Onboarding Process

Onboarding is a term used to describe the process that manages moving a new employee from the moment they accept an offer until they complete their transition to their new role. The purpose of the process is the settle the new starter into their role efficiently in order that they feel valued and so that they can add to their team’s productivity. An on boarding process aims to boost staff retention levels and reduce the time taken for a new starter to become productive.

The details of an onboarding process will vary from one organisation to another and will reflect elements of the organisational culture. The onboarding process is initiated by the completion of a recruitment process. There can be any number of steps including in an onboarding process. A basic process will include pre-onboarding, initial welcome, necessary training and transition.

The pre onboarding step allows the organisation to prepare for the arrival of the new employee. This includes practical matters such as allocating a desk and laptop and configuring an email address but also pastoral elements such as selecting a mentor and preparing the team. The line manger also needs to engage with the new starter and start building a relationship as soon as possible. During this phase of the process the human resources department may issue necessary policy documents for the new starter and make sure they are aware of the relevant contact information.

During the initial welcome phase, the new starter will be welcomed into the workplace to join their team. This is a critical phase where the human resources department and line manager must engage with the new starter to ensure they feel welcome and engaging with processes and workflows. During this phase the entire team should engage with the new starter in order that relationships can develop.

As the new starter settles in their performance can be monitored to identify any skills gap. Some of these will already have been identified through the recruitment process although it should be expected that a lack of familiarity with specific techniques or tools provide a positive opportunity to develop the new starter. It is unlikely that any applicant will initially have met every requirement of the new role and this stage is the opportunity to fine tune their abilities to maximise the benefit they can deliver.

The transition phase marks the end of the on boarding process and where standard employee management takes over. The new start should be encouraged to engage more broadly across the organisation so that they can gain a greater appreciation of the working culture and develop their

own set of contacts within the organisation. This step provides a good opportunity to conduct an initial performance review to make certain that everything is going on track and that the employee is settled into their new role.