7 tips for an onboarding process that sweeps new employees off their feet

Starting a new job is always a bit nerve-racking. But as a team leader or HR manager you can make it a lot easier. Time to optimize your onboarding process! How do you ensure that you set up the process properly? And why is it so important? In this blog, you'll read everything about onboarding and get useful tips.

What is onboarding?

If you have hired a new employee, it is important that he or she quickly lands on their feet in the organization. An induction process takes care of this, also known as 'onboarding'. Or literally: 'coming on board' with a new organization. The aim of this is that employees can pick up their work as quickly as possible, but also that they feel at home in the organization. You can imagine that this is often not done within a day.

The term 'onboarding' therefore refers to the experience of new employees at an organization. This experience should contribute to the commitment to the vision, strategy, objectives and culture of the organization. This requires collaboration between the new employee and HR. They facilitate the onboarding process.

Why is onboarding so important?

It is important for both employees and the organization to set up the onboarding process properly. Because according to a US study, 51% of newcomers to an organization already make the decision to leave within 6 months. And that costs you a lot of money: the costs of early departure can amount to 150% of the employee's annual salary (Bersin by Deloitte, 2014). And so you prefer to keep your new employees.

If you ensure good onboarding, 91% of employees feel connected to the organization, 89% experience a strong connection with the team and the chance that a new employee stays in the long term is 18 times greater. A good onboarding process therefore has a lot of influence on employee happiness. If you want even more benefits, for both employees and employers, check the table below.

This is why you must ensure that the first period of time, not just the first day, is a positive experience for new employees. How are you going to do that?

The core elements of onboarding: the 4 C's

First of all, you need to know what the core elements of onboarding are. There are a total of four, and they are also called the four C's.

1. Compliance

Compliance means that new employees must comply with the rules, guidelines and basic formalities of the organization. This consists of, among other things, taking care of the employment contract, explaining the employment conditions, the working conditions and safety procedures and other (legal) rules and guidelines, providing an access pass, an email account, login details, a computer, a telephone and assigning and setting up a workplace.

2. Clarification

This means that as an employer, team leader or HR manager you must ensure clarity about the content of the position. What exactly is expected of the new employee? What does the job package entail? The sooner new hires understand their job and tasks, the sooner they can be productive.

3. Culture

Every individual has their own personality with certain patterns and expectations. The same goes for organizations. The organizational culture must therefore be clear to new employees. Think of the mission, vision and values of the organization. But also the house style, manners and clothing requirements are part of this.

4. Connection

Finally, connection refers to the relationships between colleagues, support from the manager and the creation of (information) networks for new employees. This way they will be able to find their way much faster and also know where to go with questions.

Tips for a smooth onboarding process

Do you want to make sure that your new employees are swept off their feet when they come to work for you? Then these tips will help you on your way.

1. Make a checklist of practical matters that need to be arranged

What do new employees need on, or even before their first day? This includes the layout of their workplace, an e-mail address and login codes. Make sure you have all of this ready. Please note: this part of the onboarding process often requires a lot of preparation, but if you arrange this properly, new employees can make a flying start in their first week!

2. Include the 4 C's in the onboarding process

The process starts before the first working day: then you can already ensure that rules, guidelines and basic formalities (compliance) are clear for new employees. On the first working day you give an introduction (clarification), in the first week you introduce them to the organizational culture (culture) and in the first month you ensure that newcomers build a network (connection). This way you have incorporated the four core elements into your process.

3. Ask new employees for their feedback

You can of course think that your onboarding process is foolproof, but the best way to achieve that is to ask new employees for their feedback. How do they experience the first weeks? Are the tasks and activities clear? Are they well informed prior to the first day? You can easily ask these questions with the 2DAYSMOOD tool. This way you quickly receive targeted feedback and you know where you can refine the process.

Tips from 2DAYSMOOD customers!

In July 2021, a number of 2DAYSMOOD customers gathered during the HR mastermind to discuss their onboarding processes. They gave each other great tips!

1. Send a card to the new employee before he or she comes to work for you. On this, team members can write what they like about working in that team. A warm welcome!
2. Create a 'face book' and let the newcomer introduce themselves on the intranet with a bit about themselves. For example, Tony Chocolonely has the 'Mugshot' and every new employee is photographed in a funny way. This photo will hang in the office, but will also be printed on a mug that the employee receives for the office.
3. Take advantage of the ICEbreaker functionality in Microsoft Teams. With this, the new employee is linked to random colleagues to drink a cup of coffee online. Very nice if the onboarding process mainly takes place online.
4. Also make the employee responsible for a good onboarding: give him or her personal assignments in the first week. For example: who has the best ping pong skills in the team? As a result, the employee must participate in activities that belong to the culture, or schedule coffee moments with colleagues to find the answers.

What tips will you include in your process? Are you going to take funny photos or plan spontaneous coffee moments? Good luck with the onboarding of your new employees!

Do you want feedback from new employees about your onboarding process? Then take the 2DAYSMOOD Onboarding module with you! See how it works here!