Onboarding New Hires: Who, What, When, Where, and Why
The perfect person has just accepted your job offer. What happens next? Most often, the answer has been that nothing occurs prior to the individual’s first day in the office.
Tip: Onboarding is not just the job of human resources. The immediate manager needs to be involved and, hopefully, an onboarding buddy assigned as well.
In a growing number of businesses, however, onboarding — that is, the process of familiarizing a new employee with the organization — is beginning well in advance of the first day in the office.
WHO
Onboarding is not just the job of human resources. The immediate manager needs to be involved and, hopefully, an onboarding buddy assigned and introduced prior to the start date.
WHAT
According to TriNet (TriNet.com), which offers “full-service HR solutions,” onboarding should include:
• Preboarding: 1-3 days
• Orientation: 1 day-1 week
• Goal setting: 1-2 days
• Training: 1 week-2 months
• Job transition: 60-90 days
WHEN
Onboarding frequently begins as soon as an offer is accepted and lasts at least until the employee’s first day of work. In more and more offices, however, the process extends beyond this and often isn’t considered complete until the individual has been with the company for a year.
WHERE
Whether your new employee will be in office or working remote, consider a virtual meeting to get the ball rolling. The GoCo Onboarding HR Platform (GoCo.io) suggests seeing your new hire at least once before the start date and getting paperwork completed prior to that date as well.
WHY
According to research conducted by the Brandon Hall Group (BrandonHall.com), “organizations with strong onboarding can increase retention by 82%.”
How long will those employees stay? As reported by analytics firm Gallup (Gallup.com), 69% of employees who say they experienced exceptional onboarding are likely to stay with that organization for at least three years.
What’s your experience with onboarding? Tell us about it and share in the conversation on Facebook here.
