4. It creates stronger bonds between colleagues

Friendship and solid bonds between colleagues are some of the most important prerequisites for a positive corporate culture. This means that a good onboarding process doesn’t just focus on the content of the job, it also emphasises the importance of strong relationships between colleagues.

Schedule plenty of coffee meetings for the new employee  to get to know their  new colleagues, both within their team and with other teams, as well as at all levels of the organisation.

You could also  consider a mentorship programme, where new colleagues are paired with experienced colleagues. Another option is a  buddy programme, where a new employee is paired with an existing employee who is there to guide them through their first couple of months. 

With their mentor or buddy, employees can discuss any work-related challenges they encounter in a secure environment.

5. It makes people aware of the resources available

Everyone struggles with mental health challenges, whether they’re big or small. To prevent something small growing into something large (and this potentially causing the person to call in sick or resign), you want everyone to know who they can talk to  about these things and where they can get support.

If you offer access to a wellbeing platform like OpenUp, then you need to explain clearly how it works. Explain that anyone in the business can get in contact with a qualified psychologist at any time without going through a manager or the HR team. And remind them that whatever they discuss during a consultation will never be fed back to the organisation.

At OpenUp, we’ll also help you to launch the platform and then spread the message internally, so you can be sure your employees know what support is there for them, when they need it. 

6. It (indirectly) helps you save on recruitment costs

The best ambassadors for your business are your employees. Happy employees will sing your praises in their social circles (and on Glassdoor), telling everyone how great their work environment is. And that makes it easier to attract new talent.

This means that their first impression of their new workplace is important. People are far more likely to ask their friends “How was your first week at work?” than “How was your 73rd week at work?”. A good first impression is  great advertising.

What’s more, there’s less chance of people leaving the organisation if they’ve had a good start. And this, in turn, helps you to save on the high costs of re-recruiting.

7. It increases motivation

As part of  your onboarding process, it’s important to explain what the organisation expects of the new employee (and vice versa) and why that’s important.

You’ll also need to explain what the organisation’s mission, values and motivations are, and you’ll want to make sure that the new employee feels part of this. Feeling that they are contributing to a larger (and more important) goal increases employee commitment  and productivity.

But how do you do all of this virtually?

Now that remote and hybrid working have become  normal, you’ll find that onboarding will often take place online.. This creates a number of challenges:

1. It’s difficult for employees to ask questions (during the process)
2. It’s harder to check that all the information and knowledge is being conveyed correctly
3. New employees don’t bond with each other as quickly
4. Absorbing information through a screen can eventually lead to exhaustion and overwhelm It’s trickier to incorporate relaxing activities in between
5. It’s more difficult to convey emotions and body language through a screen, which increases the chances of feeling misunderstood and misinterpreted

A successful virtual onboarding process

Even if an employee is a remote worker, we’d still recommend a physical meeting before the onboarding begins.  If that’s not possible, use the following tips: 

1. Prepare employees well. Send out a schedule in advance with a brief overview of what will be covered. This way, people can start thinking of any questions.
2. Test out your technical equipment in advance and ask the participants to do the same. This way you won’t have to fiddle around with cameras and microphones that aren’t working properly during the session, or presentations that won’t open.
3. Send out a physical welcome package full of useful and fun things. This could include a notebook, a pen, tasty (healthy) snacks to eat throughout the day and even useful documents and supplies for games that might take place during the onboarding process
4. Keep asking for feedback so that you can adjust the process and the finer details. 

A strong and smooth onboarding process will make sure that your new employee feels welcomed, valued and comfortable, so that they can hit the ground running, full of confidence and motivation.

OpenUp knows all about how to create a safe environment and keep employees motivated and engaged. 👉🏼Discover what we can do for your organisation.