A New Starter: A guide to onboarding an Employee

by Startacus Admin

Heard of Onboarding? Onboarding, more commonly known as the employee induction, is a very important process for any startup and here is a very handy guide care of Sophie from TPP Recruiters...

Onboarding, which is more commonly known as induction, is the process of getting a new employee up to speed on the various aspects of your company. Whether you are working in charity recruitment or the private sector, ensuring a new staff member understands the company mission, work ethic, and values are all necessary for their successful integration into the workplace. And a good onboarding program should cover these and many more topics in detail.

In this guide we will outline some general tips that should help make the transition from new employee to valued team member a smooth and painless process.

Before their first day

Yes onboarding starts long before the first day at the office. From the day your company or charity decided to recruit, you should have been planning how to integrate a new worker into your current workforce.

These plans should include:

• Organise which members of staff are responsible for training and overseeing tasks.
• Consult with the IT department to ensure that everything is in place for full start to work on the first day, logins for company website, email, and a fully equipped workstation are a must.
• Make sure any business cards are ordered and preferably printed before the first day.
• Fill in their diary so they are aware of any important functions, meetings, or events that may take place in the near future.
• Put together an induction manual that clearly outlines your company mission, staff policies, health & safety information, etc. You can find a sample at ACAS.
• Most importantly of all, give your new employee a call and make sure they know the time and date that they are expected to start. They should also know who to ask for when they arrive at reception.
You can read more about the induction process on non-profit organisation CIPD's website.

Day one

• Make sure that your diary is clear for an adequate amount of time to handle the initial induction process.
• Have all the necessary HR paperwork at hand so forms, contracts, etc. can all be filled out or signed immediately.
• Have their main responsibilities and objectives clearly laid out in writing and go through this with them.
• Run through company policies regarding sickness, dress code, etc.
• Introduce them to every member of your staff (if possible) and make sure they enjoy a coffee break and perhaps a nice lunch with their immediate coworkers.
• Have one of their colleagues at the same level work with them for the first few days to make sure that they understand work procedures fully.

During the first week

• If possible, arrange a face to face meeting with the CEO of the company. This makes a new starter feel very welcome and appreciated.
• Have some work available that they can complete without too much pressure. A hands on approach is often the best way to start a new job.
• Arrange to have any necessary training started within the first week.
• It's also a good idea to introduce new members of staff to other departments so they have a better understanding of how the business runs as a whole.

Probation periods vary, but whether you work in charity recruitment for a non profit organization or in HR in a privately owned company, you should have a fairly good idea of how your new employee is progressing within the first month. You should then sit down with them and discuss how things are going and if they are coping well with their role within the company.

If things are not working out, then it is in both your interests to act as quickly as possible, but remember that no two people are the same and each new employee will adapt at a different pace so it's best not to set unrealistic targets.

It's all well and good to have an employee that is suited to a job and adequately qualified, but if you want to get the most out of your new employee as soon as possible, then a good onboarding process is essential.

Sophie writes for TPP Not for Profit

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• #onboarding
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Published on: 5th March 2014