When a candidate accepts your job offer, you might feel like your work is done. But if you fail to effectively onboard them, they may walk right out the door. Fifteen percent of employees who quit within six months of starting a new job blame it on a lack of effective onboarding.
Nobody wants to expose their business to disgruntled new hires, an incohesive company culture, and even employment law violations. But without an organized and effective onboarding strategy, you might be inviting problems into your business.
How To Onboard New Hires
To ensure new hires understand their job responsibilities, prevent confusion, and encourage employee retention, you must develop a go-to onboarding program you can rely on.
Although the onboarding processes at my companies may change from time to time, I’ve learned that the following five aspects are necessary.
1. Pass Out And Collect Required Forms
Before employees can start working for you, they need to fill out mandatory IRS documents. And, you might require employees to fill out additional work-related forms during the onboarding process. So, what forms do new employees need to fill out?
All employees must fill out Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Employees can claim withholding allowances on Form W-4. You need Form W-4 to determine how much federal income tax to withhold from your new hire’s wages.
Use Form I-9 to verify that employees are legally allowed to work in the United States. Both you and employees fill out Form I-9. And, your new hire is required to bring in original documents (e.g., U.S. passport) to prove their identity and employment eligibility.
New employees may also need to fill out state tax withholding forms, emergency contact forms, employee handbook acknowledgment forms, health insurance benefits forms, and direct deposit forms.
You can distribute forms and have new employees fill them out on their first day. Or, you can send forms to employees beforehand and have them fill them out on their own time.
2. Develop An Orientation Program
Another part of your onboarding plan should be to implement an orientation program for all your new hires. During an orientation program, you should address the basic needs of each new employee, regardless of what positions they hold.
Explain your business’s policies and procedures that new hires should know. Talk about your business’s mission. Provide a little history of your business to familiarize employees with your brand. An orientation program is also an excellent way for new employees to get to know one another.
At my business, Patriot Software, we have an orientation program new hires are required to attend. We eat lunch together and have the opportunity to go over valuable information about my company. When new employees get to know more about the company they work for, they become more knowledgeable, comfortable, and engaged.
3. Involve Your Workforce
Your current workforce is a great resource to tap into when onboarding new hires. Current employees can act as mentors, alleviating some of your responsibilities and giving you more time to grow your business. Which business owner wouldn’t want to capitalize on as much extra time as they can?
Involving your workforce in the onboarding process can also increase camaraderie, making new hires feel more comfortable. At Patriot, my managers take new hires around and introduce them to current employees. That way, new hires feel comfortable and know who to reach out to if they have specific questions.
As a small business owner, you probably know everything about your company. I mean, you created it! But, you might not know every little process employees use to accomplish their work. Be sure to take advantage of your employees’ knowledge base by involving them in onboarding.
4. Train Employees
Most likely, employees come to your business with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform work in their fields. But, every company is different. You need to provide training so employees know how to do their jobs.
For example, a new hire might have used a different software program than the one your business uses.
Although employee training costs can add up, the last thing you want to do is rush through. Rushing training could lead to frustration and confusion. And, it could stunt your business’s operations and profits.
Don’t just offer training during an employee’s first week at work. Consider providing training programs periodically to keep workers in the know about new processes and build their skills.
5. Keep In Touch With New Hires
Onboarding takes a substantial amount of time. According to SHRM, onboarding should last at least one year. During this time (and beyond), you need to check in with your new employees.
Sit down individually with new hires and ask them how things are going. Make sure employees know how their work ties into the overall goals of your business.
Employees might be questioning their performance, so give them your initial impressions of their work. Let them know when their work goes above and beyond. Likewise, be honest with employees if they are doing something wrong. It’s better to be upfront than for their actions to progress into permanent habits.
Find out if new employees have any problems, and discuss ways you can address them. Let them know that your door is always open if they have concerns.
