Onboarding – My “Unnatural” 5!

New employee orientation… or Onboarding as it has been renamed has been and continues to be one of the most critical Human Resource (HR) assignments. This approach is evidenced in this excerpt taken from www.bamboohr.com:

“Onboarding for new employees-and for the company-is a critical time, especially during the first seven days.  Nearly half (44%) actively regret their decision to join   after the first week, and after the first month, 70% of your new hires will have officially made their decision to exit or stay. That means that any missed details during an employee’s first few weeks could lead to a negative employee experience, which in turn could affect their performance, retention, and ultimately, the company’s reputation.”

Hence, spending extra time and effort bringing someone into your business or organization is time well invested.

Also, history and standardization of information provided to the new person should never be taken for granted including:

*Job Description                              *Hours of Work

*Company Overview                       *Security

*Probation                                         *Attendance

*EEO Issues                                     *Discipline

*Benefits                                            *Compensation

*And a number of other more specific personnel issues.

These categories of personnel compliance are therefore always a major element/time commitment when introducing someone to your workforce.

However, I would NOT be following my own innovation principles if I did not share my:  Onboarding – My “Unnatural” 5 ideas with you.  So think about:

1. PERSONALITY: I believe sharing the historic and current operational PERSONALITY of your company/agency with every new employee is critical. Treatment of customers and partners…marketing style… and internal family connectivity are all important.
2. TEAM TIME: Stating and sharing why “no one goes it alone” in your business/organization, and that working and achieving together is a requirement for everyone/everyday!
3. LEARNING COMPETITION: It is poor planning if you do NOT factor in learning   about your competition. No one/group/organization is perfect… so get new employees on the “check-them-out-train” and learn more about the competition around you.
4. HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS: I believe it is important to spend a little onboarding time talking about the history of your agency. Successes and failures should be included just to be honest about how different challenges are handled.
5. CREATIVITY & INNOVATION: During an orientation time does anyone REALLY say… “we are REALLY supportive and encourage everyone to think creatively and adaptive to change!” (Be honest… do you really?) Well the time has come (over and over again) to be open and supportive of non-traditional, innovative ideas and concepts. That is what is called “THE FUTURE!”

Well that completes my sharing of the exclusive TRIPLE III TIME: Onboarding – My “Unnatural” 5! Many may touch on any one of these issues during an orientation session… but stressing them and prioritizing them… is not a regular action.