Onboarding is a process of integrating new employees into the company to ensure that they contribute effectively towards an organization’s goal. The process should be organized and managed by the human resource (HR) managers. HR managers can use either formal or informal onboarding. In a formal onboarding, there are written policies and procedures that are used to ensure that an employee adjusts to the job (Bauer, 2010). In a case where employees learn on their own about the job without a management plan is known as informal onboarding. The employees gain knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes to align them to the goals of the new organization. According to Berard (2013), there are four distinct levels of successful onboarding namely: compliance, clarification, culture, and connection. At the compliance level, employees are introduced to the legal, rules, and regulations governing the employees’ conduct in an organization. It is followed by clarification whereby duties or responsibilities and expectations associated with the job are explained to the new hire in detail. At the third level, culture, an employee is introduced to the norms of the organization. Connection level is concerned with interpersonal relationships and networks of information which employees are required to establish for them to perform better.
A typical example of onboarding process may start a day before the reporting date. HR representatives can establish communication with new employee to reduce anxiety. This can be a welcome card, brief information about the job and an agenda for the first week. The HR personnel then prepare all paperwork required on the reporting date. Orientation is conducted on the first day in which the employee is directed to sign necessary paperwork like contract or payroll among others. Explanation of the firm’s procedures, policies, vision, mission, and values as well as the importance of the employee role in the organization will then follow. Other days in the first week may include an introduction to supervisor, colleagues, and senior staff to familiarize an employee with the organizational structure. The onboarding plan could run throughout the first 90 days whereby managers maintain continuous contact with the employee. A key to effective onboarding is the provision of necessary training and feedback while at the same time review the performance in line with personal and organization goals.
References
Berard, J. (2013). Accelerating Leadership Development: Practical Solutions for Building Your Organization's Potential. Ontario: John Wiley & Sons Canad, Ltd.
Bauer, T. (2010). Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success (1st ed.). Alexandria VA 22314, USA: SHRM Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org
