Our 4-steps guide to build an Onboarding Processđ€

It’s estimated that 20% of companies do not have a specific process when it comes to integrating new employees. However, we do know that the first steps of an employee entering a new team can be decisive for a successful future at your company. Thatâs why an effective onboarding process is a fairly critical part of a new employeeâs first days at the company as they learn to orient, integrate, and support themselves among their new colleagues.
If this is your first time onboarding new employees we recommend going through at least these 4 essential steps that over the years the Beehire team has learned can be fairly impactful:
Maintain contact in the period before the new employee starts
The Onboarding process doesn’t start on the day your new employee arrives, but well before that. Itâs important to ensure that you maintain a relationship with the candidate after they have accepted your job offer. This keeps them engaged and thinking about their future employment at the company, and at the very least keeps tabs on them so they donât accept another offer elsewhere.
Motivated people tend to use the period to start working themselves into the matter they will be dealing with when they start or prepare themselves mentally by enjoying a few days off thanks to that sweet spot that is the period between two (confirmed) jobs.
Some things that work well to keep the future employee engaged are:
- Send them their signed contract before their arrival date.
- Send them an email with various elements allowing them to immerse themselves in their future environment, for example, your employee guidelines or any security policies they should review.
- This is a big if, but if youâre doing a teambuilding or having a team lunch/dinner in the period you might even invite the new recruit to get to know the team ahead of their start. (This also helps your team get used to the new employee).
Prepare a workspace
Not knowing what oneâs to do on a first day is unpleasant, and not having anywhere to sit is just as unpleasant (especially the whole âgo ahead and sit there, weâll figure out where to put you laterâ is very unprofessional). Instead, have the recruitâs computer and any other job-related materials ready, the seat and desk cleaned, and perhaps even prepare a little welcome gift (a mug with their name, a box of chocolates, etc).
If the employee doesnât sit at a desk be sure to show where they can get a (clean) locker or otherwise store their belongings.
Inform the team
Itâs pretty bad when a new employee arrives at an office on their first day and doesnât know what to do, but itâs even worse when their team doesnât know what theyâre supposed to do either. A simple e-mail informing the team and the various administrative departments of the recruitâs arrival will prevent a lot of discomforts when they finally arrive.
At the very least it gets people thinking about what tasks and onboarding sessions will be needed, because it might even speed up some other things such as access to networks, devices, and ID cards.
Which brings us toâŠ
Assign a mentor
⊠or at the least a single point of contact for the new employee. Someone the employee can go to with questions about the business, administration, and team activities like having lunch. This also helps a lot in getting a better fit in the companyâs culture, and new recruits typically really appreciate this.
This doesnât always have to be the same person: some companies have a rotating mentor system where everyone gets a go.
Thatâs a quick wrap of the basics when it comes to onboarding a new employee. Weâd love to hear from you if you have any questions or comments about how to apply this at your place of work. Contact us or get started for free today!