How many times have you been told by a parent or a mentor that you never get a second chance to make a first impression?  Putting your best foot forward is crucial when you are job seeking, networking, or even getting together for a casual meet and greet.

We assign a lot of value to individual first impressions. We should also hold our organizations accountable to make a favorable first impression to new hires.  Much thought is given to how to retain valuable employees as they grow within the organization, but what about the new employees?

One trending topic that was bandied about at this year’s HR Leadership Connection Conference was the importance of having a successful onboarding program.  Onboarding, the term used to describe the process by which a new hire acclimates to his or her role at a new organization, has changed a lot over the past few years.

In the past, many organizations did not have a dedicated onboarding “program.”  Onboarding of yesteryear fell solely to the HR department, and consisted in many cases of a short half-day orientation program introducing the organization, a dry review of policies and benefit plans, and of course, a stack of paperwork for the new hire to hastily review and return.  After a brief introduction to coworkers and receiving an ID badge, the new hire was considered to be up to speed and was expected to be fully autonomous while still grappling with the nuances of a new organization.

Fortunately, organizations are realizing that this transactional approach needs some serious revamping.  According to Bonusly, 31% of over 1000 workers reported having quit a job within the first six months. In the study by BambooHR, the top reasons employees left were a poor onboarding experience, a lack of clarity surrounding job duties and expectations, or having a poor manager.  Fortunately, many of these situations are within an organization’s control, and having a clear, well-managed onboarding program addresses some of these issues.

According to Panopto, longer onboarding programs allow companies to design structured, relational onboarding programs that, over the course of the first year, can increase new hire retention by 25 percent compared to shorter, transactional onboarding processes. If they consider onboarding as a months-long to a year-long journey, rather than a quick trip, organizations can take the time to strategically address and mitigate any issues that may arise during the first year.

Not only is taking enough time in the process important, but everyone in the organization should recognize that onboarding is a team effort.  While it used to be considered “HR’s job,” onboarding tasks are now more evenly distributed between the new hire’s manager and department as well as HR.  According to Bamboo HR, employees prefer that their own managers take charge of onboarding, over anyone else in the organization!

There are a lot of factors to consider when building an effective onboarding program, and so many great ideas out there for getting new employees assimilated, engaged, productive, and happy.  Let’s examine what different organizations are doing to manage that first impression through a well-defined onboarding program.

Before the First Day

Known as pre-boarding, there are several things you can do to make a new hire feel welcome in the days after the offer has been accepted and before his or her start date.  A few ideas include:

  • Call the new hire, welcoming him or her to the team. The call should be made by the new hire’s manager. Most often it is an HR representative extending the offer and serving as the point of contact, so it is a nice personal touch hearing from the manager directly.
  • Send a letter with a schedule for the first day so the new hire knows what to expect that day and who to ask for upon arrival.
  • Send information about the organization’s history, mission and values – the new hire will feel more connected with the organization by reviewing this information prior to the first day.

On the First Day

The first day can be overwhelming for any new hire. There are a lot of new faces to learn, a new building to navigate, not to mention the new job itself!  To take some of the stress off the first day, try implementing a few of these ideas:

  • Put photos of each employee on your org chart, and include the new hire’s name on it from day one (and photo as soon as possible). He or she will feel like part of the team from the start, and having the photos will make it easier to remember who’s who.
  • Ask the President or CEO (or a department head or equivalent if your organization is larger) to write a personal welcome note to the new hire to leave on his or her desk on the first day – it means a lot to be acknowledged from the top.
  • Have the new hire’s name plate ready and in place at his or her office by the first day, if your office uses name plates on offices or cubicles. It’s a small thing, but not only is it important for the new hire to feel some ownership of his or her space, it is also key in helping other employees to learn the new hire’s name.
  • Assign a “buddy” or mentor to the new hire, ideally a more experienced peer to help provide guidance and field questions the new hire may encounter during the first year and beyond.
  • Arrange a tour of the building, and also provide a written guide of the building if you have a large office, including which departments are housed on which floors, and highlight areas such as the kitchen, cafeteria, gym, rest rooms or other areas where employees spend time.
  • Take the new hire out for lunch – getting away from the office for an hour will help the new hire recharge and get the opportunity to interact with his or her colleagues on a more casual level.
  • Provide the new hire with a copy of the Employee Handbook. It’s hardly light reading, but many people have questions about specific policies they may not feel comfortable asking about such as the dress code, smoking, etc. which are helpful to know from day one.
  • Provide the new hire with a copy of his or her full job description. This is crucial for the new hire to have a clear understanding of his or her job.

During the First Week         

  • Have the manager and new hire sit down together to review the job description and thoroughly explain the responsibilities, duties, and expectations.
  • Provide the new hire with a clear understanding of his or her role and path to success. Ideally, the manager has worked with HR to create a milestone plan for the new hire’s role which outlines specific goals to be reached at designated points throughout the year (i.e. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc.). The manager communicates the plan to the new hire, outlining the milestones to work towards and creating the incentive for the new hire to stay and complete each milestone.
  • Outline the training plan the new hire will be completing. Whether it is formal training or on-the-job training, the manager should let the new hire know what to expect, who to come to for questions, and a general timeline of the training.
  • Complete any formal orientation program.
  • Review employee benefits and key policies and explain any required paperwork to the new hire in person. Meeting face-to-face helps the new hire build trust with HR and makes him or her feel more comfortable to ask questions. Remote employees can do this through Skype for the same face-to-face connection.

Over the Next Several Months

  • Conduct brief “check-in” interviews by HR with each employee at the 30, 60, and 90 day marks. SHRM says this ensures that the new hire is having a smooth transition into the role by identifying roadblocks as soon as possible.
  • Have the manager check in with the new hire regularly to make sure he or she is on target to meet the recommended milestones that have been communicated.
  • Make sure the manager meets with the new hire at each milestone mark. Some organizations even give out certificates of achievement for each milestone as a “reward”.
  • Keep the assigned buddy available for any guidance the new hire may need.

There are many great ideas to get a new employee up and running in an onboarding program.  Not only is retention a factor in creating an extended onboarding program, but according to Atrivity, of the companies with onboarding programs, employees in the longest onboarding programs gain full proficiency 34% faster than in the shortest programs – that’s a difference of four months!  When improved retention and productivity are at stake, it is definitely worth the effort to get everyone in your organization on board with onboarding!