Best employee onboarding experiences

Published by Andrea Day on February 22, 2022February 22, 2022

Onboarding can make or break your employee retention and company culture. New hires need to feel supported from day one. It’s critical to maintain their trust, and encourage their excitement to join your company. In this post, we are going to look at the best employee onboarding experiences at the moment.

However, those best employee onboarding experiences extend well beyond the first week or month. Employee onboarding is an ongoing process. Companies that understand the need for consistent support and training produce the most engaged employees.

Tailor your onboarding experience to provide your employees with the tools to succeed in your company.

Positive initial onboarding

The best employee onboarding experiences start before an employees first day. Focus on your onboarding experience as soon as an offer is accepted. The primary step to welcoming a new hire is to provide them with all the information they need for their start day.

Clearly define their role and responsibilities. Ensure that you have completed all the necessary paperwork. Then advise them on the schedule for their first day, and provide them with their working materials. This might include a computer or workplace logins. Allow them to focus on the experience of their first day, rather than HR tasks.

Their first day should be well structured. Define their expected tasks, if any, and schedule regular check-ins. You might want to “buddy” them up with an existing employee, to guide them. They should also be introduced to their team. This will help them to build a connection within the business. They should feel comfortable asking any questions with an open line of communication.

The first day can be a nervous experience. Your first-day plan should build their confidence, and encourage your employee to make real connections.

Ongoing onboarding experience

The best employee onboarding experiences don’t just end after the first day or week. Onboarding is a continuous process. Employees need to be engaged throughout their career with you, to improve employee retention.

Training is one of the most important elements of an employees career. This is where they build new skills, and you can facilitate that development. Your training needs to be engaging, and provide skills that are individually tailored to a job role. Mass training can have the opposite effect, and cause information fatigue.

Take the time to understand where your employees wish to develop. This will vary across different teams. Ultimately, investment in training is an investment in your business as a whole. Your employees will be better equipped to drive your business forward.

Digital experiences are an innovative learning approach, that can be tailored to your requirements. They offer scenario-based training to suit a variety of job roles. This allows your employees to learn practically, rather than just reading theory. Your employees will be more engaged, and better equipped to deal with the realities of their workday.

You can also monitor their progress. This allows you to have an open discussion about where they need support to improve, and where they’re exceeding. Effective training and supportive feedback contribute to the best employee onboarding experiences.

At BAD, we create custom digital experiences for improved workplace training. We understand that each role is different, and can engage employees for truly effective training. Get in touch today to learn more about improving your workforce’s skillset.

Time to change…

Why do we behave the way we do? It can be hard to change our less desirable behaviours when they are highly ingrained and have become habits we perform automatically without thinking.

Richenda Sabine April 15, 2024