The hiring process can be lengthy and complex. Once you fill the position, you want your new staff on the job fast, working and making up for lost production time. Who can blame you for wanting to speed through the onboarding process?

Actually, new staff can and do think less of a company that doesn’t adequately prepare them for their new role. It’s a role they’ve just rigorously interviewed for – and likely jumped through a few hoops to prove they can perform. So, if you start off by throwing them into their new position with little or no introduction and training, it feels like you’ve just pushed them overboard without a life jacket.

How Can You Streamline the Onboarding Process?

The Benefits of Good Onboarding

According to a Gallup State of the American Workplace report, only 12 percent of employees “strongly agree” that their organization does a great job of onboarding new employees. New hires who quickly become disillusioned with a new employer don’t always stick around, meaning you may soon have to refill that position. Again.

On the other hand, a good onboarding program prepares your new employee for success. It encourages job motivation and engagement and typically leads to higher job satisfaction and employee retention.

So how do you balance the needs of new workers and your need for them to swiftly become a productive member of your work team? Here are some tips:

Create a Customized Onboarding Checklist

Design a comprehensive onboarding plan to follow with each new hire. Your plan will include aspects of onboarding common to all employees, like setting up their workspace and introducing them to coworkers. Indeed’s onboarding checklist includes reminders to add the new hire’s name to employee email distribution lists, and pre-schedule first-day meetings, training, and orientation programs.

In addition, you’ll want to customize other parts of the onboarding process, depending on the type of job they will perform.

Get Paperwork Out of the Way Before Their First Day

There is always a bit of necessary documentation involved when onboarding a new employee. In addition to payroll, taxes, and benefits, you may need to issue them an employee handbook, training materials, ID badges, and login details.

Instead of waiting until Day 1, utilize email and auto-sign technology to pre-board your new hire and ease their first-day stress. Or use an automized onboarding platform to help manage all the moving parts, notes HR Cloud.

Onboarding software can help coordinate, schedule, and implement training, orientation, and educating your new hire about the company.

Provide On-the-Job Training

Thirty-one percent of workers responding to an onboarding survey say they’ve left a job within the first six months, and 68% of those people left within the first three months. Since the first few months on the job are crucial, continuing the employee onboarding process into their first several months of employment “helps employees learn about job training, culture, policies, and benefits at their own pace, making it much easier for them to actually absorb the information,” says Bamboo HR.

At the same time, demonstrate how they fit into the larger goal of your organization by assigning responsibilities with meaningful outcomes. Set clear expectations so they can focus on their role.

Assign them a “Buddy” or Mentor

Another step that prepares your new hire for success is to pair them with a seasoned employee or mentor. This provides them with immediate support when the new hire has questions.

“A new job feels less intimidating when workers know they have a peer to help them out when they get stuck,” says Seismic. Plus, right from the start, it helps establish socialization that can be vital to making your new hire feel like part of the team.

Thoughtful Onboarding Benefits Workers and Employers

A well-structured and thorough onboarding program may initially take a little more time and forethought, but technology can help streamline the process. Ultimately, employers who pay attention to a new hire’s early experiences are likely to reap the rewards through greater engagement and employee satisfaction.

Need help finding new staff to onboard? Contact the staffing experts at Pro Resources Staffing Services.