The importance of onboarding

I used to run a company induction.  As in, I used to present to new starters on the company, how it was run etc.  Now this might not sound strange I was after all in HR.  Except I was an intern.  It was the summer between university and travelling and a summer job.  I don’t even remember it feeling that exciting – just more of an admin job.  Fast forward a couple of decades and I’m appalled I was allowed to do that. 

The onboarding stage of an employee’s life cycle is critical

It can take 28 weeks to get a new employee fully up to speed (Oxford Uni & Unum research) and in this new world of hybrid working, it becomes even more important.  Not only is 28 weeks a long time to wait get your full value on an employee but if you do get it wrong, the cost of turnover according to the Society for Human Resource Management is predicted at 6-9 months salary (that’s up to £30k of a £40k salary).

So, what’s important and how to you get it right? 

1.      Pre hire

2.      Orientation

3.      Training

4.      Transition

5.      Development

6.      Induction playbook

It’s the little things like how to post a document and fix your computer (after switching it on and off) to the big things like, what is the Company’s mission and values and goals and how you fit in with that.  It should feel like a seamless transition from recruitment to offer to start date, and there should be communication and check ins every step of the way.  Essentially, you’ve hired the person you want and they also want you!  You need to keep them wanting you and remembering why they said yes in the first place.    

It should incorporate the training they need to do and why.  It should focus on their development needs against the role they were hired for (realistically who ticks everything immediately).  There should be clear communication and structure around how they can be developed and what is expected of them at each stage.

Remember to make it look good

These are your employees; you want them to work hard and tell everyone how great you are.  You want to impress them and motivate them.  Give them a shiny induction playbook (using something like Canva is so easy).  Make it practical but make it exciting.  Make them want to be part of the journey with you.