Creating a positive, productive work relationship from day one
You’ve sifted through applications, sat through interviews and chosen the candidate who is the best fit for your business. That’s the end of the recruitment process, right?
But there is a final and important step in the process: onboarding.
A structured onboarding program is essential for employee retention, satisfaction and productivity1:
- 69% of employees are more likely to stay for 3 years
- 58% more likely to stay after 3 years
- 50% higher productivity for new hires
When you consider the true cost of replacing an employee is estimated to be about 1.5 times their annual salary2, taking the time to properly onboard your new employee is a worthwhile investment.
The good news is, there are simple steps you can take to ensure your new team member can contribute to your business’s success sooner. Here are the top four recommendations from our Workforce Evolve team:
1. Introduce them to policies and procedures
Step all new employees through your business’s policies and procedures and show them where they can find them for future reference. This is crucial because it helps to set expectations, ensure compliance with the law, and can help defend against potential employee claims.
2. Clarify the role responsibilities and expectations
Take the time to sit down one-on-one and talk through your new hire’s role responsibilities and your expectations of them. It’s also important to explain how their role contributes to the success of the whole organisation. Make sure they’re introduced to the whole team and encourage them to meet with other team members and start building their own working relationships.
And don’t forget to make sure they have all the information they need to do their jobs. Help them set up access to the systems they need and share helpful documents, guidelines and templates they can use in their role. These seem like small things, but they make a big difference in a new employee’s impression of the company and can help them be more productive, sooner.
3. Talk through your values and culture
Identify and describe your company values during the onboarding process and demonstrate them in action. For example, if customer service is a defining value, explain how you would like them to interact with customers. Or if diversity and inclusion is a core value, show them the steps you’ve taken to reflect this – whether that’s accessible facilities or flexible working arrangements for parents and carers.
4. Build a strong connection with an ‘onboarding buddy’
Try to encourage your new team member to feel connected to the company and their team by facilitating opportunities for them to get to know the business and their colleagues. One way you can do this is by partnering them with an ‘onboarding buddy’ – this could be a long-term employee who represents your company’s values and can help make them feel at home. It also provides new hires with a mentor who can support them as they settle in the role, answer any questions they may have and help them resolve any challenges they may encounter – whether that’s solving an IT issue or recommendations on where to get the best coffee.
With these simple steps, you can save time and money by helping your new employees become more productive sooner and encouraging them to stay with your business longer.
1Don’t underestimate the importance of good onboarding, www.shrm.org, August 2017
2The financial cost of high employee turnover, Bentleys.com.au, July 2024
