No one said being the new kid on the block was easy. Especially, if you’re a new hire trying to figure out how your new office works. While existing employees may hardly (anymore) notice them, there are certain aspects of a company that can make it seem more like a minefield rather than an office.
Like, the acronyms and office lingo that everyone but the new hire gets; or the subtle undercurrents that run through meetings and social gatherings that the new person has no clue about; and the performance indicators that are often forgotten until it’s time for their first appraisal. The onboarding process doesn’t mean showing the new recruit where the toilet is or who their colleagues are. Neither is it just about helping them understand the company’s rules and expectations through weighty employee manuals.
Instead, it’s an ongoing process of assimilation, which recent research has proved, could take up to an entire year. For, people need to be allowed to start slow in a new environment and pick up pace when they feel ready to. It won’t help to assume that a newly recruited person will come ready to hit the ground running and be immediately productive. In other words, if you believe in letting your new hires sink or swim their way into the company, then be ready to sink yourself.
Guidelines to Implement
Look beyond traditional orientation: Since companies are legal entities, traditional orientation tasks such as filling out of new employee paperwork; being formally introduced to the company’s mission, vision and values; learning about the types of benefit plans offered; reviewing company policies, safety measures and administrative procedures must be completed. However, all these orientation tasks can be done within the span of a single formal event, with the use of presentations, Q&A sessions and so on. They don’t comprise the onboarding of a new employee, which is akin to a series of events that reveals how they can succeed in their new roles, feel like they belong and are making an impact on the overall business.
Create an employee manual that actually gets read: The foremost purpose of employee handbooks is to show people the ways in which they can survive their new workplace and its culture. In essence, an employee handbook needs to be a simple survival manual that people can come back to whenever they’re in doubt. Crafting a manual that’s visual and simple to understand helps people to quickly find what they’re looking for without having to comb through pages of rules. Rulebooks need to be like teachers who walk their students through serious aspects of the business in a step-by-step manner. Infusing the content with some well-placed humor can greatly impact how employees connect with the handbook and recall it when necessary.
Don’t forget they’re new and need time: Typically, companies that focus on high performance tend to expect their new hires to start performing from the word go. Unrealistic as it is, it places enormous pressure on the new person to deliver in a new environment they have no clue about. While it may work on the short-term, it’s definitely the reason why such companies face enormous attrition. Now imagine a company that allows its new recruits all the time they need to get settled in; places them within a bubble that business pressure can’t breach; and focuses on building a trustful relationship with the new person.
Make onboarding a collective responsibility: Onboarding a new employee is an important responsibility, sure. But it needn’t be one that’s on the manager’s checklist alone. Instead, it could be split among the entire team to ensure that the new person joining their group feels welcome, safe and accepted among their peers. Typically, new recruits tend to team up and navigate the office together; eat lunch together; and try exchanging notes in order to avoid asking their managers silly questions. While that’s a great way to bond with other new hires, it does very little to help them assimilate within the teams they’re actually part of. This can be fixed by team members taking up the responsibility of shepherding new hires; answering their questions and helping them grasp the nuances of company culture.
Allow anyone to mentor new hires: Mentoring is a common way in which new hires are brought up to speed with the ways of the company, the work and culture. However, these mentoring sessions tend to be offered on a formal basis, by people who are highly experienced. In other words, people who a new hire can’t immediately connect with or trust. Consider allowing new hires to be mentored by anyone in the company. For instance, an analyst, who’s well-versed with the company’s financial numbers, can explain how things work; a cleaning lady who fully understands the company culture can help a new hire understand the subtleties and so on. Keeping mentoring sessions informal like this is a much better way to help new hires understand the culture, the dynamics between departments, the challenges and strategies used and so on.