After a lengthy hiring process, most employers only want to be done with the paperwork, send the new employee to the office, and get down to business. However, that’s one of the worst mistakes you could make, resulting in high employee turnover rates.

Your new hire needs time to get adjusted to your company culture. They need time to get acquainted with the standard daily workflows, understand their new role, and fit in with their new teams – and they need your help.

Over 20% of staff turnover happens in the first 45 days of employment. So, if you want to ensure that your recruits stay with you, you need to use the right employee onboarding software and fine-tune the onboarding process.

Let’s see how you can do it.

Create a Clear Pre-Boarding Plan

Onboarding doesn’t start on your new employee’s first day. It starts the moment they’re hired. In most cases, it takes between two and four weeks from when the employee has accepted your job offer until their start date. During those few weeks, create a clear pre-boarding plan and use the time to inform and engage the recruits.

Share information concerning their position and responsibilities within your company. Send a short presentation regarding the company’s history and culture. Introduce relevant jargon, explain the compensation plan, and most importantly, send all the necessary paperwork beforehand.

Approximately 58% of organizations focus on processes and paperwork during onboarding, forcing recruits to spend most of their first day filling in forms. Simplify the process by including all the forms and paperwork in your employee onboarding software and use your employee’s first day to make them feel comfortable in your company.

Introduce New Hires to Your Employee Onboarding Software

Whether you’re using online employee training software or have custom-made, in-house employee onboarding software and programs, it’s best to introduce your employee to them well before their first day. Give them their log-in details and allow them to explore the software in their own time. It will help them learn more about their new position and responsibilities.

Ideally, you’ll want to make the software as engaging as possible. Use interactive learning materials, create quizzes, and make use of available gamification elements.

There also might be some software that your employee would need to use once onboarded. Whether it is email marketing software, designing software, task management tools. Don’t forget to introduce them and let them explore the full tool set as well.

Embed the necessary paperwork into the program, and don’t forget to share your company handbook via your employee training solution. Include important company policies, dress code details, code of conduct information, and more.

Get Your Team on Board

One of the most common mistakes employers make when recruiting new employees is forgetting to inform all the relevant teams and departments about their new team members.

There’s nothing worse for your new hires than entering the office and being met with confused glares and whispers. Of course, the situation isn’t pleasant for your existing staff either as they’ll be left to wonder whether the new person is a replacement for someone.

To ensure that the first day goes smoothly, you’ll need to keep your existing staff in the loop. As soon as you start looking for new employees, let your departments know. Explain what their position and responsibilities will be to make sure that no one feels threatened.

Once you’ve found your new hire, share their name and even a photo, if possible, before they come into the office.

Develop the First-Day Schedule

There’s only so much that your online employee training software can do to prepare your new hire for their first day. The rest is up to you.

The first day can feel hectic and confusing, especially if you have no clear plans on how the day should go. Therefore, it’s in your and your new employee’s best interest to develop a clear first-day schedule and ensure that everything goes according to a plan.

Set time aside for a complete office tour, don’t just take your recruit to their desk. Show them around the space, point them to the toilets, the cafeteria, even the storage rooms.

Have a short meet and greet with your company’s management teams, schedule orientation meetings, leave some time aside for the recruit to get to know their new team members.

Set Clear Expectations

Don’t let your employee wander around the office aimlessly on their first day trying to figure out what to do independently. Set clear and realistic expectations.

If you’ve hired a new salesperson, tell them what they should do and how. Go through their first sales call with them. Warn them about potential hiccups they might encounter and how they should deal with them.

Communicate what you want your recruit to contribute to your company and explain how you measure their success. Go over employee benefits and explain how you acknowledge and reward performers.

Assign a Designated Mentor

If you want to ensure your new employee’s success, you’ll want to assign them a designated mentor. The “buddy system” can boost productivity, enhance performance, and improve overall employee satisfaction.

The mentor shouldn’t be a superior or a manager. It should be your employee’s equal and team member who can answer all questions, clarify company policies, and introduce them to your organization. It should be someone your new hire can connect with and someone who has enough experience working the same position the new employee is there to fill.

Commit to Continuous Employee Training

Finally, if you want to master employee onboarding, you must understand that it’s a continuous process, not just a one-time, tick-all-the-box list.

Employee onboarding can last up to a year. It’s not a simple orientation meeting but a process you’ll need to commit to over a certain period.

Invest time and energy into continuous training and help your new and existing employees learn and grow with your company through well-designed online training software solutions.

Make the Most of Your Employee Onboarding

Employee onboarding can be confusing for you, your existing teams and departments, and your recruits. However, it’s essential that you do it right to improve your employee retention rates.

Make sure that you have a clear pre-boarding plan, introduce your recruit to your employee onboarding software on time, prepare your existing teams for the new arrival, develop the first-day schedule, create clear expectations, assign a mentor, and commit to continuous training.

With these steps, you’ll ensure the utmost success of your employee onboarding.

About the Author: Kamy Anderson is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning management system & eLearning authoring tools – currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker.