Imagine accepting a job offer that you think is the best fit for your career and personality. You are passionate about the things you can offer to the company, and the impact you’re going to have. Everything seems nice and exciting; however, there is something that bothers you inside.

You know you got accepted, but you have no idea what to do next, with whom you’re going to work. What are you going to wear on your first day at your new job? At what time are you supposed to be in the office or open your computer? Are they even going to give a company device or are you supposed to use your personal devices? Many questions are kept unanswered and the only thing you know is that you’re in.

This uncomfortable situation may lead you to think that you may have made the wrong choice, or maybe even lead you to believe that even though this company seems professional on the outside, is not very well structured and professional on the inside.

Onboarding may be considered as one of the least important things a company should provide; all in all new hires will come in and start to do their job, right? Not exactly.

It is a process that especially startup companies do not care about, perhaps do not prioritize and cannot grasp the importance of. You may think that you are a company that values ​​its team and you may be proud of it. But does this also apply to new teammates?

It is the process of introducing a company and its culture to the new hire to make sure they adapt quicker and feel more comfortable so that they focus on their main duties.

Onboarding is definitely one of the most crucial steps when hiring new employees and it is for the benefit of the future of the company. In fact, the onboarding process should be developed every time there is a new hire; with the feedback received from the previous employees. It is one of the most important processes that leads a company to success.

So what exactly do you need to onboard somebody?

As mentioned above, it is a crucial step when hiring new employees and it is also a process that should be thought over thoroughly. The new hire should be able to feel welcomed, and feel valued and cherished. According to some research, people who had a successful onboarding process are more likely to stay in the company for many years. When new hires have an unsuccessful onboarding process, they are most likely to leave the company in a year, which is a huge burden for the company while the solution is very simple. Finding and recruiting a qualified employee is way harder than providing a good onboarding process, and it takes less time and money to do so.

To provide an excellent onboarding experience for the new hires you first need to define the needs of the newcomers. This can be done by asking and getting feedback from the employees that you already have to understand what you can do better.

There are two types of onboarding. The first one is the informal one, where new employees learn everything throughout their days in the company asking questions to anyone about the company such as what time do we have lunch breaks? Or who to go when there is a concern towards an administrative task or payment or when in need to take a leave?

Companies who still have an informal onboarding process are likely to be hiring new employees, since most of the others leave within 6-12 months.

The formal onboarding process, on the other hand, is a lot different. It is a sense of feeling where a new hire feels the kindness and the value that is given to them. And there are many ways to provide an excellent onboarding experience.

Make sure they are informed

One of the important steps of an onboarding process is to make sure that your new hire is well informed about every single detail of the company as well as the role that they have accepted. Maybe you can create a handbook collaboratively with your teammates?

Do not underestimate the details

Small details and information such as the working hours, dress code, payment day are actually quite important for new coworkers. Even if it does seem very basic, it sometimes can be a little confusing or disturbing for them to run around to be informed about such miniscule topics.

Provide a work space

Employees are expected to be doing their job, yes. However, providing a work space for them to do their job is both professional and makes them feel like they are welcomed. So don’t miss the step of providing a work environment for the new hires. Make sure everything is ready on the first day of their job. That also includes having all devices the employee will be using ready and at hand. If you are thinking of providing work only devices, they need to be already configured with the applications which are needed to work properly. If your company does not provide devices for their employees then you should definitely clarify what a Bring your own device (BYOD) model means for the new hire. Of course in this case you need to take extra precautions, in the best case in the form of an MDM.

A proper introduction

This step is an important one both for your new hire as well as for your current employees. Who is this person, what are they there for and who will they be working with? Make it easier for people to approach each other.

Other Types of Onboarding

As mentioned above, when we look at it from the HR perspective, employee onboarding is very crucial. While you may have a fully functional HR system where you onboard newcomers as you already should, are you a company that provides any kind of product service?

Product onboarding is another important process especially for companies providing services and selling products. It is crucial for your customers to get used to your product before they start fully using your product, thus fulfilling their expectations and being satisfied with the service you provide.

When it comes to product onboarding many different departments come together to provide the best service for their customers. This process starts with the sales team where team members communicate and sell the product to the customer. Then technical and customer care departments come together to make sure the product is fully functional and the customer is satisfied with the result.

Onboarding in general is an important term when it comes to companies and their overall success and future. When this step is skipped, unsatisfied customers and employees may turn on an organization. Which, obviously, is not something that a company would prefer to come across. So, if you think you need to work on your onboarding process, or maybe even don’t have one, then you definitely need to reconsider your approach towards this crucial process. We believe that it is one of the first steps to have a successfully working company.