Leadership Essentials - Onboarding Best Practices - Offices
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Onboarding is all about making sure new employees are equipped with the knowledge and relationships that will make them successful in their roles. While each employee brings their own skills and abilities with them, there are things they won't know, like your company's culture or internal processes. Not only do you want to make a good first impression on them, but you also want to make sure they're successful. After all, their success will lead to your business' success. In this subject, learners will be introduced to a variety of best practices for effectively onboarding both in-person and remote employees. Specifically, they're taught what to do before a new employee starts, what to do once they start, and some specific ways they can help make sure remote employees are successful.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Onboarding is all about making sure new employees are equipped with the knowledge and relationships that will make them successful in their roles. While each employee brings their own skills and abilities with them, there are things they won't know, like your company's culture or internal processes. Not only do you want to make a good first impression on them, but you also want to make sure they're successful. After all, their success will lead to your business' success. In this subject, learners will be introduced to a variety of best practices for effectively onboarding both in-person and remote employees. Specifically, they're taught what to do before a new employee starts, what to do once they start, and some specific ways they can help make sure remote employees are successful.
Languages: English
Media Editing: The video module(s) in this subject are editable under our Content Studio offering unless otherwise indicated. For more information about Content Studio, contact your CSM.
Description: Onboarding is all about making sure new employees are equipped with the knowledge and relationships that will make them successful in their roles. While each employee brings their own skills and abilities with them, there are things they won't know, like your company's culture or internal processes. Not only do you want to make a good first impression on them, but you also want to make sure they're successful. After all, their success will lead to your business' success. In this subject, learners will be introduced to a variety of best practices for effectively onboarding both in-person and remote employees. Specifically, they're taught what to do before a new employee starts, what to do once they start, and some specific ways they can help make sure remote employees are successful.
Topics
Preboarding - What to do Before a New Office Employee Starts
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Onboarding doesn’t just start on an employee’s first day at work. Preboarding is a term used to refer to all the activities that happen before a new employee even starts, whether they’re working in-person or remote. These activities help make sure you and your team are ready for the new employee’s arrival and give a positive first impression. In this topic, we’ll look at what preparations you should be making before an employee starts to help make them feel welcomed and confident that they’ve picked the right company to work for from their first day. Take this topic prior to taking “What to do When a New Office Employee Starts”.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Work with your team, and other departments if necessary, to create an onboarding plan for the role before the new employee starts. This way you’ll be organized, and everyone will know what their responsibilities are during the onboarding process.
Ask the new employee to complete and sign any forms or documents before their first day, either electronically or by hand, so they can read them on their own time and can focus on learning the role when they start.
If your company has an online onboarding portal or human resources information system, give the new employee access to it, so they can fill in any necessary information and start viewing valuable and important content before they start.
Send a personalized welcome email to the new employee before their first day. Congratulate them on joining the team, tell them what their next steps are, and give them information about their first day and what they can expect.
Before the new employee starts, set up their workstation, including any equipment, supplies, software, or accounts/logins they might need before they start to give them on their first day. This helps them feel welcomed and valued.
Create a structured onboarding schedule and checklist for the new employee for their first couple of weeks, so they know what to do, when to do it, and can see how they’re progressing through the onboarding process. This will also help make sure the onboarding process is consistent for all new employees.
Create a welcome package for the new employee to give to them on their first day to show you value and appreciate them.
Plan the new hire’s first work assignments in advance. Make sure they are achievable and meaningful to help build their confidence and gradually introduce them to their role and its duties.
Ask the new employee to write a message introducing themselves to their co-workers, so you can share it with the team/company before they start and remind everyone of the employee’s start date.
What to do When a New Office Employee Starts
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While an employee’s first day can set them up for success with your company in the future, onboarding is not a single day event. It’s a continuous process that can sometimes last up to a year. The goal of onboarding is to make sure the employee is well equipped to do their responsibilities and help them feel like they belong at the company. In this topic, you’ll learn a variety of onboarding best practices for an employee’s first day and beyond. Most of the practices can apply to both in-person and remote employee onboarding. Take this topic after “Preboarding: What to do Before a New Office Employee Starts”.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Clearly communicate the responsibilities, expectations, and goals you have for the role to the new employee on their first day, so they know what is expected of them and how their success will be determined.
Schedule meetings for important milestones like one week, one month, two months, three months, six months, and one year. Use these meetings to talk with the new employee about how their work is going, if they need extra resources or support, check on their goal progress, and solve any issues.
On their first day, introduce the new employee to their co-workers, particularly those they will be working closely with, and allow some time for them to get to know each other and their roles. This could be done as a group or one-on-one and will help the new employee feel like part of the team.
Communicate your company’s values and workplace culture through formal training on the new employee’s first day and reinforce it through your actions, so new employees understand how they’re expected to behave.
Don’t overwhelm the new employee with too much information on the first day. Spread it out over the first week so it’s more manageable and to improve their chances of remembering it.
Assign a current employee on the new employee’s team to be their mentor. This way if they have questions or need support, they know who they can go to for answers.
Review your company’s policies, like compliance, safety, and work hours, with the new employee, preferably on their first day, to make sure they know what is expected of them and what your company offers, like vacation days, benefits, flexible hours, etc.
If the new employee is not remote, give them a tour of your workplace, including important areas like the bathroom, lunchroom, etc. so they begin to become familiar with their new surroundings.
Be available to greet the new employee on their first day and consider having lunch with them to help make them feel welcome.
Ask new employees for feedback on your company’s onboarding process during regular check-ins or a survey at various points during the onboarding process. This shows you how you can improve it for future employees.
During their first week, introduce the new employee to important executives/department leaders, not just their own. This helps them learn more about the company structure and find contacts in other areas of the company.
During a new employee’s first week, schedule training sessions for any internal processes, procedures, or software that they will need to understand to be successful. The sooner they understand these, the sooner they can begin meaningful work.
Make sure all onboarding information and resources are easily accessible online, so employees can refer back to them later as needed.
Tips for Onboarding Remote Office Employees
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It’s not uncommon for new employees to begin their careers with a company remotely. More and more companies are offering working from home as an option. It’s important that no matter where your new employee is physically located, they have a positive and effective onboarding experience. In this topic, you’ll learn some tips for onboarding remote employees to help them feel supported and connected.
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Questions (level 1, 2, 3)
Video module
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This topic is currently available in English.
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Send the new employees’ equipment, supplies, and welcome package to them well before their start date to make sure they get it on time.
Before they start, schedule time for the new employee to meet with an information technology (IT) person virtually to help them set up their equipment and resolve any issues.
When planning a remote employee’s onboarding schedule, spread out the number of video meetings they must attend. Give them time to complete other tasks in between, so they don’t feel fatigued.
Schedule a video meeting on their first day to give the new remote employee an overview of their team and how it’s organized and to show them how to access important documents and resources.
Schedule both formal and informal individual one-on-one meetings during the first week where the new employee can meet each of their team members, so they can start to build connections with them.
Check in with new remote employees often, more than you would in person since there aren’t as many informal opportunities to talk with them, to review their progress, and see how they’re doing.
When you’re teaching the new employee about your company’s culture, be specific about the desired behaviors, like dress code, tone, meeting etiquette, and level of formality, since it’s harder for remote employees to learn these naturally during their workday.
