more time. Commitment, contentment, and involvement correlate with an organization's ability to be understood. Employers can benefit from regular check-ins with supervisors at various time intervals. 

8. Make a List of Checklists

Human resources specialists must support and understand the new employee and their managers. Onboarding necessitates a clear understanding of each individual's responsibilities. Before sending them emails it is important to verify their email, for which you may use the email finder. 

A checklist and supporting tools help new hires navigate the onboarding process and ensure that all new hires have a similar onboarding experience. In a well-executed onboarding process, new hires have a shorter learning curve, increased communication, and an increase in their productivity and motivation.

Final Words

An onboarding program for new workers is essential since it gives them a head start and helps them adapt to their new workplace.

Acclimation extends beyond simply pointing out where the restrooms are or where the recruit may heat their lunch.

The employer and employee might discuss how the new hire can contribute to the company's goals while doing their job duties. Explaining what the organization expects of new employees helps them succeed and creates trust!

AboutAuthor: Ayush is a content writer at RankHandy and he likes to write about SEO, digital marketing, and social media. He enjoys sharing his experience with like-minded professionals and aims to provide high-quality content.