Setting Up New Hires for Success

Jan 3, 2017 | HR for Small Business

Congratulations, you’ve hired a new employee! You conducted a job analysis, created the right job description, eliminated some trolls early in the process, and found a great candidate because you identified the why during the interview. But the hard work of successful onboarding isn’t finished yet — now it’s time to create success for that employee from day one.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever started a new job and done nothing but sit at a desk reading a hard-copy training manual all day. Or started a new position where you didn’t have a functioning email address or an ID badge for a week.

Now raise your hand if you’ve ever started a new job where your desk was completely set up with supplies, computer and email logins were waiting for you on a sticky note, and your nameplate was already on the door. How much more welcome do you feel when that’s your first-day experience?

When it comes to onboarding employees, it’s important that you have processes and procedures in place (and clearly identify the people responsible for them). The more organized you are before the employee walks in the door on the first day, the better the new hire experience for everyone. Think about sending new employee paperwork in advance so that the employee can review it and come prepared with any questions or even complete it in advance. That’s one easy box to check on day one. Check all the other boxes on the list quickly and efficiently, and you can move on to the more important part of setting up new hires for success — clearly communicating expectations.

We strongly encourage the three C’s when it comes to any employee communications:

  • Clear
  • Concise
  • Consistent

On an employee’s first day, it’s critically important that their supervisor spend time talking with the employee about the goals for the position. Why was the position created? Where does it fit in the organizational chart? What does the company expect in the first 45 days? 90 days? What are the goals for the first year?

While many of these things may have been discussed during the interview, it’s important to highlight them again on the first day. The same goes for policies, and we recommend going beyond handing a new employee a policy manual and telling them to read it and sign off at the end. Talk about the most important policies for a new employee and be frank about any pet peeves of the organization or of your own as the supervisor. Answer any questions the employee may have about policies, expectations, or company culture honestly.

Taking adequate time to train a new employee is not only vital for their success, but also for yours as a supervisor or owner. We’ve seen companies burn through one employee after another for a specific position, and after further analysis, it wasn’t that they were hiring the wrong people. The problem was the lack of training and the lack of communication flow to their direct supervisor, which ultimately led to frustration and turnover. Above, we mention the 3 C’s… it’s those components that ultimately lead to the big C, Communication.

When you’ve invested a lot of time and energy to get them in the door, it only makes sense to secure that investment by spending a little more time and energy making sure the that employee has all the tools necessary to succeed in their new role and in the company.

Could your company use some extra help ensuring the success of new employees? Give WhyHR a call to discuss the services we provide.