The hiring process is often a dreaded one. Sometimes HR professionals are so excited to finally find the perfect candidate that they immediately relax and just cross the item off their crowded to-do list. However, not staying focused on our new hires after the paperwork is a mistake that could potentially lose an amazing employee you just hired. Here are our recommendations for onboarding new hires.
Onboarding New Hires Starts Immediately
Once the candidate has accepted the job offer, it is time to start onboarding! Even if that person isn’t starting for two weeks or two months.
Your First Onboarding Email
The first email you send to your new hire after they accept the job is crucial! And it should include more than just a request for the financial and legal documents needed to start. It should be the start of your onboarding journey with your new hire and celebrate them as a new part of your team.
- Company Handbook: While we always recommend sending a copy of your Company Handbook in the email where you extended the job offer, the next best place is in the email immediately after the candidate has accepted the job.
- Legal Documents: This email should outline any other information you need from your employee, including any financial or legal documents for your company, like W4 and I9 paperwork.
- Security: If you have a security system that requires an access code, ask them what they would like their code to be.
- Dietary Restrictions or Allergies: If you provide snacks or meals in the office, ask after their allergies or dietary preferences to ensure their needs are met.
- Culture: Provide insight into your culture and environment, including what is appropriate to wear. Starting a new job is stressful and providing this information to new hires makes them feel like they are already part of the team on day one.
Internal Announcements
While your team, or the team you are looking for, probably already knows you are hiring, you should always announce the new team member to the existing team. Share their start date, what their training schedule will look like, and what job responsibilities they will be taking over.
Get Personal and Fun
Start to flex your creative muscles and think of fun ways to welcome new team members to your team. Our team has had a blast creating “welcome videos” with our team. We then include the video in our first welcome email outlining all the details they need to know to start their first day. Think of your company culture and how you could show off your personality and culture in a video. We think this is the best part of being an HR professional!
Here’s an example our welcome video! We shared this video both on social media and with our new hire in an email.
Making Your New Hire Feel Welcome
- Incorporate a fun question into your interview process and turn the answer into a card for employees to sign and say welcome. We like to ask what kitchen appliance each new hire would be and why.
- Organize a team lunch for the first day to help your new hire meet and feel comfortable around your team.
- Put together a swag bag and include things they will need at the office or fun items to use personally. Our company swag bags always had branded company gear like a backpack and jacket!
Stay Organized and Consistent
Have a developed checklist of activities to complete to ensure the employee can integrate into your company as quickly and smoothly as possible. Ensure they are provided the proper training, introduced to the right people, and have all the equipment and software they need to do their job. Most importantly, create a structure to check in with them frequently throughout the first 90-days to ensure they are thriving and ask for their input on how the transition into your company could have been even better! We can’t even begin to share the first-day horror stories we have heard, so plan some tasks and goals for your employee’s first day and first few weeks.
Retaining top talent starts before day one. Craft an intentional journey for new hires or risk losing them. If you are not sure where to get started, we can help your team establish a journey that is unique to your business!
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Heather Morrison
Heather is the VP of Operations at Innereactive and we are lucky to have her. She has over five years of experience running an HR department and enjoys helping businesses like yours find solutions to their HR needs.