You only get one chance to make a great first impression. It’s a simple adage and it cuts both ways, especially in a work environment.
We've all experienced coming into a new role and having to wait days or weeks until we have access to everything we need to actually do our jobs.
This is despite it being your new hire’s first impression of your business and, in their minds, an indicator of what awaits them further down the track. Because if an organisation can’t get its onboarding processes streamlined then it leads one to wonder what is going on in the more complex elements of the organisation?
When employee experience is not on the radar you can practically see employees weighing their options from the get go. Whereas a business that prioritises employee experience will find itself with happier, more focused and productive teams.
Onboarding is all about planning ahead and thinking from your new employee’s point of view. And it shouldn’t begin with your new hire’s first day.
It should start at the beginning of your hiring process and end when your new employee is a productive member of the team.
Your new employee turns up on their first day ready to hit the ground running (because that’s what your job advertisement emphasised as a key attribute).
But everybody acts somewhat surprised that they are there. Sure there’s a desk but where’s the laptop? Oh, that hasn’t been ordered yet.
How do they get access to information? Oh, they have to wait a few days until they’re in the system. Never mind they can just use their manager’s log-in for a few days, I mean they won’t be able to do much but they can familiarise themselves with the intranet.
Maybe just tell them to have a walk around and grab another coffee or read some piece of irrelevant information. What a waste of energy and enthusiasm.
The worst part is that there is plenty of time to get these simple tasks taken care of. It’s usually two to four weeks before a new hire turns up, so why don’t we use this time efficiently? It’s a process issue - plain and simple.
So what’s yours and how does it stack up?
If you don’t get started on the onboarding process before the employee starts you’re already behind. And we know that most companies fall way short in terms of providing employees with the right information at the best of times (unfortunately this is true for new and existing hires).
But did you know there is technology out there that enables you to engage and collaborate digitally with your new employee before day one?
Did you know that this also enables you to create internal tasks that streamline the process of organising equipment, building admission, and information access?
If you get your processes right you can simply and easily add the new employee to a role with access polices and voilà, they have everything they need - current work, tasks and projects, all conversations and information.
Everything they need is there, ready and waiting for them to consume and participate.
Smooth onboarding is the best way to welcome and retain new employees. So why not embrace technology and develop processes that take care of all the formalities before the new hire’s step foot in the building? After all you only get once chance to make a great first impression.
Want more reading? Try the never-ending hunt for information or learn ABOUT PIQNIC for more information on how we can help with staff onboarding and productivity.
For managers trying to get to grips with remote work, sign up for our remote working checklist: