When hired by a company, usually the new employee will be given a date and time for their Onboarding session. Many companies have regularly scheduled times so all involved departments are always prepared. A room is reserved. Coffee and light snacks may be available. Forms are completed. Forms are collected – or submitted. And new employees are sent on their way to begin their careers.
And the Onboarding is considered completed. While that is the typical process for Onboarding, that is Orientation – a part of Onboarding. New employees need a process to not only get onboard but to stay onboard.
Onboarding is often confused with orientation. While orientation is necessary for completing paperwork and other routine tasks, onboarding is a comprehensive process involving management and other employees and can last up to 12 months.
Steps to Onboarding:
- Pre-boarding – create a connection to new employee after position is accepted but before the start date. Examples of pre-boarding can be welcome email or call from department chair. The purpose is to create a positive connection.
- Orientation – while orientation is usually completed in one session, that can be overwhelming. In order to have more personalized time during Orientation, it is an option to have basic paperwork completed prior and reviewed for completion. This allows for more time to review the employee handbook and major policies. Also, there should be time available to answer questions and show the new employee basics such as workspace, rest rooms, meal spaces, and parking spaces.
- Follow-up – so much information is shared during Orientation, there should be scheduled follow-up sessions to ensure both employee and company expectations are being met. These sessions should be scheduled at intervals, lasting up to one year.
Gallup’s Creating an Exceptional Onboarding Journey for Your New Employees has discovered that there are five main questions asked during that time that, when addressed, lead to an exceptional onboarding program that sets up employees for success
THE 5 QUESTIONS OF ONBOARDING
1) “What do we believe in around here?”
2) “What are my strengths?”
3) “What is my role?”
4) “Who are my partners?”
5) “What does my future here look like?”
Onboarding should be considered ongoing. It is more than a session to complete forms. It is a process to continually meet the needs of each employee with the needs of the company.
