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Keys to Successful Candidate Onboarding: Getting New Hires in the Door and Off the Ground

January 20th, 2012

At the heart of every successful company, you’ll find warm, efficient HR mangers and experienced bosses who know how to get new employees off to a productive start during their first week. Work begins on day one, and so does an employee’s long term relationship with her new company. How you help them navigate the onboarding process can have a lasting impact on both sides of the equation.

Before you begin to focus on specific hires, make sure your company can provide an updated employee manual that contains all general policies and also specific, position related information. In a modern workplace, tasks are increasingly complex and personnel changes happen fast, so it’s becoming nearly impossible for all fundamental employee information to be transmitted by word of mouth. Have a manual ready that supports everything your new hire will be told during the first few days.

Once the new hire arrives, follow these guidelines for a smooth and positive integration period.

1.
Have their supplies and work area ready and clean. Know exactly where they’ll be placed, make sure their computer is functioning properly, and make sure they know who to contact for questions about facilities like the copier, phone, and fax machine.

2.
In addition to their employee manual and position-specific worksheets and databases, make sure they have a printed schedule for their entire first week on the job. Have scheduled times established for introductory meetings with all of their supervisors and coworkers, and if possible, schedule their participation in meetings related to the projects and accounts they’ll be working on.

3.
Have all of their necessary new hire materials ready when they arrive. This may include any HR paperwork they haven’’t completed already. It may also include key cards, parking passes, and passwords to all the databases and accounts they’ll need to access in order to begin working.

4.
Take responsibility for all introductions. Personally walk the new employee around and introduce them to everyone they’ll be seeing or working with on a regular basis. Assign a manager or peer to invite them out to lunch. Don’t let them navigate first-day lunch plans on their own.

Every aspect of your onboarding process should encourage the new hire to feel warmly welcomed and part of the team. Before you turn a new employee over to their supervisor and coworkers, make sure they spent at least a small amount of scheduled time with each one of them. And even after the first few days have passed, stay approachable and maintain an open line of communication so they feel comfortable coming to you with questions or problems. For more onboarding help, contact your local Connecticut employment service at Merritt Staffingand arrange a consultation with our staffing experts.

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