The importance of onboarding

I used to run a company induction. This involved presenting to new starters on the company and how it was run. That might not sound strange, since I was in HR after all. Except I was an intern. It was the summer between university and travelling, and was just meant to be a summer job. I don't even remember it feeling that exciting, it felt more like an admin job. Fast forward a couple of decades, and I'm genuinely appalled I was allowed to do that.

The onboarding stage of an employee’s life cycle is critical

It can take 28 weeks to get a new employee fully up to speed, according to research by Oxford Economics and Unum. In this new world of hybrid working, that makes onboarding more important than ever. Not only is 28 weeks a long time to wait to get full value from a new hire, but if you do get onboarding wrong, the cost of turnover can be steep. The Society for Human Resource Management estimates it at 6-9 months' salary - that’s up to £30k of a £40k salary!

So, what’s important and how to you get it right? 

1.      Pre hire

2.      Orientation

3.      Training

4.      Transition

5.      Development

6.      Induction playbook

It's the little things, like how to post a document or fix your computer (after switching it off and on again), through to the big things, like understanding the company's mission, values and goals, and how the new starter fits into that. It should feel like a seamless transition from recruitment to offer to start date, with communication and check-ins at every step. Essentially, you've hired the person you want, and they want you too! You need to keep them wanting you, and remembering why they said yes in the first place.

It should incorporate the training they need and explain why it matters. It should focus on their development needs against the role they were hired for (realistically, who ticks every box immediately?). There should be clear communication and structure around how they'll be developed and what's expected of them at each stage.

Remember to make it look good

These are your employees. You want them to work hard and tell everyone how great you are. You want to impress and motivate them. Give them a shiny induction playbook (using something like Canva makes this easy). Make it practical, but make it exciting. Make them want to be part of the journey with you.

If you're not sure your onboarding process is doing everything it can to keep your new hires engaged - rather than looking for the door - a Fractional HR Director can help you design one that works for your business and people. Get in touch and let's talk.