The onboarding experience of a new employee can be decisive for the rest of their experience within the company. If it is disastrous, such as for a bad date, it will leave a lasting bad impression on the company. According to CadremEmploi, companies that offer a career inOnboarding would retain new employees twice as much. When you know that 45% of resignations of new hires take place in the first year, you understand why it is better to take care of new hires as soon as they arrive and even before!
Step 1: Plan for the arrival of the new employee the week before
It is not the day before the arrival of the new one that you should start to panic. A new arrival is prepared in advance. According to A study, 82% of French companies do not feel ready the day an employee arrives. This is a staggering number, which could greatly decrease if a certain number of tasks were assigned about a week before the arrival of the new employee. For example, we know how much an IT team loves to be asked for a new computer configured, with an email address, badge and all the kit, at 5 pm the next day. So it seems elementary, but to avoid panic attacks, everything that can be done in advance and that does not require the presence of the employee must be done in advance, really in advance.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Contact the IT department to install a new workstation, configure a laptop, email, access cards, etc.
2 - Create your profile on the Intranet and training tools
Step 2: Involve other collaborators
There are still a lot of businesses in which the new collaborator arrives without having been introduced to the rest of the collaborators beforehand, at least the most concerned, and that he encounters “But who are you?” during its first weeks. Again, you have to put yourself in the shoes of a collaborator, it is not the kind of welcome that makes you feel at ease. As we know, the manager cannot always occupy a full day welcoming the newcomer, which is why in some companies that handle the art of onboarding at their fingertips, the newcomer is assigned a sponsor. This “buddy”, as our Anglo-Saxon friends call him, accompanies the new employee throughout the first day, then the following weeks to help him socialize and integrate with the rest of the collaborators. It is a form of Social learning with the aim of learning the habits and customs of the company.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Introduce the newcomer and their role to the rest of the company or department, depending on the size of the business
2 - Assign him a “buddy”
Step 3: Pay particular attention to pre-boarding
Preboarding is an important part that precedes onboarding. It starts from the moment the promise of employment is signed. Indeed, there is no question of a “Bye we'll see you when you arrive next month”, the motivation of an employee is nourished by interviews during the recruitment phase, but also until his arrival. Some companies, as soon as the hiring promise is signed, open access to certain parts of the Intranet to the newcomer, so they can start getting familiar with their work environment. It is also advisable to communicate before your arrival to explain to him how his first days, then weeks will be spent within the company.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Communicate their access to the internal platform that will allow them to learn about the company
2 - Communicate the program for the first day before arrival
Step 4: Onboarding, the first day
The first day is very often an anxiety-provoking moment for a newcomer. During his onboarding, he will be asked by a very large amount of information, not to mention that he will have to get familiar with his new workplace, new faces, new tools... It's a time that can be tiring, especially intellectually, and stressful if the employee feels left to himself. This is therefore where the famous buddy comes in, whose role will be to help the employee become familiar with his new work environment, in an approach of Peer learning. This buddy also has an important role in case of remote onboarding, where the socialization part and the new meetings go through video. In addition, more and more companies are using Mobile learning to accompany the employee upon arrival. We can also talk aboutDigital onboarding. Modules of microlearning allow you to quickly and playfully become familiar with the main information you need to know from day one.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Present your “buddy” to the new collaborator, who accompanies him throughout the day and then during his first weeks of interaction
2 - Use mobile learning to support new employees in their first steps within the company
Step 5: Support the employee in their first weeks
Contrary to what many businesses think, onboarding is not limited to the first day or the first week. It takes 3 to 6 months to complete an onboarding process, i.e. to be assured that the employee is fully integrated into the company, familiar with its rules, culture and missions. In light of this information, it necessarily becomes less logical to want to serve up stacks of information about the company since its inception from day one. Onboarding involves training phases, which must take place at the right time, whether at the request of the employee, or using reminders or notifications for example. Finally, as with any action, it is necessary to measure. After a few weeks in the company, it is generally recommended to ask the employee about their onboarding experience, in order to possibly adjust for future recruits.
-> What actions should be put in place?
1 - Propose regularly and progressively to the employee content about the company and the service/profession for which they work
2 - Measure your comfort in the company since your arrival and gather feedback on your onboarding experience
