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Why Is a Good Onboarding Process Important?

When a contingent staff member becomes a member of your full-time workforce, remember one theme – making your new employee feel as comfortable as possible. It starts on the first day, but a complete onboarding process can take a number of months.

Let’s take a look at that timeline and see how you can have a complete onboarding process for your new employees.

In The Beginning

Having a template for the onboarding process will really help the onboarding process. Developing and modifying it over time will make that a working document that continues to improve.

The onboarding process needs to start before the employee arrives for their first day. Too many times, new employees will show up at their new office and feel pushed to the side. Their Manager won’t have a workstation or computer or all of the paperwork will be unorganized.

Sit down in the days before the employee arrives with that template and prepare a customized plan. When the new employee walks through the door, make them feel welcome and comfortable. Introduce them to the staff members. If they have a quiet personality, then don’t force them to stand up in front of an office meeting.

Don’t forget about office procedures on this first day. Show them the restroom and breakroom. Explain office policies and procedures on breaks, lunches, workplace attire and cell phone usage.

Getting to the Meat of the Job

During the interview process, company culture and job responsibilities and duties get discussed but it’s hard to really explain those areas until the new employee actually starts.

As a Manager, sit down with the new employee and really go through those areas. The new employee will feel appreciated and important to get that information from management. Human Resources can handle some of the more general orientation materials, but it’s important for the Manager to areas specific to the actual job, like performance feedback.

Don’t Stop After a Few Days

Even with a good plan for the first few days, some companies will fall off and stop the onboarding process.

Meet with the employee on a regular basis and see how they are adjusting. Each person adjusts at a different pace so that “head-spinning” phase will last for different amounts of time. Assigning a mentor who isn’t a supervisor or manager will provide a different perspective and allow the employee to ask questions they might not feel comfortable asking their boss.

If you want to continue to improve the onboarding process, ask the new employee what they would have done differently or for some suggestions. Since they are going through that process, they can provide valuable feedback that will help future new employees.  Feedback is critical in the onboarding stage.

At CAREERXCHANGE, we always welcome new employees and want to make them feel comfortable from day one. If you need help with any employee situation, contact us today and we are glad to help!

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