How to Make Recent Graduate Onboarding Smooth

The whole purpose of a HR department is quite easy to define: it’s all about bringing the right employees into the company and helping them grow. In between the moment of employment and the process of growth, there’s an important stage, onboarding... and for some recent college graduates, they are joining a company for the first time. 

A detailed onboarding process will ensure the new hires go through proper education on how to handle their roles properly. Your efforts will be focused on three main aspects:

• You want the new employee to acclimate to the culture of the workplace.
• You want the recent grad to engagein all organizational processes relevant to their position.
• You want to retain this employee in the company, so you’ll avoid the costs of hiring and training new people.

If you just hired a recent graduate, the onboarding process will be slightly different when compared to an employee who already has work experience. These employees are making a huge transition from college to work, so you have to help them handle it as smoothly as possible.

We’ll list few important tips that help you make a recent graduate’s onboarding smooth.

During the first stage of the onboarding process, the new employees must learn about the organization’s history, goals, and culture. For someone who already has experience working in the same industry, this process will be much simpler and faster. For a recent graduate, you must try a bit harder.

The HR department must prepare educational materials that inform new employees about the organization’s mission and history. For example, you can use Aussie writing service to hire professional writers, who will complete the text for these brochures under your instructions.

As for the culture, the new employees will have to witness it, so they can understand it. Still, you may include some of the highlights in the educational material you provide.

Recent graduates have an important advantage: their education is fresh. They are aware of most trends in the industry, and they have a great base of knowledge that you can benefit from. But they lack something: soft skills. That’s where your focus should be.

LinkedIn’s 2017 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report identified soft skills as one of the most important requirements of the job market. Adaptability, leadership, collaboration, culture fit, growth potential, and the ability to make priorities are some of the most important soft skills for a new employee to have. When you’re dealing with recent graduates, you’ll have to encourage them to work on the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Creativity 

When a recent graduate gets their first job, they really want to impress. They will act like they understand everything, so that attitude may lead to miscommunication. That’s why you must encourage questions, and lots of them!

Whenever you explain something to your new employee, invite them to ask relevant questions. Even if those questions are “dumb,” answer them with great enthusiasm. You have to awaken the person’s curiosity to find out more about your organization and get involved in all processes.

A recent graduate needs a mentor more than anyone. A survey-based study by Atenga found that a large percentage of Millennials (67% more than Baby Boomers) believed that having a great mentor is important for their satisfaction with the job.

It’s no wonder why some of the most successful organizations in all industries develop mentorship programs into their onboarding process. Your goal will be to pair the right employee with the right mentor, and monitor how the process develops. Needless to say, you’ll have to teach the mentors how to approach this process, and you’ll need to measure the results of the mentoring program. It’s a complex challenge that imposes the need for proper planning, but it will definitely deliver great results when implemented properly.                                                                            

The onboarding process is challenging both for the employer and the employee. When the employee just got out of school, the challenge is even greater. You know what? It’s also an exciting process, especially when the organization has a successful onboarding program. The above-listed tips will help you develop the right approach towards a recent graduate’s onboarding. 

Hiring recent colleges graduates can really supercharge your company and help aid its growth. But without a proper onboarding system, those new hires can be frustrated and yearning for a simpler way. For the absolute best onboarding experience, try Onboard for free. Our software solution is intuitive and powerful and makes onboarding anyone — recent grad, independent contractor, full-time employee, etc. — a easy, streamlined process.