Imagine diving into the world of employee onboarding, where beyond the sea of mandatory forms like W-4s, I-9s, direct deposit slips, and emergency contacts, lies an ocean of experiences as diverse as the workforce itself. Despite the critical role that effective onboarding plays in boosting productivity, fostering engagement, and enhancing retention—a staggering 88% of U.S. companies confess to falling short in delivering a robust onboarding journey. As an HR professional, I encourage you to craft your onboarding strategy with care, choose the right tools, and focus on laying a solid foundation. At its heart, onboarding is about propelling your team toward unparalleled success.
The first days of an employee’s experience with a new company set the tone for their relationship moving forward. You don’t want new employees to lose confidence in you before they reach their full potential, which, unfortunately, happens often. Data shows that 44% of new employees have regrets about their jobs within the first week! As the HR Business Partner at HiringThing, a fully remote organization, I have the added challenge of trying to create an engaging, connected experience without meeting them in person. I combat this by building touchpoints with every new team member. From the day they accept their offer letter, that process begins.
We send a welcome email as soon as the offer is signed; a day-one expectations guide three days before they start ; and their first day is kicked off with a virtual orientation meeting. From the beginning, I want to ensure that the team member feels connected to the team. Regular communication between their direct manager and me before day one helps calm nerves around the unknown experience ahead of them.
New hires not only meet with me, but in the first two weeks, they meet every department head individually for an intro and overview. They also get an introduction at our weekly all-team meeting and are assigned an internal blog post to introduce themselves further—not only do we want them to learn about us, but we want them to know that we want to know more about them. Having the right tools, reminders, and checklists for all involved helps keep the experience consistent! Cross-department interaction is a crucial first step. Understanding the company is as important as understanding their new role.
Over the first few weeks of our employee onboarding, we set the team members up with an onboarding mentor, typically from another department, to set the stage for early cross-departmental collaboration. We look for people who have been on the team for at least a year and are comfortable answering questions. We also encourage our mentors to introduce the new team members to the “non-work” side of the team; fun slack channels; company traditions; and our monthly virtual meet-ups.
Consistency is critical to onboarding. Setting (and sticking to) regular check-in points with HR, the new hire’s manager, and the mentor, as well as proactively following up on anything that may come up in those meetings, shows the new team members they have support. We use our onboarding tool to set reminders and manage tasks.
While consistency is key, so is personalization. When we were building our onboarding tool, I was able to share with key stakeholders how important it is to customize this process to reflect the company’s culture, mission, and workflow. While you must ensure that you check all the logistical boxes, you also want the team members to feel like they understand and are a part of this organization.
That being said, I can’t overstate the importance of clearly defining expectations. Organize and let new employees know what will be expected of them and when. Highlighting hard deadlines also reinforces priorities so the new team members understand what they must focus on first. Clear communication and follow-up, both electronic and through person-to-person meetings, help set the new hire up for success.
So many new tools and options are being created for HR to use these days. My advice is to take the time to select one that sets your team up for success from the get-go. Whatever tool you use, add something to it that is your company stamp, the voice of your company values, so that from the very beginning, the team member knows why they are there and how they can build a career path that successfully supports both theirs and the company’s growth.
By Becca Noland, HR Strategic Business Partner at Hiring Thing
Becca Noland’s career has spanned three diverse yet interconnected fields: art education, non-profit administration, and human resources. Becca began her journey by inspiring creativity and fostering a love for the arts among students. Her passion for making a difference led her to the non-profit sector, where she harnessed her skills in administration to drive organizational success.
Transitioning to the field of human resources, Becca found a way to combine her love of helping people grow and excel with her administrative skills. Over the last seven years, she has worked with HiringThing, Inc, a dynamic and innovative technology company. At HiringThing, Becca has had the unparalleled opportunity to help build the company HR practices from the ground up. Her role as an HR Business Partner has helped shape the company’s culture, policies, and practices, ensuring a positive and productive work environment. Working at an HR software company has also allowed her to use her knowledge to offer insight into how the product can support the HR needs of the end user.
Becca holds the prestigious SHRM-SCP (Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional) credentials, highlighting her advanced knowledge and skills in HR. Alongside her professional achievements, she also boasts two bachelor’s degrees, which laid the groundwork for her multifaceted career.
