One area that all businesses could improve in, is the onboarding of new team members. How well this process is carried out has a huge impact on the future of the team member. Get this right and your team member is feeling welcomed, comfortable and ready to make a great contribution as well as more likely to stay with you. In contrast, getting this process wrong leaves the team member disillusioned, feeling isolated and wondering if they have made the right decision.
A quote I read recently confirmed the importance of onboarding: “The onboarding of new employees is absolutely the most critical moment in the employee lifecycle.”
Here’s some tips and it starts before the team member arrives on their first day:
- Prior to their first day, assign a key person to welcome them and be their guide. This should ideally be their manager as they are responsible for the performance of the team member, they should take responsibility from day one. If the manager is not available make sure someone else is assigned to look after the new team member.
- Get them to make contact with the team member before they start to set expectations for their first day and what the first day expectations look like.
- Have everything ready for their arrival that they will need. There is nothing worse for a new team member to turn up and the business is not prepared for their arrival. This looks and feels very unprofessional.
- Make them feel welcome when they arrive, the manager should be ready to greet them and not keep them waiting. A great idea I picked up recently was to create a welcome card from the team they will work with. Why are cards reserved for when someone leaves the business? To add even more impact have the CEO sign the card, this sends a really strong message that the team member is a key addition to the team.
- Reconfirm what is expected of them on their first day as well as their first week and stick to the plan.
These are simple tips that should be put in place for every new team member and don’t take a lot of time. Following these guidelines will ensure the team member is comfortable and confident they have joined the right organisation and will be ready to contribute.
Roger Simpson – CEO, The Retail Solution and Author of “The Ultimate Retail Sales Experience” With over 35 years’ industry experience, Roger Simpson is recognized as Australia’s #1 Authority on customer ROI in the retail industry and as a global expert on staff coaching, customer service, and selling skills.
