So you made the decision to bring on a new team member or 7, and they start on Monday. At the back of their minds they are thinking two things:

1) Have I made the right decision? (What they are about to walk into is exactly what they expect), and

2) How quickly can I get stuck in and really get moving in my role? How soon can I start to really preform and produce?

Enter the onboarding process… Onboarding is a structured process in which you actively engage your new staff. It imparts key knowledge of your organizational brand and values, your people and professional culture; it aligns institutional expectations and performance and provides the tools for the employee to be seamlessly assimilated into their new position from inception.

The most successful organisations have identified that a successful orientation program is a crucial step in ensuring that employees start their new job from the strongest position possible. It substantially increases the chances of them succeeding and remaining engaged throughout their tenure.

In addition, onboarding has been found to shorten the new employee’s learning curve, increasing their productivity from the start and reducing the likelihood of errors. This process allows new employees to settle in as seamlessly as possible, improving their job satisfaction and retention. The process also fast-tracks the building of trust, communication and vital connections within your team in actively engaging ways. The disruption to your team is minimised when new employees are guided through the induction process, allowing them to become familiar with your goals and objectives and the culture of your company in a focused and supported way.

The questions to ask yourself are: when a new team member joins us, how easy do we make it for them to integrate themselves into the organization? How can we facilitate the process of them becoming comfortable in their new environment, with the expectations, the systems and the overall culture of the business so that they can become powerfully effective in their role?