Your 6 Go-To Techniques for Successful Employee Onboarding

Just recently I covered the topic of employee turnover – if you are a manager or a leader, then the subject would definitely be of interest. The article got me thinking – I had to list some of the most common reasons why employees decide to part ways with the company. One thing led to another and here I was – contemplating the importance of employee onboarding and thinking why it’s still a myth in a great deal of enterprises out there.

I believe that if leaders pay extra attention to the process of onboarding, this would ultimately decrease employee turnover – think about it: If you’re all set right from the get-go, chances are you’d have all the needed fundamentals of successfully growing and meeting your KPIs. 

So I decided to dedicate today’s article precisely to employee onboarding – let’s dive into the subject and discover why this approach matters so much in the context of successful management, as well as point out 6 go-to strategies that will ensure the whole process is smooth and truly effective.

Why Is Employee Onboarding an Integral Part of Proper Management

There’s no doubt about that – the most important part of a business, any business, is its team.

Without having trusted individuals right by our side, we, as entrepreneurs and managers, won’t be able to keep the enterprise moving forward, regardless of how well we pitch our expertise and how many projects we are able to land. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the doers – our employees are the driving force that keeps the business floating and through their experience and work ethics the entire company is able to scale and pick up the fruits of everyone’s efforts.

That’s why it’s important to appropriately welcome new team members – even if an individual has what it takes to shine bright and nail each task, they would still need a period of adaptation and settling down.

It’s Up To the Management

Essentially, it’s not enough to just have exceptional professionals in the teams – the role of the manager is equally as important. Proper team and time management, productivity flow and proper task execution are all aspects of successful leadership that ultimately fall into the “manager’s responsibilities” category. And while many managers out there go to great lengths when it comes to properly leading their teams, sometimes even the best of them tend to miss on a rather crucial aspect of successful management – employee onboarding.

We are so fixated on finding the best employee for a certain job that we often forget all about helping the individual experiencing a head start. Regardless of whether we’re hiring already established professionals or newbies in a certain niche, we still have to forego an extensive onboarding period together with the selected employees-to-be. 

Choosing to Hire Professionals Doesn’t Mean You Should Skip Onboarding Altogether

There’s a misconception that hiring professionals with plenty of experience in the field requires little to no supervision or proper onboarding. On the other hand, newbies and individuals with little to no experience are believed to need more assistance and guidance, especially in the early stages of their newly acquired careers. 

Guess what? It doesn’t really matter whether someone is an expert or not since every company has its own work culture and ways of getting things done.

You could be hiring someone with years of experience in a company similar to yours but this doesn’t mean they won’t be needing guidance and assistance at the beginning. After all, it’s important to make sure your team stays aligned with the company’s ways and core values. That said, regardless of anyone’s level of expertise, employee onboarding is a crucial step toward building a strong and focused team – and I can guarantee this will certainly pay off!

Here Are 6 Successful Techniques That Will Guarantee Effective Employee Onboarding

Once we’ve covered why employee onboarding is an essential step of people management, it’s time to focus on smart and promising techniques that will help you go along with the process and get the most out of it.

Employee onboarding is perhaps the best way to welcome an employee into the team – acclimating them to the business culture promises long-term success and quicker adaptation. The easier this adaptation is, the sooner your company would witness development since the newly hired individuals would quickly tune in and start performing the way they know best. 

Without any further ado, let’s observe 6 promising techniques that will help you welcome your new employees in the flash of a second!

Consider a Friendly Warm-Up

The majority of managers and employees consider that the actual employer-employee relationship starts on the employee’s first work day but let me give you a slightly different perspective: How about you, as the manager, begin the warming-up process in advance?

After hiring someone, there are tons of ways you can use to actually show them they are welcome in the company and you can’t wait for them to show up and start providing. This wonderful technique works both ways: On the one hand, the employee gets more and more eager to step in and join your team; on the other, you position yourself as a thoughtful and heartwarming manager who knows that great leadership isn’t only about assigning tasks.

Great warming-up approaches might be inviting the employee-to-be to a company get-together, sending them company merchandise, letting them know they already have their own dedicated workstation, etc. I guarantee this would close the gap and help you establish a strong bond right from the get-go.

Be Clear and Precise With What’s Expected From the Employee

Nothing leaves a worse impression than inconsistency with what’s been stated as work requirements and what turns out to be the actual work.

Upon hiring, be clear and precise when it comes to the employee’s work – what is expected from them? What will their tasks be like? What are the expected results? This way you set the tone of their future workflow – avoid breaking your promise and assigning tasks that are not listed in the requirements list. If needed, discuss this with the employee and compensate them accordingly. 

Assign a Proxy for the Initial Onboarding Stage

Managers rarely have the time to follow their new employees along and explain every little detail. That’s why it’s really smart to assign to them a proxy – a fellow colleague (preferably doing the same job) who would be at their disposal during the initial onboarding stage.

This way you provide support and don’t risk your new hire getting confused and lost among the plethora of new tasks and duties.

Encourage Mixing Teams

A rather frequent issue in big companies is the fact that a great majority of employees have no idea what their colleagues do and how it connects with their own work.

Instead, encouraging a mixing team could in fact have a positive effect on everyone – this way the new employees would get a better understanding of how the entire process looks and therefore get better at doing their part of the equation.

Don’t Be Quick to Overload Them with Work

Let’s not forget we are talking about employee onboarding – we’re referring to the initial stages of introducing one to the work schedule and the last thing we want is to scare them away!

Be empathetic and considerate – give time to your new employees to get acquainted and used to the new work dynamic before expecting dazzling results from their tasks. I guarantee they would appreciate your understanding and this would stimulate them even more to start delivering!

Forget About Disappearing as a Manager – One of The Biggest Mistakes In Terms of Employee Onboarding

A lot of managers out there (myself included) are not fans of micromanagement – to us, this leadership method limits the employees and prevents them from showcasing their true potential and proactivity approaches.

However, things are slightly different when we refer to employee onboarding – right at the beginning of someone stepping into the company, they need the manager’s feedback, support and occasional guidance. That’s the only way in which the new employee can be certain they are on the right track. So while the work buddy can help with tasks and assigned duties, it’s still the manager’s job to provide feedback and support when needed.

Smart Employee Onboarding Results in Happy Teams

I hope this article has managed to shed some light on the topic of employee onboarding and why it’s so important – let me know if you have any additional ideas that can help out both employees and managers.