The first month on the job is crucial. In fact, as we covered recently, employees who have a positive first month are more likely to be engaged, committed and high-performing two years later. Good onboarding processes aren’t just about getting people up to speed quickly and delivering results in the short term. They have a serious long-term impact.
In this post, we’re going to explore how you can improve your onboarding processes to help new hires get to grips with your business (and make sure your business gets the best out of new hires).
Psychometric testing
Every employee is different and your onboarding processes should cater for their diversity. Psychometric testing is a great way to identify the key personality traits that you can use to tailor your onboarding programme. These tests will tell you how people prefer to learn, the kind of teammates they’re likely to gel with and the support they might need.
There are countless psychometric models out there. We use Psycruit’s Criterion Personality Questionnaire. This assesses people against four key factors which are important to understand in order to get the best out of a new hire.
Interaction
How we interact with others is complex. Different personality types will lean toward and away from one another. Some will prefer to listen. Some will prefer to speak. Some people prefer to control and others prefer to be told what to do. Building teams that get along and are productive is all about finding combinations of personalities that will interact effectively.
Stimulation
One person’s dream project is another person’s nightmare. Figuring out whether someone prefers creative, logical or analytical work early on will help you make sure that you’re giving your new hire work that they enjoy and are likely to excel at. New hires have a lot to take on in a short amount of time, so it’s important to play to their strengths, otherwise they may feel overwhelmed and under-perform.
Reward
While everyone enjoys doing well at their job, different personality types respond to different types of praise and rewards. Some require a lot of support in order to perform, others find this stifling. Some are naturally drawn to roles which attract attention and prestige. Others prefer to keep their heads down. Identifying the kinds of rewards that a new hire will respond to early on will help you motivate them in the short term and create a tailored development plan for the long-term.
Environment
Every team is different. Some are more social than others. Some are high-pressure, others are more flexible. Likewise, every new hire will respond to different environments in different ways. Psychometrics can increase the likelihood of finding the right fit for your new hire, which will help them reach peak performance sooner than they would if they were in a team that didn’t suit them.
For more information on how psychometrics can improve the recruitment and onboarding processes, you can read our recent post on personality profiling and talent management.
Culture
Culture is a fundamental part of onboarding. The practical questions – fire drill processes, toilet locations, how to set up your laptop – are easy to tackle. But it’s company culture that will make a person feel at home in an organisation. Or, if the onboarding is rushed or slap-dash, make them feel like they don’t belong.
“There should be people within the organisation who new hires can reach out to.”
Documents which unpack a company’s mission, vision and value statements should be provided. Interactive sessions where new starters can discuss these statements and understand them in more detail should be put in their diaries. And there should be people within the organisation who new hires can reach out to in order to ask questions about the company culture.
Getting a new hire to live and breathe company culture can take some time. So, managers should have a clear plan for how they help new hires understand what the company believes in, how it behaves and how they can help the company achieve their mission. Employees who share their company’s values are less likely to leave and more likely to work hard to help the company achieve its goals.
Face-to-face meetings
Regular in-person catch ups are essential over the first few weeks and months. Managers should try and check in with new hires on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to see how things are going. This will also help to establish and open a trusted channel of communication between the new hire and their manager.
The goal of these meetings is to see how the new hire is settling in. New hires have to take on a lot of information and do a lot of listening in their first few weeks. They do comparatively little speaking. So there’s a good chance the employee will value being asked how they’re finding it and whether there are any issues.
Some employees may also try to gloss over any challenges they’re facing, not wanting to draw attention to themselves or cause disruption in their first few weeks. With this in mind, managers will need to be intuitive and empathetic, listening closely to what employees are and aren’t saying in order to help them settle in.
Social activities and interaction
Taking new joiners out for a welcome meal is fairly standard practice. It’s a great way for everyone to get to know each other and it gives the new hire an opportunity to meet everyone in a less formal setting than the office.
“Some people, especially introverts, prefer one-to-one conversation to group situations.”
Arranging coffees or quick catch ups with key team members, especially senior staff who they can learn from or will be working under, is another good way to break the ice. Some people, especially introverts, prefer one-to-one conversation to group situations.
Shadowing is another way to help new hires learn the ropes – especially for less experienced hires, such as grad schemers, interns or entry-level positions.
Finding the right talent is by no means easy. Once you’ve made a hire, it’s important to get the best out of them – and for them to get everything they can out of the role. A considered, long-term onboarding process will help staff get to grips with their role faster, feel more welcome and make them less likely to leave.
Check out the Identifi Global blog for more information on how to find and hold onto the best talent in your industry.
Featured image via Adobe Stock by BartPhoto https://stock.adobe.com/uk/contributor/204699655/bartphoto?load_type=author&prev_url=detail
