A structured new hire training checklist is vital to helping your new employees get up to speed quickly. This article will help you create a comprehensive onboarding process that begins before your employee’s first day and continues well after their first month on the job.
First, ensure your employee knows who to ask for help if they have questions or are stuck. This could be their manager, designated point person, or even a friendly peer who has been around for a while.
Orientation
It’s important to ensure new hires get off to a good start by taking them through a comprehensive company orientation. This includes a full review of their job duties and how they contribute to the organization’s success.
It also introduces them to company policies, procedures and benefits & perks. This can reduce confusion and frustration by establishing clear expectations, which in turn helps the employee reach their full potential faster.
A comprehensive orientation should also include an office tour to familiarize them with the environment and workstation/office. They should clearly understand how to access key systems, where the first aid station is located and other emergency information. It’s a good idea to include team-building activities to help new hires socialize with their coworkers and managers.
Finally, any necessary paperwork must be completed during orientation, including income tax forms, employment verification forms and non-disclosure agreements. Having a new hire checklist prevents new hires from doing this later, which may lead to them forgetting to fill out something or accidentally submitting incorrectly. It also saves time, as they can complete these tasks during a formal meeting with their supervisor and HR representative. This enables the new hire to focus on their duties and makes them feel confident they’re starting their job positively.
Intranet
A well-functioning intranet is essential for a digital employee experience, especially in remote and non-desk jobs. Modern intranets create a single place for centralized communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing across the company. They foster a sense of transparency and inclusion, which contributes to employee engagement and productivity.
Often, new hires have questions about company policies, procedures, and other essential information. Providing answers in a central location on the intranet can help new employees feel confident and connected with their coworkers. A place to discuss common concerns and collaborate on solutions can also foster healthy work relationships.
Companies can use their intranets to host training materials, allowing them to reduce the cost of hiring instructors, booking meeting rooms, and traveling for meetings. They can also host instant messaging and bulletin boards for streamlined internal communication.
Additionally, intranets can provide a centralized location for sharing documents and resources, boosting productivity. They can also host employee directories, forums, and social networking tools for fostering relationship-building and cross-departmental collaboration. They can also facilitate streamlined communication and support by including IT service request forms or ticketing portals that route questions to the appropriate department. This can save time and frustration for both employees and IT teams. Intranets should be easy to use, often resembling consumer applications for a more engaging user experience.
On-the-Job Training
For many jobs, on-the-job training is the only way to train new hires properly. It can last from a few weeks to a few months as employees shadow older coworkers, perform their duties under a designated person’s supervision, or participate in company-led learning and development programs.
Ensuring your company’s training program caters to all employees’ preferred learning styles is important during this phase. Some employees learn best by watching, others prefer to read written instructions, and some can memorize information through hands-on demonstrations. It’s also important to offer regular refreshers on lessons learned during orientation or previous training courses like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
To facilitate on-the-job training, some companies assign experienced managers to be the trainers for the rest of their teams. However, this is only sometimes an option for all positions, especially those with more complex and technical tasks. Often, managers need to be more relaxed with their responsibilities to help train new staff.
To address this issue, some companies have successfully used peer-to-peer mentoring. This method pairs experienced and new hires to share knowledge, improve workflow, and build a strong support network. In addition, it’s an effective way to introduce the company culture and values to new employees. This approach helps reduce attrition rates and makes it easier for HR leaders to find replacements for open roles.
Regular Feedback
When managers and employees communicate effectively, it eliminates the guesswork new hires can fall victim to. Feedback is a two-way street and should be given frequently, especially when an employee is unique to the role. This allows them to understand exactly what they need to work on and how their performance is measured. It also helps them build a better relationship over time – as the main reason employees leave their job is due to a bad working environment.
In addition to providing constructive feedback when needed, you should also give frequent positive reinforcement. For example, when a new hire does something well, use your organization’s recognition tool to highlight their efforts. This is a great way to set a positive precedent you will continue to follow for the rest of the training process.
As the weeks go by, the frequency of feedback and check-ins will likely slow down to a monthly or quarterly basis. This allows new hires to settle into their roles and responsibilities, which helps them get up to speed faster than they would have otherwise. It’s also an ideal opportunity to see how the onboarding program impacts job satisfaction and whether they need further instruction or support. It’s also a good time to send out a new hire survey and solicit their opinion about their experiences with the onboarding process and company culture.