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Why Employee Onboarding Is More Than Induction

by Tanya June 17, 2022

Making sure, that a new hire fits into the company, should begin at the recruitment stage, sure.

But sometimes, things don’t go as expected making us feel like we’ve made the wrong choice.

This usually happens, when you’ve had a bad start at a new company. Not being heard or appreciated, can lower your perceptions about the company and make it easy for you to leave.

This is why we have the first three-month probation period, during which time both an employee and an employer are assessing each other.

Employees will look at how well the organization meets the expectations promised during the recruitment phase and employers will look at how well a new recruit performs and gets along with others.

To help with this, you can create ideal employee profiles during the recruitment stage. This can ensure the next employee is a great fit for your business and your team.

Why is employee onboarding important?

Employee onboarding or employee integration is a process of helping new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to become effective members of an organization.

The first impression is important because it sets the tone for the whole employment.

Transitioning an employee into a new role can be difficult if you don’t know what action to take. You may benefit from getting outside support and enlisting the help of Randstad RiseSmart. They offer internal talent mobility solutions which can help in the movement of employees across roles within the business. Also, they have well-thought-out programs that can improve retention in your company.

Unfortunately, in many companies, the formal onboarding process either covers solely the first day induction, exists only on paper, or is absent altogether.

The problem is, good employees are abundant with choices and qualified applicants are often “headhunted” by rival companies.

The highly competitive labour market is the reason a well-managed employee integration process is important.

My problem with employee onboarding

My biggest caveat with employee onboarding is when managers default to a mechanical and routine approach, without actually trying to understand the person in front of them.

In my opinion, it is crucial to have a private one-on-one discussion between the new staff and their immediate supervisor about what really needs to be done and what skills and attitudes are required to achieve the results.

Because … often, the advertised job description doesn’t give a full picture of the actual day-to-day work, so it’s important to have that transparent conversation within the first few days of joining and define clear expectations.

These should become regular two-way discussions, and not monologues from the manager.

Many new recruits tend to hover around in the background for some time before they express their opinions or share their ideas with the group. A good manager should encourage involvement from day one, which will help to create a communicative, open, and friendly atmosphere in the office.

Setting up expectations and providing necessary training from the get-go will reduce underperformance and help with performance management in the future.

Additionally, companies like Process Street simplifies the tedious admin part of every job, making people happier and more productive. Process Street is simple, intuitive, and painless business process management software that makes employee onboarding, workflows, and daily and weekly tasks super easy to visualise and manage.

Employee onboarding tactics

Below are some commonly used employee onboarding tactics for successful integration.

First day: Induction

Induction is the first day at work, which aims to provide a new employee with basic information about the company.

An employee is given a tour of the office, they are introduced to colleagues, clients, operational processes and procedures, contracts, and payroll.

Ideally, existing employees would know the name and the role of the new employee. The simple way to do this is to have employees meet the new person right away.

Induction is the most admin-heavy part of employee integration and is primarily handled by the HR manager.

The first week: Understanding the company culture

Company culture is something that is hard to put into words.

It is a set of unwritten rules that all people of the company live by. Culture gives us understanding about what is normal, appropriate, and expected, but also what is inappropriate and unaccepted.

Understanding the culture is what sets “us” (the insiders) apart from “them” (outsiders). When others don’t meet our expectations, it is often a cue that our cultures don’t fit.

No matter how natural your culture might seem to you, you can’t assume that anybody, who walks into your company, will immediately understand it.

This is why new employees should be briefed on internal rules, organizational structure, and work ethics within the first week of joining.

Special attention should be given to explaining basic policies on breaks, working late, working from home, timeliness, holidays, etc.

These issues are likely to arise quickly and the new employee will appreciate not having to unknowingly break a rule.

Another vital area to focus on is the blame culture at work. Shifting blame is a natural human response to issues. However, new employees must be briefed on the company’s stand on employees failing to take responsibility for a failed action.

The onboarding process is a deliberate series of activities to bring new employees up to speed with company values, objectives, goals, and culture. Failure to cover all vital areas may give way to confusion and conflict.

Probation: Getting a mentor

Many companies have found that mentoring, i.e. pairing the new employee with a more experienced colleague, can be effective for training and transferring an understanding of the organizational culture.

Mentors can be line or department managers, but also external subject matter experts, who are able to pass on the vision of the leadership and understanding of new markets.

In addition, partnering younger workers with their more seasoned colleagues can be very positive for sharing specific market expertise.

Cross-generational or reverse mentoring recognizes that both younger and older employees can learn from each other, older people possess business acumen and tricks of the trade and younger people understand digital technology and new-age consumers.

Finding ways to leverage the uniqueness of each generation will be a 21st-century competitive advantage.

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Tanya

The first Millennial blogger in the UK. Twitter @_luckyattitude

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