Onboarding new team members is a critical process, yet many new starters often feel that their onboarding didn’t prepare them well enough for their role. There are some important, yet simple steps that you can take to improve the process of integrating new team members and getting them off and running in the team.
Have Everything Ready for Them on Day One
Set a good impression from the start.
Ensure you give enough time for your IT department to get the computer and accessories ready, have their login and email sorted, and any system access organised and applications installed before the new team member starts. And make sure that the team and the department knows that the new team member is starting.
On day one, ensure you are ready at the agreed time to meet the new team member. Book out time to greet them, show them around, and get them logged into their laptop before moving on to other tasks.
Why: Having everything organised saves time. Making time for them shows how valued they are.
The Welcome Email
When the new team member does log into their email, there should be an email from you, or a member of the team, welcoming them, with details of the onboarding plan, along with internal resources they will need to study. These could be documents you attach to the email or an intranet.
Couple this with the New Hire Video – a pre-recorded video that gives some background to the company, the work culture, and some of the people from the company.
Why: Show them that the team has their act together by having a plan for the new team member.
Assign a Team Buddy
Remember that it can be quite daunting when you start a new job. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know where anything is (like the kitchen, the bathroom, the lifts), you don’t know who is the best person to ask for help outside the team, who to avoid, plus how to get started in doing your job. Make their lives just that little but better by assigning a buddy from the team to them to show them the ropes.
Since this can be draining on the buddy’s time, ensure you make some time in the buddy’s calendar for this task. You can also rotate the buddy role – this way the new starter will get to know each of the team members a little better.
You can even go the extra mile and do what Buffer does, and have three buddies – a leader buddy, a role buddy, and a culture buddy.
Why: This helps the new team member spend time with the buddies, helping to build a work and social relationship.
Schedule Regular One-on-one Meetings
Even if you’re working closely with the new team member, it is good in the beginning to schedule some regular one-on-one meetings with them. It gives them to chance to ask all those questions they’ve been wanting to ask, and gives you the opportunity to see how they are doing, what help they need, and also how you can make improvements to your onboarding for the next person to start with the team.
Why: Regular meetings give you the opportunity to see how they are settling in and catch any issues early.
Gamify The Onboarding Experience
According to research by Louisa Heimburger, Lea Buchweitz, Ruben Gouveia, and Oliver Korn, younger employees enjoy the gamification of the onboarding process, and find that it facilitates social integration and onboarding. Gamification can be a simple Bingo game, where the new team member has to complete a number of tasks “the squares” on the bingo card. These tasks can include meeting important or interesting people in the organisation, completing essential or fun tasks. Once all tasks are complete the new team member get a prize!
Why: Gamification makes the experience of joining the new company more fun, interesting, and engaging.
Image based on a Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
