Love is in the air, and what better topic to talk about than…onboarding!
What’s new hire onboarding got to do with love? First, we love our new hires. Second, we want our new hires to love us back – to love our brand, our company, their jobs. And like in any loving relationship, we need to work at it. Here’s some tips how…
- Demonstrate understanding. We live in an age of “on-demand”. Answers are at our fingertips, literally, as we open another app on our smartphones. Just about anything that was once delivered on paper is now electronically consumed and signed (except a marriage license, I think!). That’s why today’s HR professionals are more and more using services like electronic Form I-9, and software that guides new hires through pre-populated, digital forms to e-sign –anytime, anyplace, on any device. So, show your new hires you ‘get them’ with an on-demand, paperless, self-guided onboarding process that delivers what they expect, and what they’ll love.
- Show you care. According to Harvard Business Review (HBR), “Research shows that having a great manager and being part of a great management culture are important to all employees.” So, how about we provide new hires the ability to get acclimated with their manager and management team as part of onboarding? A video speaking to the company’s culture, and a first week agenda of pre-scheduled meetings with department managers including the new hire’s own, shows you care enough to deliver just what new hires believe is important.
- Deliver what matters most. HBR goes on to cite a survey from Gallup that shows what millennials look for most in a new job is the opportunity to learn and grow. The next time you onboard a new hire born between 1980 and 1996, the new hire should be informed on how they will be learning on-the-job, and how they may be supported by management to reach the next phase of their careers. Sure, balloons and welcome lunches are great, but let’s be sure that we address as part of onboarding what the new hires of today believe is most important.
- Communicate. This may sound obvious, but too often a most overlooked activity when onboarding a new hire is checking in with them. This should be done at least once during their first week on the job, and through week 12, as 20% of new hires leave in the first 90 days. How do we increase new hire retention rates if we aren’t finding out what could be wrong, and trying to solve the issues while they’re still with the company?
Hope you find my four rules to live by in love and marriage, and in love and new hires, helpful!
