Are you looking for different ways to maximize the training time you give new employees? Do you worry that your new hires aren’t feeling welcomed or prepared enough when they first join your team? If so, then you need to learn all that you can about improving the onboarding process.

First impressions are everything. You want to help your new hires feel empowered and ready to take on the world once they finish onboarding; that includes getting all necessary paperwork out of the way.

See below for an in-depth guide on the many different ways you can enhance your onboarding process.

1. Welcome Them With Open Arms

Imagine that you’re going to a new friend’s house to hang out. Would you rather walk into the door to that friend opening the door for you and welcoming you in (maybe even a hug or handshake) or yelling “You can come in!” while they lay on their couch? 

Believe it or not, this is the difference between how employees feel when they show up for company onboarding at times. You must welcome them with open arms and get them excited about their career ahead.

Most employers have the misconception that after they’ve hired an employee, they don’t need to put any more work into wooing them. Make no mistake about it, the onboarding process is still a trial period for your new hires. If they get a bad feeling about your brand, then they will head for the hills.

There are many ways you can make a great first impression with employees, such as:

• Giving them an onboarding gift bag (with company swag)
• Give them a full tour of the facility 
• Give them an hour or two to set up their office/desk
• Introduce them to their new team right from the get-go
• Take them out to lunch on the first day

2. Establish a Week-Long Schedule

What if you could lower a new employee’s nerves while simultaneously reducing the amount of thought you have to put into each new hire? That’s the power that comes with establishing a week-long onboarding schedule ahead of time.

You can lay this schedule out for your new hires on their first day. This gives them comfort in knowing what the first few days will bring and help them get familiar with their surroundings.

Whatever your onboarding process entails, make sure you give an hour or two towards each task while mixing in some free time for them to bond with team members. If your business has multiple shifts it needs to fill, then this is also a great time to get your new employee’s scheduling preferences.

Most companies try to knock out all of their onboarding tasks in the first day or two. Then, they essentially push their brand-new employees out on the work floor in a sink-or-swim scenario.

We encourage you to scatter those onboarding tasks throughout the week while focusing on connecting the new hire with their team and learning about the new tasks that their position has.

You can knock out several of those time-wasting onboarding tasks with WorkBright, a software that helps manage all of the onboarding paperwork.

3. Focus on Connections

Think back to your time on the playground as a kid. What made you gravitate towards one group of kids over another? The connections that you’d made with them.

It’s the same thought process behind company onboarding. The more connections that you can help new hires make with other staff members, the higher that your retention rate will be. 

First, start by bringing in your company’s leadership to talk with them. If you have several new hires going through onboarding at the same time, then have a roundtable type of discussion with your company’s CEO, VPs, and so on.

Next, get them connected with their coworkers. What department are they working in? Which departments will they be working with? They must make a connection, no matter how brief, before going to battle with their fellow employees.

4. Undergo Layers of Training

Imagine a college professor spending the entire first class of the semester throwing a bunch of different information at you, then requiring you to take a test on it before you left class that day. How much of the information would you retain?

That’s the experience your new hires will have if you cram all of your training into one day. Your training should include in-depth information on things like:

• State and local regulations
• Conduct
• How to handle equipment
• Online safety
• Workplace violence prevention

It will take several run-throughs for them to learn the material, so scheduling monthly virtual training sessions with your entire staff (not just new hires) would be beneficial.

5. Be Available

The most important thing you can do is help your new employees know that they have resources available to them. That, when they have questions, there are people they can turn to for help.

Make sure to get several trustworthy staff members involved in your onboarding process. That way, new hires will feel like they have support throughout the building, not just with one person.

The new employees will solve most problems on their own, but it always helps build their confidence to know that, should a problem arise, they have someone to turn to.

Streamline Your Onboarding Process Today

Now that you have seen an in-depth guide on the many different ways to improve your onboarding process, be sure to use this information to your advantage.

Take the time to browse our website for more articles on company onboarding, as well as many other topics you will find helpful.