3 Steps You Can’t Miss While Onboarding New Employees

New year, new objectives… and new employees? Even though the hiring process in companies takes place all year long, onboarding new employees members in January can feel even more like a new beginning - for both the hired and the employer!

And even if this year doesn’t come with new additions to your organization, you might as well give your team a fresh start with a more inspiring and motivational environment. Because that’s what an office should feel like, right?

We bring you some tips and tricks on how to onboard new employees with the right foot, also with examples of what we ourselves do in Plecto to keep the mood - and performance - always on top. This article can be used as a checklist for onboarding new employees and understanding how to onboard new employees, so grab your notes and let’s start!

Step 1: Check, check, check 

No matter where, every first day is usually nerve-wracking and overwhelming. Processes, data, passwords, do’s and don'ts… on top of the colleagues’ names and position in the company.

Of course, the information needs to be shared with the new one coming, and the sooner, the better! But there are definitely simpler ways to make onboarding of new employees easier . For instance, it can be useful to have some documents with the most relevant processes in the company - so that the new employee onboarding can have it on hand during those intense first days.

Something that we do in Plecto, and have found to be extremely helpful, is to designate an experienced employee as a buddy for the newcomer, which makes the onboarding journey easier. This ends with the awkwardness that might bring asking someone unknown for help, plus it makes it more friendly to introduce the routine in the office. Our buddy's task is to help with anything from logging in the intranet to accompanying during lunch break.

Apart from helping and onboarding new employees, this activity can also bring joy to your current employees, who can use this as a moment to disconnect from their busy tasks and spread some kindness. We usually assign a buddy from the same team as the newcomer, but it can also be a great idea to ask for volunteers around the office.

Step 2: Ladies and gentlemen… 📢

Make sure everyone is on the same page while onboarding new employees . And even if you don’t expect new people soon, it’s still relevant to update your employees. For example, if there are movements within teams, a part-time employee has changed into a full-time employee, or a student-worker has finally graduated. Your colleagues will appreciate being informed about each other's status - and can also revive the beloved chitchatting!

For small companies, a quick meeting will be enough to onboard the new members - or update the current ones. However, companies with more than one location usually require an online solution. It can be through email, corporate intranet, or any other channel you use in your company to connect with different areas.

This update is equally relevant when it comes to the company’s culture. As obvious as it can be, introducing new employees to the vision of the organization during their early days can trigger their commitment. The more you postpone it, the less thrilling it will be for those willing to listen.

Step 3: Let’s get started!

Once the office is a familiar place, the next step in the agenda is to start serious business. After all the loads of information, surely the new hires are looking forward to actually doing something. In the end, that’s the goal, right?

Even if you may have a pile of tasks that need to be done, probably is not the best way to get introduced to a new routine. Therefore, it’s preferable if you give new employees a simple task that doesn’t require much time and concentration. That brain is close to collapse already!

This will boost their energy and give them the little push that we all need when starting in a new environment. Little by little, while onboarding new employees they will be growing into more relevant tasks in a matter of a short time.

On the other hand, if you do not have any new people to train, you probably have new ideas to try out how to onboard new employees. Or some objectives that need to be finally achieved. Whatever your strategy is, this exercise can help you get your employees on track. Introduce them correctly to the new approach, accept suggestions, solve doubts.

Bonus tip: Keep the motivation up!

Finally, the onboarding new employees checklist will get an extra tip from us! After all these steps, your new additions to the team are feeling welcomed to your company. However, they will not be new forever, and being part of the group also involves actually adding to it. With results, with teamwork, and with attitude too.

Here is when your next part of the journey begins. It entails making sure motivation is a constant in the office, and that all employees are taking part in it. It also means setting goals, developing procedures and establishing standards. A tool that can help you kickstart this new mindset of motivation and results is Plecto, a user-friendly software that can be customized to your own specific needs in the office.

As you probably know by now, going to work can be as enjoyable as you want it to be. So make some time in your routine to guarantee that the office culture is alive, and so are your employees - both new and old ones. Here you can also read some of our posts if you need some inspiration on how to introduce new office habits or tricks to make every department’s job more entertaining.