Why onboarding and training is important for all new employees
No new employee walks into their first day with everything they need for the job. Even if your new hire has significant experience in your field, every business is nuanced. Every new hire needs to learn the ropes.
These initial days can be very stressful for the new employee. They understand that you are spending money on them, but not getting any return from it. They will want to learn, however if you just leave them to it, they can potentially learn incorrect information or waste time seeking information from the wrong source. A bad onboarding process will set an unsupportive tone to their first glimpse of working for your business. If your onboarding process is particularly bad, your new hire could already have a foot out the door before you’ve even really begun.
But how do you ensure an excellent first impression for your new hires?
This is where detailed onboarding and induction processes, including ongoing development plans, step in.
Onboarding & Inductions
Ensure your employees start their new roles with the information they need to know. An article by the Harvard Business Review discusses how companies who spend the time and effort in onboarding new employees properly will reap the benefits – specifically 50% greater new hire retention, and 62% increased new hire productivity. Now those are some stats to consider!
Yes, take them through the necessary H&S training, the HR manual and any role-specific documents, but use this valuable time (and your valuable first-impression) to establish the knowledge and team culture that you want this new employee to have.
Take the time to align your company’s goals with theirs. Outline what is expected of them in their role responsibilities, how they represent your company, and how they interact with colleagues. Discuss things like your management style, how feedback is provided, communication styles, training plans, and ensure that your new hire feels valued from the beginning.
Setting the right tone could make the difference between starting with a settled and productive employee, or one that already has a foot out the door.
Include professional development from the beginning
A new employee’s onboarding and training shouldn’t stop at HR and H&S manuals – it’s time to take it a big step further. Now is the perfect time to ensure your employee starts off on the right foot, equipped with up-to-date knowledge for their role in your industry.
Sit down and have a chat about what your new employee would like to learn more about. Discuss what training will be the most valuable in the short and long term, what (if any) industry knowledge they need to catch up on, or any role-specific skill they want to develop to ensure they can meet or exceed the demands of their new role. Create a plan for ongoing development to ensure success for the future.
Why should all businesses focus on ongoing development? Because it’s proven that training and development is a key factor in retaining staff and improving business’ performance. According to Udemy’s 2018 Skills Gap Report, 51% of workers would quit their job if they weren’t provided with the necessary training.
Another study has shown that offering career training and development would keep 86 percent of millennials from leaving their current position. With millennials now the dominant generation in the workforce, it’s more important than ever to ensure your company’s approach to training reflects what your employees value. If you’re thinking your training and development philosophy could do with an improvement, now is the time to start. Don’t risk missing out on a talented employee due to a lack of development opportunities.
What will you do better when onboarding your next employee?
If you’re not sure where to start, check out Squirrel’s Onboarding & Induction and Development features, which help to make this process simpler and more efficient, while setting the right tone for every new staff member.
