After putting in so much time and energy to find the right person for the job, you can’t abandon new hires as soon as they step through the door on their first day. If your company’s onboarding process consists of having people fill out a few forms before showing them to their desk, it’s time for an overhaul.
Not having a comprehensive orientation program can majorly backfire. In fact, studies have shown that up to 25% of new hires leave within a year as a direct result of subpar onboarding activities. It also has a huge impact on performance, as research from the Aberdeen Group revealed that 77% of new hires at companies with formal onboarding processes met their first performance goals, whereas just 49% of employees at companies without defined processes met their objectives.
4 Ways to Improve Your Onboarding Process
Make a great impression on new hires by including the following four initiatives in your orientation activities:
Include a Meet and Greet
It’s always uncomfortable to look around an office and have no idea who most of your new team members are. Help people feel welcome by making a list of key staffers they’ll be interacting with and scheduling one-on-one meetings, so they can get to know each person and learn what they do for the company.
Share Key Company Background Information
If you don’t share organizational values, goals and strategies with new hires, they’re not going to know what your company stands for and where you’re headed. Prepare an informative training course covering your history and what your company is all about, so people aren’t left to make their own assumptions.
Develop a Personalized Training Program
Make new hires feel appreciated by creating a training program specifically designed for them. Put together a 30-60-90 day plan containing your expectations for their first few months on the job, to ensure you’re on the same page. Schedule training sessions to help them get up-to-speed and check-in regularly to see if they have any questions, comments or concerns.
Use the Partner System
Learning your way around a new company is always a challenge at first. Ease this burden by assigning every new hire a buddy to help them get through their first few weeks of work. This person should act as their go-to source for everything from showing them where the coffeemaker is to helping them get systems access to programs required to do their job.
Need a little extra time in your day to create an excellent onboarding process?
Contact ECS. Since our company was formed in 2000, we’ve focused on building relationships with recruiters and clients throughout the United States, managing contract staffing engagements in the primary employment categories of Information Technology, Accounting & Finance, Clerical & Administrative, and some categories of Engineering & Architecture.
