Let’s Talk About Employee Onboarding & Why it Keeps Your People Around

By: Carly Richter, Sr. Recruiter

Hey hey! I’m back to talk about employee onboarding!

As a recruiter, you’d think I spend most of my time talking about finding and interviewing candidates, right? Well, I do, but I also spend a ton of time helping my clients build successful onboarding processes. Why? Because as much as I love recruiting, you know what I don’t love? Hiring the same position over and over again every few months.

If that sounds like something that happens on your team or at your company… listen closely. Having a buttoned-up, strong, and supportive employee onboarding process is what seals the deal with your new hires and keeps them around.

At HR Annie Recruitment, we do a lot, but one of my favorite things (almost as much as finding the right hire) is talking about onboarding! Training on employee onboarding, building stronger and more consistent onboarding processes… LOVE IT!

 

Here’s the truth: employee onboarding takes more time and commitment than the recruitment process. But it’s worth it. A recent study found that employees are 58% more likely to stay at a company for three years if they experienced a great onboarding experience.

I like to break onboarding down into three buckets:

• Preboarding
• Orientation
• Onboarding

Let’s talk about Preboarding!

Anyone scratching their heads, wondering what this means? It’s the time between when you offer a candidate the job and when they actually start on day one.

It’s easy to do…but also easy not to do. And if you skip it, you might just end up with a no-show on day one.

Think about it: what would make you feel excited and confident about starting a new role? And what would make you feel uneasy and question everything? (Fellow anxious people, you know what I mean!)

Do the things that make your new hire feel secure:

• Send an email with day-one info.
• Call to say thanks for signing the offer.
• If their start date is a few weeks out, check in weekly with a quick email or call.
• Prep for their arrival, badge ready, desk cleaned (no, it’s not storage anymore!).

Those little things make a huge difference.

 

How Does Orientation Fit into the Employee Onboarding Process?

Orientation, oh orientation.

I define orientation as the first couple of days, maybe up to a week, when someone is getting acclimated to the big picture and the company.

This is the time for:

• Walking them through your company’s story
• Covering those (sometimes not so exciting) handbook policies.
• Making sure they feel connected and supported.
• Don’t just hand them a binder and leave them alone. Be engaged! And please, make sure the people they’re around are positive, supportive folks. No Negative Nancys allowed.
• Jokes aside, orientation sets the tone. Be strategic here!

 

And now, Employee Onboarding!

I define employee onboarding as the longer period after orientation, when someone is actually settling into their role.

Here’s the interesting part: I’m seeing employee onboarding timelines stretch longer. In the past, it was 60-90 days. Now? I’m seeing 180 days and even beyond.

Why? Because the more time you give someone to learn, practice, and get comfortable in their role, the more successful they’ll be in the long run. Don’t argue with HR science!

Oh, and one more thing: companies and organizations, can we talk about training all of your managers in the employee onboarding process? Please, please do it. It’s worth it.

No one wants to work somewhere where every manager does things differently. One manager is super supportive, another throws people into sink or swim mode. Yikes.

Consistency matters. Train your managers. Your employees (and your retention numbers) will thank you.

That’s exactly why I teach managers how to onboard the right way through our Manager Crash Course. HR Annie also offers so many ways for managers to train and learn, check it out here: HR Annie Training.

Giving managers the tools to support new hires sets the foundation for success: for your people and your company.