The first impression is said to be important. The question is, how important? Research shows that a great onboarding experience can have a significant impact on how long your employees want to stay with a company.

However, onboarding staff can be a demanding and time-consuming process. It’s not a surprise that some businesses see their turnover rate increase, even after hiring candidates that appear to be a great fit. Here are a few tips for you to scope out weaknesses in your hiring process.

1. Lack of pre-boarding

Many companies just want to hire the recruit and tick it off their list but this would be your first blunder. Few companies have a pre-boarding process that would show the new hires about the company policies, the workplace, and the service or product. For us at Doobia Royal, one kind thing we do is to send a welcome package. Here’s what you should include:

• A one-pager about the service/product you have
• An employee staff manual
• A link to training sessions on how to use the tools or applications your company uses daily or work instructions if any.
• An organizational chart, that tells the new hire who does what
• A list of the team members they will work  closest with

Effective pre-boarding ensures that the employee’s first impression of the company is one of professionalism and teamwork.

2. Overloading your new hires

Information overload is just as unfavorable to the onboarding process as a lack of training. 

A common onboarding flop is when HR tries to pack everything into the first day or week of work and then leaves the employee to figure things out from there. A slow and organized onboarding strategy is the best way to prevent overload and onboarding blunders. Ideally, an onboarding process should take a minimum of three months but shouldn’t exceed a year.  

3. An unstructured onboarding process

Being flexible with the onboarding process doesn’t mean the process will not have a structure. An organized process will ensure employees have some tasks to perform from the word go. Here are a few checklists to include;

• Showing candidates around and introducing them to the team.
• Sending an offer letter shows you appreciate your new employee.
• Sharing role-relevant information and helping new hires settle in.
• Offering a welcome packet and schedule team meetings.
• Organizing team-building events and offering constructive feedback.

Ensure employees have identification, a workstation, IT equipment, a staff manual, adapters, and some company souvenirs when planning the hiring process.

4. Unclear goals and expectations

Being the new kid on the block is not easy for most people and a lack of communication only makes it worse. Unclear expectations are often the path of this fretfulness, which is why a very good onboarding process is so necessary. Since onboarding can take a while, it is important to set goals to monitor progress.

Goals are easier when set SMART and broken down into smaller tasks. 

5. Not providing the right tools and resources

Take your mind back to your first day at a previous or current job. Were your workstation and tools provided? Was it a great onboarding experience? New employees shouldn’t hunt for supplies. What is important to remember is that HR and the management team worked hard for the recruit, so keep the onboarding great to keep your company’s reputation great. 

6. No feedback loop

Employees who feel they’re working in a vacuum do not relate well with colleagues and tend to get minimal satisfaction from their work. When training managers take a coaching approach goes far in building team spirit. Most times, coaches give feedback continually, and not just negative criticism when there’s a problem. Recognize successes, both individual and team.

7. Not addressing cultural and generational differences 

Employees are concerned about and motivated by different things. Onboarding employees should recognize cultural differences and incorporate the means to speak to those respectfully and efficiently. 

When an onboarding program is successful, it unifies your organization’s goals and allows new talent to be efficient.