5 Fantastic Tips for Onboarding New Employees

Every day thousands upon thousands of new hires are brought on board to start their new jobs at companies around the world. From baristas to builders, writers to radio engineers, the hiring cycle doesn't sleep for any industry.

If you're one of the countless businesses hiring new employees, how do you best acclimatize them to their new roles and responsibilities? What are some practical guidelines you can follow to make sure every new staff member hits the ground running?

You came to the right place. Read on for our 5 Fantastic Tips for Onboarding New Employees.

1. Establish a Comfortable Working Environment

No one likes to be cold, uncomfortable, and surrounded by dismal décor. Is your office like this? Well, guess what? You don’t have to pretend to be a deep-sea fishing crew on Discovery’s Deadliest Catch (unless you are a fishing crew, then, uh… this is awkward).

Instead, make your team members feel at home.

Evidence shows that employee productivity is inextricably linked to how comfortable people feel in their working environment. By making sure your new hires are working at a comfortable temperature, with ergonomic office equipment, and sitting on seats that offer the proper support, you can achieve startling gains in productivity from their very first day!

2. Make Them Feel Welcome

Picture this: It's your first day at your new job, you're nervous and don't yet know what your average day is going to look like. You get up, get yourself ready for your new day, and set off for the office. Then, when you walk in through the door no one says more than 2 words to you.

Sounds pretty unpleasant, right?

Perhaps even worse, it leaves new hires flailing around and unsure of where to begin. This might be an extreme scenario, but it reflects a truth that if you don't offer a warm welcome (maybe even a gift!) for your new hires, they're going to be totally unsure as to what to do. Many of them will think about quitting on their first day. They will feel demoralized and that’s a really bad way to start a new job.

Instead, make sure you start things off on the right foot - go the extra mile to make new hires feel welcome. Put up a welcome sign and have your receptionist greet new hires at the door with an agenda for their first day. Then have their new manager give them a tour of the office and launch them into your onboarding process.

This takes a small amount of effort, but it leaves a huge, positive impression and is sure to increase employee retention.

3. Make Sure They Have a Buddy to Rely On

One of the best onboarding tools for new employees is the buddy system. By pairing your novice employee with an industry veteran, you can make sure they always have a resource for questions about procedure, routine, and business etiquette.

This accomplishes two things: It provides the new employee with security and it gives the veteran employee an opportunity to practice being a leader and a mentor.

4. Get Paperwork Sorted Early

The best-case scenario is that your new hire signs everything that needs signing before they step foot in the office. But if not, make sure you get it all out of the way before they start thinking about actual work. Once it's signed, they don't have to worry about it anymore and they can focus on integrating with your team and providing value to the company.

5. Check In Regularly

Onboarding isn't a 'one and done' thing. Many world-class companies have onboarding processes that last multiple months, and it’s not uncommon for government employees to undergo a 1-year probationary period in which they learn new skills and prove their competence in the role.

Over the course of a new employee’s first weeks and months at your company, make sure to guide your new team member every step of the way. This includes regular training and scheduled onboarding tasks. But it also means dropping by every so often and make sure your newbie is settling in well! Even a brief, candid conversation will be meaningful.

Onboarding New Employees Takes More Than One Day

Whether you run a fast-paced, stressful business or an easygoing, chilled office, these tips will help you get your employees up and running faster than you can imagine.

Got questions? We have tons of advice on hiring, onboarding, and employee training. Get in touch with us, we would be more than happy to help.