How to avoid this onboarding mistake #1
If you're reading this, then chances are you've seen my LinkedIn post. If you haven't, I'd go check that out first, found here: (Link to post)
A quick recap: a new colleague turned up on their first day and nobody was expecting them or knew who they were. They got put into a quiet room with an empty desk and left there for the day while the company tried to figure out who they were, what they were meant to be doing and who should be supporting them.
Now, let's start with what the problems are. Very simply, the recruitment team clearly had no conversation with the hiring manager, reception security or anyone at the location that the new colleague would be working at. They also lacked any form of plan for the first day, let alone the first 90.
So how do we avoid this? 2 main fixes.
The Communication Fix:
This is a prime example of 'pre-onboarding' being just as important as the onboarding itself. Once the new colleague had been offered the role, a process should be in place to make anyone who needs to know aware of them starting. This could be payroll, security at reception, the hiring manager or even IT. A couple of things always worth sharing with the relevant people: the start date, name, what kit they need, who should be notified when they arrive and where they should be taken to.
A simple email could have avoided the 2 hour wait in reception, giving the new colleague the time to rethink their decision (at least it was nice of them to give them a chance to run first). The big problem with this is the lack of ownership for the process. Recruitment probably thought the hiring manager was dealing with it, the hiring manager probably thought recruitment had it under control, and the poor colleague was stuck in the middle.
The Plan Fix:
Once they had escaped the clutches of reception, they were left in a quiet and empty room for the rest of the day (even more time to regret everything, lucky them). A bit more work would be needed to get a plan in place, it's not just a quick email or call like I mentioned before. Firstly they'd need to understand what exactly this colleague has been brought in to do and what their expectations are. A plan can then be formed around their role and expectations to ensure it gives them the know-how and support to be successful. Let's forget about the first 90 days for now and focus on just the first day, which is where this all went wrong.
Had this company had a checklist (like my free 6-Month Onboarding Check), they would have known a laptop would be needed on day 1, login access would need sorting and someone would need to be there to support the colleague. So first learn, have SOMETHING. A checklist, a note or a system process in place that gets all the things ready for the colleague's first day. Moving forward from giving them their kit, we need to look at what they actually would need on day 1. I'm not a fan of sticking someone in front of a laptop to complete online learning, so if it can be avoided while they get into some more exciting stuff first, I'd recommend it. If, for example, they can't look at sensitive data until they complete their data protection learning, then you might need to do this on day 1.
The point is, onboarding isn't a one size fits all. Different roles have different expectations and needs, so just because you have a good onboarding process for someone joining your customer service team, doesn't mean you have good onboarding for a senior leader coming in.
There's a few things that are really important to get done on anyone's first day. Firstly, a bit of a building tour. There's nothing worse than not knowing where you can get a coffee, where the fire exits are or where your support network sits. It's also a massive boost in helping the new colleague feel welcome and part of the company from the get go. Depending on how many new colleagues you have starting at any one time, you can use this as an opportunity to introduce them to the team or anyone relevant to the role they'll be doing. Which moves nicely onto point 2: if you've got a group starting and there's too many people to go round and meet, you can include 'meet and greets' in your onboarding plan. It could be a 30 minute coffee chat, or a bit more of a formal introduction to a team (for example a resourcing team or a health and safety team). This can be a great opportunity to have them run through their expectations, how to get in touch or even how they will work together.
Whether their manager is the one taking them through their first day or not, after lunch is a great time for the manager to properly sit down and go through their objectives, expectations and how feedback works, so that the new colleague has a clear view of the touch points they will get from their manager or support buddy. This could be weekly check-ins, feedback sessions or just catch ups to see how things are going. Moving through the afternoon can be an introduction to the business in more detail. Think about business values, goals and who's who if not already met. You can then start to touch on the basics of the role. Again, this isn't one size fits all, so the level you need to go into will be decided by you, as you know your business best.
Onboarding starts before day 1 and can continue on for the next 3 months. Having a structured plan in place will be the difference between losing someone in the first 90 days and keeping them for the next 5 years.
If you're curious about your onboarding and want to talk it through, I offer a free 45 minute onboarding discussion call which can help shed some light on your situation
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