New Hire Necessities Part 3: Beyond The First Day

by | Nov 13, 2017 | Blog

  • Melissa Shockley

You’ve done it! You’ve made it through Day One, your new hire didn’t quit, and you even avoided some awkward situations!

Not even Rocky on the top of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps felt as good as you do right now. A crescendo of dramatic music even plays in your head as your office door closes behind you and you head home for the day!

Have you ever felt this accomplished at the end of a new employee’s orientation day?

If not, are you typically left wondering how the day went, if they’ll return tomorrow, and what to do next?

While it may seem a little over-the-top, the freedom and confidence that our “Rocky” managers feels above is the result of investing in a well-planned, strategic onboarding program.

One of the major advantages of mapping out an onboarding plan is that it doesn’t abandon you or your employee at the end of the first day.

An effective onboarding plan carries you through the first few months (and sometimes even the first few years) of integrating your employee into your organization – providing you with a framework for training, mentoring, and reviewing your new team member.

To help you achieve a successful onboarding program, we’ve developed a sample outline of the necessities your new hire needs beyond their first day.

There are many aspects of the onboarding process that are particular to each position, company, and industry. We’ve left our outline general enough to customize for your own business, while still providing you with a solid starting point.

If you haven’t already, discover additional tips for successful onboarding in this blog series by reading Part 1: Before the First Day and Part 2: The First Day.

New Hire Necessities Part 3: Beyond The First Day

The First Week

– Employee receives training necessary for their particular job.
– Manager starts to transition employee into normal work and assigns them to help with projects.
– Mentor builds relationships with the new employee and facilitates them meeting additional team members.
– Manager shares unwritten rules and traditions of the company culture and covers additional policies and procedures.
– At the end of the week, manager completes check-ins with the employee, employee’s mentor, and team members they’re working with directly.

Tips for a First Week Check-In:

As a best practice, the new employee’s manager should check-in with not only the employee, but also their colleagues, to gauge how the first week is going for the team.

The manager should make time to ask the employee’s mentor and fellow team members questions like:

– How is ______ doing?
– How do they seem to be adjusting?
– How are they picking up on the training?

It’s useful to ask open-ended questions, both in the scenario above and when looking for feedback from the new employee on their first-week experience.

Their manager should schedule a time on the last day of their first week to ask them questions like:

– What was your favorite thing about this week?
– What was your least favorite thing about this week?
– What would you recommend changing for future employees?
– What would help you to have a successful second week?

Allowing dedicated time for this check-in will enable the manager and the employee to get on the same page about how week one has gone and make any necessary adjustments to improve their second week working together.

The First Month

– Manager and employee work through the onboarding plan they reviewed on the first day.
– Employee works with their mentor to achieve goals outlined in their onboarding plan and complete assignments they’ve been given.
– Manager allows employee to adapt to their new role, but continues the weekly check-ins outlined above.
– At the end of the month, manager completes a formal review with the employee.

Tips for the End-of-Month Formal Review:

At the end of the first month, the manager should prepare a short evaluation form for the employee. The manager may also want to consult with the employee’s mentor and provide an evaluation form for them to complete as well.

Get it scheduled and keep it short! The review meeting should be scheduled in advance to allow time to prepare and should only last about 30 minutes.

The First Six Months

– Manager periodically reviews employee’s onboarding goals and creates new goals as needed.
– Manager gives opportunities for the employee to progress in their desired career path.
– Employee is congratulated on their contribution to the company and for participating in the company culture.
– At six months, manager completes a formal review similar to the one-month formal review. If the onboarding program lasts a full year, make this a semi-annual review and complete another formal, annual review at the end of the first year.

Tips for Retaining Your New Hire:

After the first month, you should be mindful of your employee’s engagement in their work and onboarding program.

Are they passionate about their work? Are they doing the bare minimum? Are they disgruntled and wasting away their days?

Keep an eye on their engagement level, and customize the plan to help your new employee feel as connected to the company mission and their career path as possible.

The more engaged and connected your employee feels, the more likely you will retain them in the first six months and beyond.

Develop, Customize, Implement!

Creating an effective onboarding program for your company is crucial for the success of your business and your team.

The new hire necessities included in this blog series will help you to develop, customize, and implement an onboarding plan to maximize your employee retention and positive business results.

If you haven’t already, discover additional tips for successful onboarding in this blog series by reading Part 1: Before the First Day and Part 2: The First Day.

Do you need help creating a successful onboarding process for your company? We can help! Give us a call at 877-753-0970 or check out our website to learn about outsourcing your employee issues to Integrity HR here.

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