Have you successfully recruited the next rising star of your organisation? If so, that’s great. The only question now is, how do you bring them up to speed with your company’s core values, as well as what’s expected from them from their new job role? Through great onboarding.

The worst thing you can do when employing a new staff member is simply leave them to get on with things. This is how mistakes happen. In like regard, this can lead to new employees finding it difficult to integrate into the culture of your company. Even worse, it can dramatically increase the time to productivity of any new employee.

Onboarding Benefits

As a process of introducing and orienteering new employees to your workplace, onboarding helps you better introduce new staff members to their job role. It cuts costs in terms of re-recruiting, and it can even help bolster the moral of your existing employees.

How to Start

The key to successful onboarding is to plan a future onboarding exercise with senior management team members, other staff members, and company stakeholders. This way, you can ensure that nothing is forgotten and everyone involved in the onboarding process is fully aware of what their specific responsibilities will be. At the same time, prior to onboarding, make sure that your IT department is aware of what systems a new employee will require access to. This and that new employees know who to ask for at reception, who they should report to, and where they can find your company directory details.

Prepare an Induction Manual

A great way to facilitate better onboarding is to prepare an induction manual, one which can be given to every new employee in order for them to start familiarizing themselves with key company goals and standard operating practices. As a rule, such a manual should include basic health and safety information, your company mission statement, and provide a consistent introduction to your organization for all new employees.

The First Day

When onboarding, always make sure to set aside a private office or meeting room where you won’t be disturbed. Here, after all, you will need to go through all of your company’s HR policies and make sure that a new employee fully understands their work and reporting responsibilities. With this being the case, make sure to have all necessary HR paperwork with you (as well as copies) and make sure that any new employee is fully aware of the requirements of any kind of probationary period.

Onboarding During the First Week

One mistake employers often make when onboarding, regards the fact that they don’t actually give new employees any hands on work to get started with. Everything becomes about talk and the reciting of different SOPs. In this case, as well as introducing a new employee to the key people they will be working with, also give them practical and meaningful work to get started with. This way, they won’t feel lost when they are given their first assignments, and you will be able to monitor their performance and identify any operational bases which might need recovering.

Ongoing Onboarding

Whether you hire a new staff member on a probationary basis or not, it is important to follow up onboarding with regular one on one meetings. This way, you can check a new employee’s progress and help them feel like you are accessible should they have any problems. In like regard, always schedule a formal review for 3 months after any new team members start date. 3 months, after all, will usually be enough time for a new staff member to begin producing a high standard of work. If not, you will need to review the reasons why they might not be and start taking steps to correct any performance issues.

If your organisation requires any temporary front line care staff, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with AJ, and let us help you manage and balance your staffing needs in the care sector by supplying the best candidates.