Creating an Effective Onboarding Process for Startups

The typical large company has an employee on-boarding process that works and is a natural part of their system, but there’s no reason your startup can’t follow the same game plan.

Let’s Have a Look at Creating an Effective Onboarding Process For Startups.

This is very important to emerging businesses as it not only gets everyone started on the right foot, but it sets the tone for your company culture.

Onboarding provides your employees with training, direction and guidelines. Without it, your team may not function as well as you’d like them to.

You, just like the large, established company, can create an on-boarding process that is part of your overall system of hiring.

Onboarding doesn’t have to be difficult or tedious. Your best bet is to follow some simple steps, so you can give your new hires the best shot at success. Making a simple plan also helps you stick to your onboarding process. If you make it too hard, it’s likely to get abandoned.

Prep Before the New Hire’s First Day

It’s important that you’re ready for your new employee before his/her first day.

Let’s look at a list of things to accomplish before they come to work. Some of these things you can accomplish on your own, while you might want to consult your attorney or someone well-versed in human resources.

• Create your employee policies, processes and procedures.
• Produce your Employee Handbook.
• Choose how you’ll manage payroll.
• Set up your human resource information system (HRIS) and decide how you’ll handle maintenance. The HRIS is how you’ll integrate human resources and IT through human resources software. You’ll also want to know how you’ll take care of HRIS maintenance.

Next, you want to create an agenda for your new employee’s first day. This helps both of you know how the first days or weeks will run. By creating this agenda or plan, you let your new hire know what’s expected in the beginning.

Consider sending this to any staff who will work with your new team member, so they also know what to expect. For example, if Bill, your new hire, is going to spend the first week in training, you’ll want to spell this out to your other staff.

You also want to find a place for your new hire to work. This should be a comfortable work station that includes all of the supplies the team member needs. Think computer, paper, employee handbook, pertinent forms, pens and pencils, a phone, etc.

Make the space inviting so the new hire feels welcome. You might add a plant or flowers, a balloon, or a company coffee mug.

Don’t forget to let your new hire know about your dress code, parking and start and end times.

Provide Orientation

Depending on your needs, orientation may take one day, or it may take a week. Here are some things to think about when planning your orientation process:

• Give new employee a tour.
• Introduce new staffer to your whole team.
• Arrange for a mentor. You want this person to stay with your new hire for several days, offering training, advice, and even taking him/her to lunch.
• Cover your processes and systems.
• Go over the employee handbook.
• Discuss social media practices.
• Spend time introducing the new hire to your computer software, your policies on passwords, emails, etc.
• Discuss your expectations, including both short and long-term goals.

Bottom line – structure is important from day one if you want your new hire to feel welcome, trained and ready to work.

Create a 90-Day Plan

It’s tempting to give your new hires full control after the first week but consider the first 90 days a ramping up period.

Allow your new team member to acclimate, learn the ropes, understand your communication style and expectations, and train as needed.

Give your new hire a plan for the first 90 days. Invest in their training. Consider cross-training them.

Final Thoughts

Overall, make a road map for the first few months, and you’ll find that onboarding new hires in this fashion aids in employee retention.

Consider this passage from an onboarding study: “First impressions aren’t easy to erase…86% of respondents all agree that new hires make their decision about whether or not to stay at the company within the first six months on the job.”

This is a compelling reason to make a thorough, yet simple onboarding process for your startup. Just remember, you can do it, and your startup will reap the benefits.

Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalontoday to get started.