Question: What's one best practice you use to make employee onboarding seamless, even as your company gets larger?
Automate Your Paperwork
"With new technologies, much of the paperwork involved in the onboarding process can be digitized, saving resources and cutting down on paper consumption. This can also remove duplication from the process, which will become more important to do as your company grows. This even includes getting digital signatures and electronically filing certain documentation for faster onboarding."
@nextiva
Add a Little Fun
"Once they're here, we give them a two-month grace period to soak it all in. They use this time to learn like crazy and get faster and more efficient at the basic processes of their job. At the end of the week, they are the subject of "Meet the Brancher" Trivia! All their new co-workers have to name interesting facts about them or guess whether the fact is about them or a famous person!"
@marenhogan
Create a Company Wiki
"We use the company Wiki as a way to onboard new employees. The Wiki contains our business plan and allows new employees to see where we are and where we’re going. New employees can read through business practices and ask questions directly in the Wiki."
@briandavidcrane
Use a Buddy System
"With a growing business, we have implemented a buddy system where a seasoned employee is paired with the newbie to show them the ropes culturally and professionally around the office. This seasoned employee is on hand to answer questions about our tools and clients, and the new employee hopefully feels welcomed on a personal and professional level."
@peggy_shell
Keep It Organized
"The one thing that helps us the most is creating a checklist that applies the appropriate party to their assigned task with due dates. For example, the sales manager is in charge of explaining processes, and office manager makes sure to get the employees the tools they need. Organization is key in having a seamless onboarding process."
@jaynacooke
Have a Thorough, Self-Guided Orientation Project Tailored to the Role
"We use Basecamp to create a self-guided, asynchronous orientation project. Task lists often include benefits and employment paperwork, introductory meetings and video chat checkpoints with managers, colleagues and senior staff, setting up and trying out company tools, along with role-specific projects like setting up development environments for engineers."
@jakemgold
See How You Can Help Them
"We take onboarding very seriously. Making sure that a new team member gets comfortable quickly is integral. We have quick meetings to identify any questions or issues and iron them out. That time investment up front will show them how much you really care, and it will pay off."
@thomascullen
Use Videos
"We have created a database of videos to be used for training new employees, where we show them how to use Podio, our project management solution, and other in-house tools we've developed. We create these quick video tutorials using Camtasia. A video is never more than 10 minutes. Their first week, they spend a lot of time watching these until they are comfortable with our tools and processes."
@MulliganFunding
Provide Them With a Welcome Packet
"We have a pretty solid process of having the employee read the welcome packet in the first hour. It is short enough to get through. Then we have them meet with their director for a half-day training session and lunch, followed by a real-world project in the afternoon. We always freelance on real projects before hiring, so we know the transition should be more seamless."
@paperstreet
Send Out Information in Advance
"Before the employee joins the company, give them an information packet or links to online content that gets all the background information out of the way so they can start with that already in their minds. That provides a way to focus on the human connection of bringing the new employee on board rather than compliance. As the company grows in new additions, this saves considerable time."
@peterdaisyme
