This article is written by Angie Zernzach, associate editor at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized compliance resource company that offers products and services to address the range of responsibilities held by human resources and corporate professionals. Zernzach specializes in employment law issues such as wellness programs, labor unions, and workplace posters. For more information, visit www.jjkeller.com/hr and www.prospera.com.
New job jitters can be common. This is mostly due to all of the unknown factors new workers face, such as measuring up, learning what the job really entails, fitting in with coworkers, and wondering if they made the right employment choice.
Managers want employees to feel like accepting the job was the right decision. An organized onboarding program may help ease some of the nervousness. It can also increase employee retention by providing the new employee with effective and structured training, an understanding of the company culture, an understanding of expectations, a feeling of being connected, and a feeling of being a productive contributor.
Welcoming a new employee shouldn’t end after the first day of orientation. In fact, continuing to check in, offering support, and providing feedback for the first six months or even the first year can be beneficial.
Prepare an onboarding schedule
A schedule provides the new employee with structure and lets him or her know what to expect during the first days or weeks. It also provides the employee with knowledge of the job expectations by listing tasks to complete daily. Typically, managers will provide the schedule to the new employee before the start date to give him or her an idea of what to expect.
The schedule may include meetings with each member on the team and other key employees the new hire will work with directly, check-in meetings with the supervisor, and maybe a team lunch to get to know one another.
Assign a mentor
A mentor can help the new employee feel connected to the job, coworkers, and the company, so he or she can start building relationships with coworkers. A mentor should not only help with learning job functions, but should teach the corporate culture, which will help the new employee feel connected to the company.
Provide clear instructions/training
Instructions and training will allow the new employee to work independently and feel like a productive contributor. During training, priorities are usually established letting the employee know his or her daily job duties for the orientation period and beyond.
Adults learn better with a hands-on approach, so make sure they can be active participants. Managers can have mentors demonstrate a task and provide written instructions, then have the new employee work on his or her own, asking the mentor for guidance as needed.
Check in weekly/monthly
The manager will want to check in with the new employee often. For the first week, the manager might check in daily to see how the job is going and answer any questions. After that, the discussions can occur perhaps weekly, then once a month. The length of time a manager will check in depends on the type of position, but managers will do this for anywhere from generally 60 days up to six months.
Managers should also tailor their approach to the employee’s needs. Some individuals desire frequent feedback, while others may prefer to work independently and ask for help when needed.
Reevaluate expectations
Once the employee has been on board for several weeks, managers may have to realign the individual’s tasks based on his or her strengths. Managers may have to allow extra time and perhaps provide additional training for some duties such as computer classes.
This is also a good opportunity for managers to assign duties to the new employee based on the strengths. This will maximize productivity and the employer’s return on investment.
Preparing for a new employee may seem time-consuming up front, but the hard work does pay off by helping the individual feel welcome and relaxed, developing the employee, and increasing the chance of retaining the new hire. Losing new employees and starting the hiring process over could be even more time-consuming and costly to the company.
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