Episode 99: Onboarding - Employee Experience Series, Part 2

About this Episode

We're doing a series of podcast episodes on employee experience! Today’s episode is number 2, which talks about the importance of the onboarding process.

This episode is for EVERYONE AND ANYONE who is involved with the onboarding process -- managers, leaders, candidates, and interviewers. "Onboarding" is the term used for the plan and process for welcoming someone to a company and getting them trained up for their new role.

Onboarding is a, if not THE, critical piece of employee success. According to a Jobvite 2020 survey, 1 in 3 hires leaves a job in the first 90 days. In a Bamboo HR report about onboarding, they found that 70% of people decide if a job is right for them in the 1st 30 days, and 20% decide in the first week.

Given these overwhelming stats, onboarding is a critical piece of employee experience, and if not done well, it can lead to attrition, high costs, and overall hits to morale.

First impressions are essential, and those first days are crucial in making a first impression about what a job will be like. Onboarding can be broken down into several layers:

• Paperwork and logistics. HR will usually handle your paperwork (proof of ID, where to park, work hours, etc); it is more process-oriented and mechanical.
• Training. Your team and manager (the focus of this podcast)

Onboarding happens over a few months.

Before you start. Hopefully, HR will send some material to inform you about the company and welcome you to the team - things like corporate logo swag, gifts, and welcome packages. That said, the key piece of welcoming someone before they start is the team supporting and welcoming someone as they go through leaving their old position and transitional activities necessary to start a new role. The silence between signing and starting brings anxiety to a new hire. Managers and folks on the team can call or email and say they can’t wait to see you.

Every new hire should have an itinerary for their first day, including a lunch if they’re in the office.

Managers should make a 30-60-90 outline (with input from the new hire) with people to meet, systems to log into, and projects to catch up on. Having a checklist is so helpful in letting a new hire know what they need to do.

Managers, another tip is to assign your new person a buddy so that they have a “ask me anything and you won’t feel dumb” person. This will help the new hire get up to speed tremendously.

Once the person has started, another way to welcome them to the team is to send an introduction to the company or team. Make sure the new hire has approved the information that you are sending out. Also, have a senior leader personally welcome them to the company. A 1-minute email or a 15-minute meet and greet makes a world of difference.

Even if you're not their manager, do you have a new hire that has joined your team? Reach out and set up time with them. Be a self-appointed part of the welcoming committee and share your tips and tricks that made your onboarding successful.

Another tip: make sure your new hire is invited to all relevant meetings (including the social ones), documents, and projects. We remember the helpers and the people who check in with us and include us while we’re onboarding.

Have you heard of "the 3 week freak out?" In week 3 on a new job, you’ve learned enough about what you need to do and feel overwhelmed, and we PROMISE that feeling will be gone by month 3. Don’t let the 3 week freak out ruin a new job experience. Make sure you check in on new hires at 3 weeks to see how they’re doing and reassure them.

Our mentor, J. Mike Smith, always uses the question, “What surprised you?”, in order to get more focused insights while reflecting on projects or processes. When you’ve onboarded someone, ask what surprised them -- and then make sure you adjust your onboarding program proactively for next time.

Onboarding occurs throughout the first YEAR (each annual event and each seasonal activity is their first in the new role), so checking in and taking the temperature on a new hire (and on all employees…..) continually is so so important. One-on-one check-ins are vital for maintaining employee experience.

When a new hire is coming in mid-project, make sure that they are updated, and if you're in the middle of a working meeting, let them know “we’ll talk about this later so I can catch you up” so they don’t feel lost. Background information is so helpful in getting someone up to speed.

When you’re a new hire and going through your own onboarding process, make sure to watch and to listen. Learn the culture and norms. Jump in, but also stay quiet and learn so that you can truly understand the place you joined.