Welcoming new employees is a must to build your business a healthy work relationship, form a bond of trust and loyalty, and motivate them to continue. Here are 15 onboarding ideas you cannot miss:
1. A Welcome Surprise
There’s no better way to set things on the right foot straight from the get-go. A superb pre-boarding present does something more than just welcoming a new employee.
- It displays the spirit of an organization and communicates its middle values.
- First impressions matter in the workplace. On an employee`s first day, the whole thing needs to be nicely installed to make certain ultimate consolation and productivity.
- Creating a snack & greet announcement for all new employees is another creative way to enhance the onboarding experience.
2. Checking in
Set ordinary check-ins among new hires and their supervisor to assist them in settling in and coping with concerns. One-on-one time with their direct supervisor is an essential part of onboarding.
3. Hunt and collect
In an in-workplace scavenger hunt, new personnel must go to different personnel contributors to gather an object from them. And in that context, it`s a little less complicated for personnel to allow their guards down and get to recognize every new employee better – each individually and professionally.
4. Engaging Orientation
One of the best onboarding ideas is to showcase the great organization that they have joined!
- Highlight only the crucial information that new employees need to learn this early.
- Establish individual value-find collaborative activities that allow employees to highlight their skills and strengths while showcasing the qualities they’ll add to your company.
5. Setting Clear Expectations
Ensure employees are 100% clear from the beginning what their goals and expectations are. Set SMART goals to clarify ideas, focus, time, and productivity resources and achieve goals.
- Specific: clear, unambiguous, and well-defined
- Measurable: With defined criteria that track your progress toward achieving your objective
- Achievable: Attainable but not impossible.
- Realistic: Within reach, reasonable, and relevant to your life purpose.
- Timely: With a clear timeline including a start and end date. The goal is to generate a sense of urgency.
6. Get Involved
An employee can relate to his work better, improving performance and efficiency at work. The benefits of employee involvement are:
- building community
- better communication
- enhanced morale
- less stress
- healthy relationship among coworkers
- creative thinking
- greater productivity
- higher product quality.
7. Giving onboarding enough time
Be patient with your employees. Please understand that it will take time to develop. Be prepared to invest time and money to increase your productivity in the long run. Short-term pain, long-term gain.
8. Have a checklist
It organizes steps to prepare for new employees, starting with an organization for managers and personnel. The onboarding checklist helps ensure that all necessary preparatory steps have been performed and guides new employees for the first few days as part of a new team.
Onboard Checklist
- Prepare entrant paperwork
- Procure devices and equipment
- Set up accounts’ logins
- Organize workstation
- Schedule new colleague’s orientation
- Send a welcome electronic mail
- Offer a workplace voyage
- Assign a peer mentor
- Send a new employee announcement
- Schedule time for onboarding feedback
- Set up a 30, 60 and 90-day check-in plan
9. Thought for the day
They say an army marches on its stomach. Staff, on the other hand, does. On the first day, it is also one of the great onboarding ideas to have a morning tea or an off-site paid lunch with coworkers, giving essential bonding time and feeding starving tummies.
10. Set up a mentor
Mentorship programs are great for any employee and are even more effective during onboarding. Providing them with a mentor is the perfect way to ensure they have someone to help them through this intimidating process.
11. Collecting feedback
Getting remarks on the onboarding technique is the simplest way to understand if personnel benefit from it. You can use platforms like Typeform to collect feedback.
12. Cheatsheet
An on-hand manual should cowl the new employees’ who, what, where, and in which. Key personnel, what every branch does, crucial locations (each physical, like bathrooms, and digital, just like the intranet URL), meals and stores close by, etc.
13. Light-hearted quiz
Test and praise new employees` know-how of the company, products, or even popular minutiae by taking mild quizzes. With questions such as
- Did the company meet your expectations?
- Can you pinpoint some challenges you’ve encountered in your first 30 days?
- Are you feeling welcomed by the team?
- What do you think of the company’s culture?
- Have you reached your 30-day goals?
- How can I help you in the future?
- Do you feel your position allows for a good work-life balance?
- Is there anything you don’t understand about your position?
- Are you able to communicate with me and the rest of management?
14. Interact even before 1st day
A new employee should already have had some interaction with your company even before their first day. Show them how excited you are for them to join, send them helpful links, and ensure they know what to expect when they arrive.
15. Take your time
This is undoubtedly the most important tip for onboarding an employee. There is a lot that a brand-new worker desires to apprehend. The bits and bobs of your company, its culture, products and services, how the group works, the voice, and tone, the gear to use, etc. More than anything, you want to apprehend that it takes time, so you ought to be patient.
We hope you find these onboarding ideas helpful!