Onboarding – ignore those 5 things in 2023 and fail for sure

I have been working with people in C-level roles for more than 20 years and I can say that if getting recruitment right is the number 1 most important thing then number 2 is on-boarding.

Depending on the role it can take from 6 to 12 months to get your new hires to full speed.

But hey, hold your horses – before gaining speed you need to set the objectives for on-boarding. In most cases, you want to introduce your new hire to:

1. the company (story, culture, mission, values,…)

2. the colleagues

3. His or her personal objectives and the ways to achieve those

Now you can start planning. By doing so consider the following tips.

5 PRO tips for better onboarding

1. Design and build a good first impression for your new hire. It works in personal relations and it also works with your new hire. For example, fully prepare and equip the workplace, welcome your new colleague on arrival, and provide a little welcome gift.

2. Set persons responsible for various steps of the on-boarding program. Involve key persons in the on-boarding, and talk through the objectives for their part of the program. Of course, the direct manager should take the overall lead in carrying out the onboarding.

3. Take the time. Depending on the position, it can take up to 6 months until your new hire starts to fully contribute and perform in his or her position. Design the program about 90 days in length.

4. Give feedback. Hey, that’s how we learn – we step, we stumble and we learn. Honest and timely feedback is the best on-boarding accelerator. Use everyday situations and weekly 1-1s for that purpose.

5. Design a special Employee handbook with thorough information on practices and principles in your company. Believe me, it will be good for new employees but also reaffirming for the whole existing team. See an example from Wise.

Bonus tip

Gone are those days when you wait to collect all your new hires in one room to start the onboarding program. Nowadays you can use technology. Design the onboarding program with the help of your Learning Management System.

You can have your employee handbook transformed into an on-boarding e-learning program, with all automation, interactivity, task lists, and more. You can assign your new hires to an e-onboarding program even before they arrive for their 1 day in the new job.

Agu Remmelg

Founder and CEO of Coursy.io

Onboarding Your Employees Effectively Is A Game-Changer. Read more!