Effective Onboarding: How to Welcome, Engage, and Retain New Employees

Develop an effective and thorough onboarding program that fits their new hires’ and organization’s needs:

• Provide a welcoming atmosphere including opportunities to network and socialize.
• Introduction to the organization’s mission, values, history, and culture.
• Meeting teammates, important colleagues, and key stakeholders.
• Give thorough training on policies, procedures, and technology.
• Establish an understanding of the job description, performance goals, and metrics.

Customize the onboarding experience for both individuals and groups:

• Review and assist the new hire in understanding benefits and total compensation, and making decisions in this regard that work for the individual.
• Establish work allies through a mentorship or buddy program and affinity groups.
• Provide flexibility in the onboarding schedule.
• Accommodate inclusive work styles, including schedules, childcare, and remote options.
• Employ diverse training methods such as group and break-out sessions, online opportunities, and one-on-one coaching.
• Create safe and supportive situations for the sharing of backgrounds, experiences, feedback, and points of view.

Communicate with new employees with both clarity and in diverse forms of messaging media:

• Speak in a polite, sensitive, and discreet manner.
• Be mindful of tone, phrasing, biases, competitiveness, and perceivable microaggressions.
• Avoid unnecessary jargon and technical terms.
• Utilize multiple forms of communication including spoken, paper, email, video forums, and in-person.
• Be attentive to the new hire through frequent check-ins, feedback, suggestions, and progress meetings.

Enhance new hires’ understanding and buy-in to job responsibilities, performance goals, and outcomes:

• Create a clear and comprehensive written job description that can be utilized to develop a plan for performance goals.
• Create and distinguish for both the new hire and their teammates, differences in job responsibilities.
• Give clear examples of positive behaviors and outcomes.
• Provide performance targets that are measurable, including a desired timeline.
• Schedule time to regularly review progress, and give relevant feedback and helpful suggestions.

Generate a welcoming environment for new employees to feel valued, supported, and part of the organization’s culture:

• Make the new hires’ first day especially welcoming by letting the reception desk and key team members know that they are coming, and at what time.
• Plan for the new employee to be taken to lunch on their first day by their immediate supervisor, office manager, or a teammate.
• In advance of the new hire’s first day, set up their workstation and technology, including the information system dashboard.
• For group orientations, organize a fun, friendly, and useful Orientation Fair with introductions to co-workers, managers, and stakeholders. Include benefit and resource tables, hands-on training, tours, and socializing.

Design a first-year onboarding timeline that moves from initial orientation to reviews, feedback, and development:

• Design an orientation first week that includes introductions to key colleagues, information, and advisement on benefits and total rewards. Review and gain signatures of the employee handbook, and contract.
• During the first month, conduct weekly check-ins between the immediate supervisor and new hire to review job responsibilities, celebrate achievements, and clarify policies and procedures, in addition to giving and receiving feedback and solutions.
• Within the first few weeks, establish a mentor or buddy to enhance support, make introductions, and give feedback.
• Establish a schedule of quarterly reviews and coaching sessions between immediate supervisor and new employee to celebrate milestones, acknowledge accomplishments, discuss challenges and solutions, and set goals.
• Plan the new employee’s development training program to be implemented throughout the first year, which will build new skills, insights, relationships, and cultural integration.