How was your first day at your current job? Was it fun and/or memorable? Or did you feel lost or buried in a pile of paperwork?
One of the most important steps in recruiting a new job candidate is creating a successful employee onboarding experience. After multiple job interviews and looking for the right work family, a new hire’s first day should be a confirmation that they made the right decision. Employers only have one chance at making a lasting first impression, so this day should be well organized and thought out. The time invested in onboarding new employees has a dramatic effect on employee satisfaction, productivity, performance, and ultimately retention, saving companies time and money in the long run.
Employers that really care about their workers will go the extra mile to make their employees feel as comfortable as possible on their first day. Here are 4 tips on how to successfully onboard your new hires:
Prepare & make it personal. Prior to your new employee’s start date make sure that you properly prepare for their first day, starting with their workspace. Stock their desk with pens, note pads, a calendar, and other basic items, but also make sure you create their new email address, download all software they’ll be using, and create a new account/profile for them on all of your web-based programs so they’re ready to begin. Designate someone in the company to greet the new employee with a warm welcome when they come in and give them a VIP tour of the office, introducing them to their new colleagues. You can also ask them to complete a simple survey before their first day so you can have their favorite latte on their desk when they arrive! Or to make it feel like a celebration, pop some champagne to show them you’re excited they’ve come onboard!
Streamline the process & reduce paperwork. If you don’t already have a web-based system for your employee onboarding paperwork or benefits administration, find out if your payroll company or benefits broker offer an online platform that you can use to streamline the process! Rather than giving your new hire a packet of forms they need to fill out and sign in multiple places, give them the link to their online HR portal where they can input their information, select their benefits, and digitally sign and submit. This reduces the workload for HR and eliminates the need for unnecessary printing! You can give them electronic copies to save for their records and their username and password so they can log on anytime throughout the year to either update their information, look up details relating to their insurance benefits, or refer to the Employee Handbook.
Equip your new hire with the resources they’ll need. By providing your employee with resources, guides, templates, and procedure checklists, you may also effectively shorten their learning curve. Employees will figure things out more quickly if they know who to ask for what and which procedure to follow. Make sure these resource guides are organized and always up to date! If you can provide a mentor and/or on the job training for your new employee, this may ease them into their new role and give them the support they need to get things done efficiently and correct the first time! The more training you provide, the sooner your new hires can get up to speed. If there are lots of names to remember, depending on the size of your business, you can also hang up a board in the office with everyone’s picture, names, and titles/department so everyone can refer to it as they get to know each other.
Make the process FUN! Think outside the box and come up with fun ways to get your team to interact with their new team member! Create a scavenger hunt where your new employee(s) will make their way around the office to find various objects and ask people questions to get to know them better (i.e. Find the team member that has ran 3 marathons or find the team member that was born in Peru)! They’ll get to know things about the staff that might otherwise take them longer to find out and they might find something they have in common. Make sure to share your company events calendar with your new employee right away to get them excited about the fun teambuilding and employee appreciation events that lie ahead, from annual Holiday dinners to Bring Your Dog to Work Day.
While this list is just a start, the more you can do to make your new employee feel welcomed, valued, and prepared to start their new job, the more likely they will stick around for the long haul. Remember to review your onboarding process regularly and make slight changes as needed, but also deliver a consistent experience for all new hires so everyone gets the same first class treatment on their first day of work.
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By Stephanie San Antonio, President and Benefits Specialist, SSA Insurance Services
Since 2013 SSA Insurance Services has been helping organizations of all sizes to promote and protect the health and wellness of their most important asset: their employees. Stephanie San Antonio and her team do this by working with employers to design, implement, and maintain a company culture that is in line with their mission and values, and building a comprehensive benefit package that attracts and retains their top talent. Because their team believes in putting health first, all SSA clients receive a complimentary wellness program tailored specifically to their business. Call SSA at (760) 203-4299 for more information on how they help design a benefit program and company culture that work hand in hand to create an environment where people are inspired to stay healthy and work hard to help their company reach success.