Onboarding is a process of assimilating new employees into an organization and providing them with the necessary knowledge and tools for successfully accomplishing their goals. The process is long and for long-term employees, it should be continuous over a period of time until the employee is fully on board to conduct duties in line with the organization’s culture as explained below (CAL HR, 2012).
Pre-Arrival
Send the employee a welcome letter detailing the necessary information such as benefits, organization chart, their parking information, the name of staff members, and agenda for the first day.
Assign an existing employee to be the peer supporter for the new employee, ensure the new workplace is prepared, configure the assigned computer, and arrange for security access issues.
Announce to the existing staff that a new employee will be joining the task force and arrange for the first-day immediate meeting.
First Day
Meet the new employee at the specified time and take them to their workspace and give them a tour of the organization.
Introduce the employee to the preselected peer supporter to help them in completing the paperwork, explain the security setup, as well as the benefits accorded to them.
Have the head of the department introduce the new employee to the staff and explain the goals and mission of the company.
First Week
Meet the new employee and discuss the responsibilities and roles, supervisory competencies, expected performance, mandatory training, and initial assignments.
Review the organization’s structure, review the procedures and the key policies and values.
Provide the list of contacts, acronyms, and special terms used in the organization.
Assess the employee’s training needs and initiate a development plan for them to follow and use in assessing themselves in leadership competencies.
Schedule several follow-up meetings based on the completed assignments and have progress review meetings as the week ends.
Introduce the new employee to the senior management.
First Month
Ensure the employee attends the employee orientation programs.
Make sure the employee understands the evaluation processes and the system of performance appraisal.
Ensure the employee meets all the key stakeholders, customers, and department heads.
Review the progress after the first month and ensure the employee gives feedback.
First 90 Days
Observe the employee’s progress and answer any questions and give on-going feedback.
Training should be provided in order to help the employee to learn any new systems and skills required to perform competently.
Introduce the employee to other key personnel in different departments in the organization.
Assign the employee challenging projects for ability assessment.
Schedule a first employee’s probation report where they prepare self-evaluation drafts.
First Year
Have the presentation of the probation report by the new employee.
Continue development plan implementation and address the gaps in the employee’s skill set.
Have the presentation of the second probation report and give some feedback.
Continue providing challenging projects to the employee.
Have the presentation of the third probation report and ask for feedback.
Conduct the final probation review and request the employee to give some feedback on his experience in the onboarding process.
The two most important elements in the onboarding process, include the first day routines and the following 90 days. The first day routines should be pleasing to the new employee for a long-lasting positive perception about the company. Items such as paperwork and other administrative matters can come later in the week but not the first day. As such, the employer must be prepared for the new employee, ensure the presence of organic conversations, prepare new assignments, and then have a casual lunch with the employee. For the next 90 days, the employee should be provided with the tools and information needed to adapt to the new working environment. They should also be encouraged to quickly rise up their productivity ramp. Therefore, the employer should come up with a 90-day plan, provide hyper-local information, as well as offer and get feedback from the employee (Krasman, 2015).
References
California Department of Human Resources (CAL HR). (2012). Sample Onboarding Plan. California Department of Human Resources. Retrieved from http://www.calhr.ca.gov/Training/pages/performance-management-sample-onboarding-plan.aspx
Krasman, M. (2015). Three Must-Have Onboarding Elements for New and Relocated Employees. Employment Relations Today, 9-14. Retrieved from https://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/onlineLibraryTPS.asp?DOI=10.1002/ert.21493&ArticleID=3872502
