Day One

• Welcome your new employee to the organization. Meet them at the door and help them get their security credentials. Walk them to their work area. Be sure to introduce them to people along the way. Give them the lay of the land. Where are the toilets? Where is the break room? Where are the conference rooms? Vending machines? What are the other areas of work on your floor? Where do their teammates sit? What’s on the other floors? Are there other buildings? If so, what does the new hire need to know about them and the teams who work there?
• After the tour, give them a chance to settle in their workspace. Provide them with reading material to get them up to speed. Point them to their training and let them know when it should be completed.
• Have a plan for introducing them to their team and other colleagues throughout the day. Be sure to set up time toward the end of the day to check in and see how things are going. Answer any questions that were not answered during the day. Also, share the plan for the remainder of the week.

Week One

• Onboarding will not end on Day One. Outline the first week for your new team member. Spend time sharing your expectations with them. Make sure the new team member is aware of any regular meetings they should attend. Explain what the meetings are…why they should attend…who else will be in attendance…and where the meetings are conducted. Also, be sure to organize a team lunch during the first week. This will help the new team member get to know some of their colleagues a little better.
• Also, during week one, be sure to provide the new team member with any job aids with tips and tricks to help them with their work. Include a list of resources they can use to get questions answered. Finally, meet at the end of the week to answer questions and discuss any concerns. Begin reviewing deliverables, as necessary, and provide solid feedback.

Month One

• Toward the end of the first month, schedule time to check in. “How is everything going? How are you settling in? Is this what you expected? Is there anything you did not expect? Is there anything we can do to help you? How has it been collaborating with your new team? Have you completed all the necessary training?”
• Conduct their first performance review. Also, begin to get to know your new team member on a more personal level. What are their interests? Do they have family? How long have they been in the area? If possible, begin introducing them to colleagues who have similarities.

Year One and Beyond

• Continue to meet with the new team member to answer questions, listen to their concerns and provide coaching. This can be done in regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings. Perhaps your company has annual employee appraisals. Spend time preparing the new team member for that process. This should be a buildup of all the monthly performance reviews you have been conducting.
• Be available at the end of each year to act as a career counselor for your new resource. Spend time helping them navigate the next steps towards new roles and opportunities or promotions.

In today’s world, many people work remotely. So, if you have New Hires Working Remotely, keep in mind that most of these same things apply to remote resources. While you cannot take them to lunch, many of the other activities described here are still applicable.

Following this process might require a shift in mindset.

Onboarding is often viewed as a “one and done” task. It is typically not considered an on-going activity that may spread over a year or more.

One last thing: I highly recommend that everyone turns on their camera during meetings. Also, whenever possible, have a face-to-face meeting in the office. Even if it is just once per quarter or even once every six months, having team members in the same room is priceless. Face-to-face contact will help your new team members – and the old ones, for that matter – feel more connected and collaborative.

For more thoughts on onboarding, check out Don’t Blow Your Onboarding – Emerson Human Capital