To create the most effective onboarding program for your organization, thoroughly imagine yourself in the shoes of new employees. Think about questions they tend to ask. Get input from newer staff about what was missing when they first started. Required paperwork and a physical tour of your facility are important, of course, but go above and beyond necessities to new employee comfort and niceties. Onboarding can be as formal or casual as needed but the goal is to help the employee acclimate and become truly engaged in the work and in your organization resulting in greater productivity, better fit and longer retention.
Work with the manager to gain buy-in and assistance in creating a program that tells new staff, “We’re glad you’re with us!” Some activities may be standard for all and some tailored to a department or position; some will happen the first day and others during weeks to come. Have checklists of responsibilities for HR, the manager and the employee so everyone is on the same page and items don’t get skipped. Take any steps you can before the first work day such as mailing out paperwork, company brochures, org chart, mission statement and statement of core values.
Be creative but also think about the basics. Have the manager make sure the workspace is clean (remove messy traces of the former occupant such as coffee cups, stale food or old pens that won’t write.) Organize or eliminate piles of paper. Be sure it’s properly equipped and that everything is relevant and helpful such as contact information and a company directory. Have business cards made up in advance, if possible, and give the employee items with the company logo if you have them.
The employee handbook is important but it is often dense and not absorbed quickly. You can get fancy with videos and computer based materials if you have the resources, but lacking those, how about creating a simple, folksy and readable brochure that highlights the basics of what the employee will encounter early on. Include information such as: parking, dress code, work hours, using the phone, late and absence policies, acceptable behaviors and etiquette, where to obtain supplies, basic safety and security rules, expense reimbursement, email and internet use, use of refrigerator or lunchroom, timing of breaks, IT support, mailroom procedures, where to go for information, accessing the company intranet, purchasing procedures, degree of flexibility, company discounts, etc.
Schedule an ergonomic evaluation early on, if possible, and plan trainings that will be most useful at different stages. Bear in mind that when encountering a lot of new information, people can’t retain it all so provide information in several formats spread out over time. Be sure the employee gets introduced to colleagues and that work flow and cross-departmental processes are explained. Have expectations conveyed verbally and in writing. Make sure the employee knows whom to go to with concerns. Consider the role co-workers can play by taking the new employee to lunch, providing informal information, and serving as a work buddy or guide on how to get things done. Arrange meetings between the employee and upper management and folks from other departments to convey a range of perspectives and to let the employee know that they are valuable and worth spending time with. Set up “meet and greet” activities, departmental breakfasts or coffee klatches, encourage wellness participation and other team activities. Make it fun!
As your onboarding program unfolds, don’t forget to periodically check in with both the employee and supervisor to see how things are going. Encourage feedback so you can tweak and add to onboarding activities and you’ll soon have a robust and effective program!
Throughout the economic downturn, most companies have been operating in a strained state of “just-getting-by” but that is not sustainable for long-term success. As they seem to be slowly hiring again, the employment process and retention come into focus once more. With employee loyalty in a trough, turnover due to voluntary resignations will emerge from its two-year hiatus. As the fledging recovery strengthens, how can you help new employees become valuable and valued members of your team?
There are many benefits to “onboarding”, the term given to a robust employee orientation program that goes well beyond paperwork and giving out a handbook. Studies have shown that the first 60 to 90 days of employment are the most important for helping an individual acclimate and become a loyal and productive member of your team. What will help your new employee feel more comfortable sooner?
An earlier sense of comfort aids in the learning process. Keep in mind that little things such as finding the bathroom, memorizing a barrage of new names and faces, figuring out a unique culture and new systems while learning the job itself constitute a mixture of sensory data that can contribute to a human being’s sense of overload and exhaustion during the first days and weeks of any new job. An analogy is learning to swing a golf club for the first time—working on too many aspects at once is too daunting, doesn’t improve the swing and might make the newcomer hate golf! So allow for a bit more time for new staff to learn things logically step-by-step. It’s worth the small investment of being a bit more thoughtful early on to reap better results and greater chances of retention in the long run.
Often an HR professional knows what new employees need but must work with a manager who is anxious to get new staff on the front lines asap and shows little patience for paperwork or orientation activities. Sometimes managers have the idea that if they had to “sink or swim”, then new employees should too. Or they may simply not remember how hard it was to be the new kid on the block. So explain how the onboarding process is beneficial to the manager, namely that the employee who is given more onboarding support up front will become productive sooner, feel a stronger sense of commitment and thus be more likely to stay longer. Gain that manager’s buy-in by involving him or her in creating a more effective orientation and learning plan. Be sure to schedule some face time for the new employee with upper management to send the message right off that he or she is valued while giving onboarding activities the visibility and buy-in from the top that they deserve.
What are some further components of a good onboarding program? Stay tuned for Part 2.
Free Webinar June 11th from 2pm – 3pm: “Hiring New Employees – Compliance and Orientation”. Presented by Brenda Sabin, this webinar leads you through compliance issues when you hire new employees, issues such as: New Hire Reporting, Tax Forms and Benefits Eligibility Notifications. Do you report all your new hires? Do you know if your State has it’s own W4 tax withholding form? Do you have an Employee Orientation program? Should you? Why would you? Why not? To learn the answers to these questions and more click here and register.
There are many ways hiring interns can add value to your organization. They can minimize the impact to your hiring budget. They may work on projects that need to be completed that free up your experienced employees to work on more complex assignments. Oftentimes interns will bring new ideas and energy into an organization. They may even become great full-time employees who are already trained in job functions and are therefore immediately productive.
When considering a Paid Internship, be thinking of the following:
* Even though you are required to only pay the Federal or State minimum wage, consider the education and knowledge of the students you want to hire.
* Consider the job requirements, skills and responsibilities necessary for your internship. Will your intern need to perform basic skills, or will they be asked to perform duties that require a higher level of expertise?
* If you are not sure what the fair market wage is for the position you want to fill, make a quick call to your local college or university and ask for the career development office, or contact another local business to see what they pay. Most employers are happy to share information with you.
When considering Unpaid Internships, be thinking of the Department of Labor’s Criteria:
Federal and State Laws dictate whether a particular job is considered an internship or a paid worker position. Although the Department of Labor doesn’t use the word intern, or provide a definition of such, they have developed criteria to determine if a learner/trainee is a paid employee entitled to minimum wage and all other applicable laws, or a learner/trainee that is unpaid or paid a stipend. The definition of employee differs from labor laws and workers compensation state laws as well. Please be sure to check all applicable state laws in addition to federal regulations.
The 6 criteria developed by the Department of Labor that must be met in order for the positions to be an Unpaid internship are:
1. The training, although it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to the training which would be received from a vocational school.
2. The training must be for the benefit of the intern.
3. The intern must not displace regular employees, but work under the close observation of a regular employee or supervisor.
4. The employer provides the training and derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and on occasion, the operations may actually be impeded by the training.
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship.
6. Both the intern and the employer understand that the intern is not entitled to wages. A student may be able to receive a stipend however.
All of these criteria must be met in determining if the intern is a paid employee or a learner/trainee.
Of these 6 criteria, three of them are very straightforward:
* #3 – the intern cannot displace regular employees
* #5 – the intern is not guaranteed a job at the end of the internship
* #6 – the intern is aware and has agreed there are no wages due
The other three criteria are more open to interpretation. Be sure to verify state labor laws. Other areas to be considered when hiring a student are Federal and State Child Labor and Workers Compensation Laws.
Once you have developed a job description and the wages have been determined, be sure to let your employees know that you are hiring. Employees are oftentimes the best source for referrals. And don’t forget to spend your money wisely. Interview the interns like you would a full-time employee. Do a few reference checks with their prior employers if possible, or contact a professor. The job may only be for the summer, but if you hire poorly, it can be a long summer.
Training is one of the most important aspects in any business as it provides the continued ability to both improve and operate at a high level of success. Done properly it builds a foundation of ideas, values, and goals that embody the organizational culture. Bill Reynolds of CompEraser has provided a fantastic piece on the importance of this role for all managers on an ongoing basis:
All managers face the task of training their employees, in the broadest sense of the term. In addition to knowing how to select training for subordinates, you must know how to perform the role of trainer. Managers are called on to help new hires, for example. Even if the personnel department provides general orientation training, it is the duty of the unit manager to see that the new employee learns to perform the new job correctly.
Too many managers take this task too lightly. Ineffective managers typically hand new employees a manual and tell them to read it. This hardly suffices as on-the-job training. Another on-the-job training error is to tell the new hire to watch a seasoned employee to learn how the job is done. There is no guarantee that the experienced employee is doing the job correctly or can teach someone else how to do the job.
In the meantime, the new hire feels like a pest and is reluctant to ask too many questions. Some managers, like drill sergeants, dictate job procedures and command new hires to perform these correctly without asking too many questions. Rather than adopting these procedures, you must work closely with new employees to see that they develop the right work skills and attitudes.
You should also train in the event of employee performance problems, when an employee’s job is expanded or changed, or when you want to develop a subordinate for a new project or promotion. In essence, whenever you provide feedback, or coach, you are training.
In addition to directly training employees, you must provide support to subordinates who return to the job after attending a training seminar. It is your job to help them transfer what they have learned from the training program to the work situation. This may mean letting them try a new approach or test a new idea. It may mean removing attitudinal or structural barriers so that employees can incorporate training concepts into the daily work routine.
Check out the HRSentry resources for more tips on training as well as a series of desktop training programs ranging from workplace safety to sexual harassment.
