Image source: CEIPAL

You interviewed a hundred applicants for jobs you posted on your company’s website. Ten profiles stood out and you sent them your offers. They expressed their excitement to be a part of your organization.   

Now What?

The recruits made their good first impressions, what about you? Are your onboarding procedures in place to welcome the new recruits smoothly into your organization?

Do you have your ‘Checklist’? Use these checklists to make sure you set a good first impression too.

Kicking-off

To make your onboarding process a successful one, you must ensure that in addition to making the new recruit familiar with the values of your organization, you introduce the tools and technologies that they would be using on the job and the processes that they would be following.   

You would kick off your onboarding process by sending a Welcome Email to the recruits, which would include all essential details like:

  • Joining date and location
  • List of Onboarding Documents
  • Schedule of their first day (Orientation Programme)
  • Brief of your organization’s profile and policies
  • Details of contact persons
  • Name of their ‘Buddy’

You should also send an email to the team that the new recruit would be joining, informing them of the official joining date and a brief background of the new recruit.

This would enable the team to organize a Welcome Tea Party for their new colleague.    

The Pre-boarding Checklist

How about completing all the dull administrative tasks before the official joining date so that your new recruits can start the ball rolling on their first day itself?    

  • Collect information about your new technical recruits that would be useful in prepping up their IT setup. This would include the recruit’s credentials, job profile, official joining date, and the equipment and software that they would require to perform their job
  • Order the equipment (Laptop/Desktop, mouse, cables, phone, USB sticks, broadband dongle, headphones, etc.)  
  • Organize the necessary licenses and access rights for the required software
  • Set up their official Email Address and Instant Messaging tool
  • Engage the new hires to complete their onboarding paperwork electronically which would include uploading document proofs of their personal information, academic and professional background; signed copies of necessary forms; and other documents as required, on the organization’s HR portal.
  • Assign their physical workstation to your office. With most organizations allowing their employees to partially work from home, you may alter this requirement by provisioning a workstation (desk and chair) at the new recruit’s choice of place.

The Orientation Day Checklist

The day has finally arrived. Your new recruits step into your office, as employees of your organization. What do you do?

  • Introduce them to their respective ‘Buddy’ who would help them settle into the organization, give them an office tour, introduce them to their team members and clarify their doubts.  
  • Set up meetings with the leaders of the organization, the department heads, and the co-workers
  • Provide the recruits with necessary information about operating the organization’s systems, tools, software, and equipment.
  • Assign them specific training which would help them perform their job

The First Week Checklist

Your new technical recruits have finally been absorbed into the organization. They are getting accustomed to its work culture and routine. The first week, since they joined, has ended.

It is now time for you to help them adapt to the other important aspects of the organization, without burdening them.

  • Schedule meetings with their manager on a daily basis for a friendly nudge toward the desired direction
  • Draw up their technical training schedule and ensure they register and complete their training within the specified timelines
  • Ensure that their development goals have been set

Conclusion   

The process of onboarding is highly complex. A systematic, well-organized onboarding procedure helps the new recruits to feel welcome in an organization.

It includes not only the orientation program, training, or team integration, a successful onboarding procedure enables the new recruit to engage, build relationships and become an efficient, productive employee of the organization.