Why Successful Induction and Onboarding Is Vital

Onboarding best practices have changed a lot. Many years ago, a formal induction and onboarding weren’t a priority. A boozy lunch, an employee handbook, a completed form or two, and access to the filing cabinet would be the only new employee orientation some people received.

Today, your company could come across as uncaring or old-fashioned, unless a new employee feels like the expectations of their employment are clear, their workspace and tools are ready from day one, and your company procedures are outlined from the beginning.

Instead, as a result, you give your new-hire a bad first impression which may affect your employee retention rate. Even worse, word travels fast in some industries, which may eventually impact your ability to hire new talent. It’s important to get your reputation for induction and employee onboarding sorted as soon as possible.

In this article, we explain induction and onboarding, current best practices, and how to improve your HR forms and onboarding processes to make a positive first impression on your new-hires.

What is Induction and Onboarding?

Induction and onboarding are relatively new concepts, and people often use the two terms interchangeably. However, they refer to two different processes. Let’s start by breaking down the two terms.

Induction refers to the basic company knowledge and initial training you give your new employee. HR forms are typically the main focus of induction, including forms for payroll, direct deposit, and benefits, but the full process usually involves a series of tasks, including:

  • Paperwork completion
  • Workspace assignment
  • Handing over of work devices
  • Logins and password changes
  • Initial training

Employee onboarding, on the other hand, is the process of fully integrating your new employee into your work culture and training them to reach their full potential at your company. The goal of the onboarding process is to have your new-hire form social relationships with their colleagues and assimilate into the team smoothly.

Induction typically starts on your new-hire’s first day and may even last only that first day, although it often continues for their first week.

In contrast, the employee onboarding process happens as soon as your employee is hired, which means it can start before their first day. Onboarding also goes well beyond the first week of employment. It can potentially take weeks, or months, depending on how complicated the role is and your company’s overall culture and size.

New employee onboarding may involve many of the same tasks as induction but with the inclusion of additional tasks, including:

  • Meeting the team
  • Understanding company values
  • Company events for new-hires

Despite the different definitions, induction and onboarding go hand-in-hand, and you need to smoothly execute both to properly welcome your new-hire to your company and keep them happy and productive.

Let’s take a look next at HR forms and onboarding best practices.

What are the Best Practices for Successful Induction and Onboarding?

Successful new employee induction (and HR forms) and onboarding relies on a few processes to ensure that it goes smoothly and that your new employee is equipped with everything they need to jump into their new role.

Make a training plan

Training is arguably the most important part of new-hire induction and onboarding. Therefore, it should be well organised, and your employee should know what to anticipate from the beginning. For best results, create a schedule or a plan for training to guide your new-hire.

You should know exactly how your new employee will be trained well before their first day, whether online or by one of your employees. If your new-hire senses that their training isn’t structured or that one of your employees is being burdened to train them, they may not feel like a priority at the company, which affects how long they may choose to stay.

Have the paperwork ready

It’s important to have written employee documents ready to go on your employee’s first day of induction, and as soon as they’re hired for onboarding. Doing so ensures that the process is organised and moves swiftly.

Many new-hire forms can help with onboarding and ensure you stay on track. HR on Hand provides an onboarding toolkit with everything you need for human resources forms and the onboarding paperwork for your new team members. Check out our induction and onboarding toolkit for the documentation you need for your new employee’s first few weeks to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible.

Assign a buddy

Larger companies often have a mentoring program to welcome their new-hires to the company and guide them. But you don’t need a mentorship program to set up your new employee for success.

Assign a buddy to your new-hire for their first couple of weeks. This person should be someone from their team who they’ll be working closely with and who understands their role. This buddy is meant to be the person that makes your new employee feel at ease. They provide a link between the new-hire and the rest of the team, and your new employee can ask them questions that they may be too embarrassed to ask their manager.

Schedule buddy sessions for the first couple of weeks so that there’s someone constantly checking in with your new employee, and ask the person acting as the buddy to keep you in the loop.

Wrap Up

Optimised human resources forms, induction and onboarding documents are the keys to your new-hires reaching their full potential as soon as possible, so it’s important to have a solid plan and good processes in place.

HR on Hand provides advice to help companies successfully induct and onboard their people, making a positive difference to your new talent and your company’s success. With the help of our induction and new-hire onboarding toolkit, your new-hires will assimilate into your company culture and become productive contributors in no time.

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