The average American changes jobs about 12 times in their lifetime.

Onboarding employees is something every company needs to do. Depending on the nature of your business, it could be quite a complicated process, and it will determine how well-prepared new employees are for their job. There’s always room for improvement, so you should work to make the process as effective and streamlined as possible.

Keep reading for 5 key tips that will help you with onboarding new employees successfully.

1. Start Onboarding From The Recruitment Stage

Some people separate recruitment and onboarding, but you’ll find it’s typically better to combine them. When communicating with potential hires, you should be working to attract the top talent.

As soon as you come into contact with a candidate you should start the onboarding process. Be clear with your communication and tell them what working with your company is like. The job post itself is a great place to do this as you can inform job seekers of what they can expect.

Continue this through to their starting day. Make sure you keep things relatively simple so they can get used to their new environment. There may be a lot of paperwork to sign and various things they need to get used to, but give them time.

Before their first day, there are some things you can do to ease them in:

  • Send a welcome email with some key information about the company
  • Deal with any paperwork like NDAs
  • Provide a list of key employees they should be familiar with
  • Create a list of tasks and skills that will be relevant when they start

With every new employee, it can be beneficial to assign a mentor who’s familiar with their job role. This will give them someone that they can go to if they have any questions.

2. Consider Each Role for Effective Onboarding

Everyone you hire will be different, and there are various roles you’ll be hiring for. When onboarding a new employee, make sure you have their particular role in mind, as the process may be slightly different for everyone.

In a restaurant, for example, onboarding a chef and a waiter in the same way wouldn’t be suitable. You need to focus on the particular responsibilities of each employee so they can get started without any confusion or issues. Make sure you plan ahead so you know how things will go for each new employee.

Onboarding an employee can be very expensive, so you want to make sure the process is efficient. You should assess each new recruit to determine their existing skills and knowledge.

You can do this through tests that will highlight particular strengths and weaknesses. With the results, you can develop a training program that focuses on what they need to learn and skips what they already know.

3. Familiarize Recruits With Your Workplace

All employees need to fit well into their environment, so you want to make sure they’re comfortable with where they’re working. You can start by taking them on a tour around the workplace to show them the different areas and departments. The more they know about the place, the more welcomed and comfortable they’ll feel.

You can start with the area they’ll be working in as that will be the most relevant. Next, show them other important areas such as restrooms, breakrooms, and the locations of any managers or supervisors they’ll be reporting to. You can even show them areas that aren’t directly related to their job just so they can have a better understanding of the company as a whole.

While doing this, you should introduce them to their colleagues so they can start getting to know the people they’ll be working with every day. This will help them start building relationships immediately, and it will be helpful for them to know what roles different people have.

If you’re onboarding remote employees, a tour of the workplace may not be necessary. You can, however, conduct a team meeting on Skype or Zoom so that everyone can get acquainted.

4. Optimize Your Training Methods

All new employees will need some amount of training, though this can vary. There are all kinds of training methods you can use, such as reading, writing, visuals, and discussions. It’s important to note that some training methods will work better than others.

People typically learn very well from visual information, for example. Training videos are a great way to implement this. If suitable, hands-on training is also very effective when it comes to retaining information.

Participatory learning also works very well. Group discussions and brainstorming sessions are simple but can go a long way toward helping new employees learn more about their roles. They can also help foster an environment of collaboration and teamwork.

5. Sign up New Hires for Tools They’ll Need to Use

Modern businesses tend to use a lot of software tools in day-to-day operations. There’s a good chance your new employees will need to use these tools, so you should make sure they’re signed up by the time they start.

When showing them these tools for the first time, make sure they’re aware of the need for security and confidentiality. Recommending things like strong passwords and two-factor authentication can be very helpful.

Successfully Onboarding Employees

Onboarding employees can be tricky, but making sure things are done right will have a huge impact. Plan things out ahead of time so that you know how the process will go, and always look for ways you can improve onboarding for new employees.

Bradford Jacobs specializes in helping businesses with onboarding, engagement, implementation, and more. Take a look at our Onboarding Services page today to find out more about how we can help your business.