You get one chance to make a first impression. Onboarding a new employee begins at the time the offer is accepted and continues well into the employee’s first year at your organization. Depending on the new employee’s role and prior experience, onboarding may last two weeks to a year before the individual fully understands their role and responsibilities and the expectations of the co-op.
Creating a plan for before the first day, a schedule for the first day and week, and providing structure beyond the first week will decrease the time it takes to get the employee up to speed and increase the employee’s engagement – resulting in added value to your team and organization.
While HR often leads the pre-hire process and the schedule of an employee’s first day, managers take the baton very quickly from HR. Managers have the greatest impact on the speed with which new hires understand their role and begin making a difference for the team and organization.
Gartner, Inc. identified four major challenges for managers in the onboarding process:
Connection. Onboarding is most effective when HR and hiring managers collaborate to ensure three core elements that build those connections are communicated, reinforced and implemented.
Cooperative structures are unique. Rather than focus on maximizing profits, the cooperative structure focuses on maximizing value to owners. This greater purpose resonates with people. Sharing your story, personalizing the impact of the work and creating an understanding of your cooperative’s purpose helps engage new employees.
Building the purpose begins in the interview process and is solidified during onboarding. While HR or executives may begin sharing this story through a standard presentation, the reason and purpose for the organization is often verified and solidified by peers across the organization.
Below are examples of ways managers can build a shared organizational and team purpose with new employees.
Explaining the organization’s purpose is not a ‘one and done’ exercise. Find ways to incorporate sharing the mission and vision – and team members’ connection to that purpose - in conversations throughout the year. Reiterating the organization’s purpose is important for engagement for all employees – so include your team when delivering messages about the value they bring and how their work is tied to the organization’s mission and vision.
The basics matter more than we think. Do you remember your first day? Most new hires want to know what to wear, where they will be working, where they can put their coat and where to get coffee and go to the restroom!
Communications. Keep communications going between the date the employee accepted the offer and their first day. Key touchpoints include sharing expected work hours with the employee, what to expect on their first day of work, dress code, and benefits enrollment information. If the new hire is on LinkedIn, encourage current team members to connect with them online and welcome them to the team before their first day. This builds a sense of connection and allows the new hire to see faces before their first day.
Workspace.
Preparing the employee’s workspace is equally important. Have you ever started a job and didn’t have your technology set up properly – or maybe it wasn’t prepared at all? New employees are excited to learn about their role. Not having a prepared workspace ahead of time sets them back. Identify the core things the employee needs to do their job, such as computer setup, paperwork, security access/keys and office supplies. Make a list and ensure things are set up ahead of time.
Belonging. The savviest managers also think about psychological logistics by addressing ways to make the employee feel like they belong. Below are some ways to accomplish this:
After the employee knows where to hang their coat, get coffee and where the breakroom is, they are very interested in learning more about what exactly their role is in the organization.
It is in this stage when managers set the stage for employee success.
Setting expectations is the foundation of great performance management. It’s difficult to do a good job when you do not know what your manager expects. Vague expectations lead to poor performance and frustration from both sides.
Err on the side of overcommunicating while explaining the employee’s responsibilities and your expectations. Not everyone thinks the same way you do, nor has had the same experiences.
There are many things to teach a new employee about the job, and it is important to remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time.
Thoughtfully determine when you want to introduce various responsibilities, so the employee has the capacity to understand and begin using what they learn without feeling consistently overwhelmed. It’s a delicate balance – so make sure you keep talking with the employee to see how they are doing and if/when they are ready to take on additional responsibilities.
Like most things in life, it’s best not to assume employees will pick up on the purpose of the organization and their job, understand your expectations or figure out the logistics of working in your organization on their own.
Great leaders are intentional about communications. Life gets busy – and our best intentions often get bulldozed by interruptions in the reality of daily work. Direct managers do not have to conduct all the onboarding activities, but they should be leading the efforts and delegating responsibilities to others as it makes sense.
Tips to help make these suggestions become a reality.
Recruiting great candidates is hard. In fact, right now, there are roughly 6 candidates for every 10 job openings in the U.S. This makes losing great employees and having to start all over again even more difficult. Invest in the time to effectively onboard employees to reduce turnover and save money while improving engagement and customer satisfaction.