Onboarding Workbook Make your new employees more productive in less time

Transcription

1 Onboarding Workbook Make your new employees more productive in less time

2 Onboarding What is it? Onboarding is the process of integrating new recruits and transforming them into productive and committed members of the organisation in the shortest possible time. From the human perspective, starting a new job is a major life event and as such comes with range of expectations and emotions such as fear, anxiety, excitement and nervousness. As we all know things in general can be amplified during these times and the events that happen (or don t happen) from the time a new recruit is identified are integral in forming their view of the company, what it does, how it does it and how it will treat them. From a practical perspective, onboarding is about ensuring that new recruit expectations are realistic and that they are going to be met - particularly through the first 3-6 months to maximise employee engagement and thus performance. Having considered all of that, doesn t it make perfect sense to allocate relatively insignificant resources to developing and implementing steps that will allow you to take control of this process. The benefits will be: That the new recruit will reach optimum performance faster Increased customer satisfaction The likelihood of retaining the recruit will be significantly increased because s/he knows that they are in the right place, with the right people and that it is highly likely that their expectations will be met. The following figure (1) shows the timeframe in which Employers believe an Employee makes a decision to stay at a company. As you can see approximately 90% of Employers believe that the decision is made some time within the first 6 months. Do you agree? If you do it will make sense that your onboarding/employee development program extends through to six months in some way. The process should also be an experience for both the new recruit and the company rather than a checklist operation.

3 Figure 1 Alternately, the cost of a bad start is significant with a potentially devastating bottom line results. How to Your Onboarding Program can encompass all phases from the identification of a potential new recruit: Recruitment Pre-start Induction/orientation Initial training /development plan Employee Development Program Recruitment Consider devising a systematic, multi step recruitment process which facilitates a psychological comfort with your candidates. Make sure the potential recruits understand your company and how they might, or might not, fit with it. If this is done well, those who fit will self select and see themselves as a member of your team before an offer is even made. Look for this level of excitement and commitment in potential recruits.

4 IDEAS: Interviewing your candidates both off site and on site Involving different key people in the interview process Introducing the individual to key people Share the company challenges as well as the vision and values Help the individual understand how s/he can make a significant contribution to this vision. Pace out the recruitment process so that a comfort level grows and decisions on both sides are made with the head as well as the heart. Show them exactly where they will be located. TIP Remember, this is also the time to gather some information about your competitors, how they work, what they offer and why this candidate is looking for another position who knows, you may be doing the same thing in your business. Pre-Start Once a new employee has signed on the dotted line it is important to keep the momentum going and to continue to build the relationship. Ask yourself, how you would feel if before arriving at your new workplace you received a welcome letter from the CEO, information about further company benefit plans for you to participate in and perhaps your business cards and a company coffee mug. IDEAS: Send a welcome Package Send paperwork to be completed Notify Payroll Provide details to the appropriate Manager Make an office Announcement Make an announcement to industry media/publications Advise arrangements for any relocation details or the like Create employee record Allocate a work area and ensure it is fully equipped (furniture, computer etc) Create an account Arrange a log in account for computer access - intranet/lan etc Order business cards Arrange mobile phone, car or other tools as required Schedule training Keeping in touch phone call from the direct Manager

5 Inducton/Orientation The actual structure and delivery of new-employee orientation programs will depend on the nature of the jobs and the size of your organization. Larger companies with larger numbers of new hires often create a "boot camp" process, whereby they indoctrinate these new employees into the company culture while at the same time building team relationships and developing network contacts that will be important as they move throughout their career. Smaller companies of course, will offer a less formal approach but it doesn't have to be any less systematic. New-employee orientation is not only a strategy to build corporate culture and to establish your brand; it's a means of establishing and building healthy, productive relationships as quickly as possible. But whatever actual newemployee tactics you do implement, it's important to consider this time and cost as an investment. Your return on this investment will be quickly seen in higher new employee job satisfaction, accelerated time to high productivity and increased employee retention rates. IDEAS: The direct Manager should be present on the first day with a plan of action for the first month Allocate a buddy for each new recruit to help them settle in. Be sure to select a buddy with the temperament to field and encourage all the stupid questions Arrange an informal lunch with other key employees Development of a training and development program Introduction to a coaching and mentoring program An introduction to performance reviews The Business Owner/CEO should appear in an overview session to speak on things such as company history, culture, strategies and values Don t delay the onboarding process waiting for other new recruits to join in. Each delay impacts negatively on productivity and provides the potential to develop bad habits and make costly mistakes

6 Employee Development To minimise the risk of your new recruit leaving inside 3 months, provide at least one scheduled opportunity (face to face or anonymous) to provide a list of things that are frustrating them and keeping them from being their most productive. Provide an environment and tools for new hires to ask stupid questions for as long s it takes. Debrief the onboarding process after 6 months to see what worked, what didn t and what else would have been helpful. Use this information to continually improve your onboarding program. Because a new recruit can dilute an organisation s culture, it is critical that they truly understand the organisations culture and how they are expected to act in certain situations. Research shows that the best way to reinforce these values is through telling compelling stories that illustrate these expected actions. Implementation Once you have designed your onboarding program and produced any collateral required you need to decide: How each event will be triggered Who will be responsible for carrying out each event/activity All relevant stakeholders are communicated to How will you record/reconcile the process for each new recruit (paper based or software). Will you offer any resources online (intranet/extranet) Conclusion Like all things in business and life, planning and execution are both key to a successful onboarding program. Take the time and you will reap the rewards. Resources Onboarding software: Assistance with design of your program: ph: (07)

7 Onboarding Action Plan

8 Onboarding Program Development Action Plan Step 1. a). Describe the experience you want your onboarding program to provide for your new employees. b). Based on your experience, describe the major issues that, if addressed properly, will reduce the time taken for your new employees to reach optimum performance. c). Describe the competitor research/improvement information you can gather during the onboarding process.

9 Step 2. Decide what will be included in each phase of the onboarding process, who is responsible for each action and how it will be triggered. WHO By when: Recruitment Item Who Trigger Reworked Offer letter E x a m p l e Human Resources Verbal acceptance of position Prestart Item Who Trigger

10 Orientation/Induction Item Who Trigger Initial Training & Development Item Who Trigger Employee Development Program Item Who Trigger

11 Step 2. Who will develop each item Phase Resources required Who By when E x a m p l e Pre-start Welcome package.. welcome letter.. company info (history, mission and values, capabilities, point of difference etc).. employee programs.. salary options and payment details.. parking.. company wide policies and procedures Recruitment Pre-Start

12 Orientation/ Induction Initial Training Employee Development

13 Step 3 Implementation Date: