Good employees are like any other valuable commodity: they’re hard to find, and they’re even harder to keep around if you don’t take care of them. How you handle your new hires will set the tone for the rest of their time with your company, so it’s important to get it right from the start.

Whether you’re hiring someone from another company or promoting from within, here are three key steps for successful onboarding of new employees. This will ensure that every new hire feels welcomed and onboarded into the team successfully and smoothly.

Step 1: Planning

Planning is key to make sure the onboarding of new employees is gonna be a success. The period before your new hires first day is what we call pre-boarding. A well-planned pre-boarding process is important because it provides you with an opportunity to get your new hires up and running quickly. It also gives them a positive introduction into their jobs. This can set them up for success and encourage them to feel like part of your team from day one. It also makes sure that there are no gaps in communication between different departments.

A pre-boarding checklist gives you an overview of what should be in place before your team members start their new jobs. Make sure your checklist contains everything that should be ready for the new hires on the first day. Here is an example of what an pre-boarding checklist may look like:

• Make the hire official with HR and colleagues
• Prepare contract and other documents to be signed
• Prepare devices and equipment and set up desk
• Set up accounts and logins
• Send welcome email

How you want your new employees to learn is also an important aspect you have to take into consideration. Are you gonna use smart learning technology, traditional courses or let the new hires figure it out themselves?

Step 2: Introduction

New hires can be overwhelmed in the beginning, so it’s important to take some time to introduce new employees to the company. To prepare the new hire for the first day, a trick could be to send a welcome email with practical information such as start time, dress code, parking and schedule of the first day. This will often feel calming for the new hire because they know a little more what to expect.

The first days of onboarding new employees the main focus should be on building trust and making them feel safe. Give them a good chance of getting to know their team – maybe go out for an extra nice lunch? The goal is that everyone involved leaves the office feeling excited about their first day together.

Once you feel your new hire is ready to start work, begin by explaining your expectations clearly. Make sure that they understand your goals and have an idea of what kind of work is expected from them. This step might seem obvious, but if it isn’t done properly, employees can become anxious or stressed.

Bad onboarding can also often result in the new hire being left by himself having to figure out things on his own. When our goal is to be as efficient and profitable as possible, that is not a good solution.

Step 3: Create opportunities for success

After the introduction to the company the tools and resources are presented, and we want to make sure your new hire understands the opportunities in front of them. It’s great if they like their job, but if they don’t see how they can become valuable or advance in the company quickly, they may want to move on.

Your goal should always be to make every new hire feel excited about joining your team — we work hard every day at providing opportunities for success in order for each person to experience growth and advancement early on. Having these kinds of values built into the organization is something that we believe is a win for everyone involved.

Next up we should plan the next months of the new hires. We like to set up a 30-60-90 day plan. This is a plan used to set goals and strategize your employees’ first 30, 60 and 90 days. Invite each new hire into a conversation where you set up goals and expectations for the first period.

Another way to up the chances of your employees to succeed is by integrating a smart learning platform to their workflow. Future Ready offers a platform developed on AI that helps sellers and customer care to reach their goals. Contact us for a chat about what we can do for your company, or learn more here.

So with these three steps, your new employees will have all they need in order to get a good start in a new company. Not only is it good for their personal career growth but it’s also good for you and your company. The more positive and motivated employees you have, the faster you can build that unique team culture. So till next time, make sure onboarding of your new employees is taken seriously.

In Future Ready, we believe that everyone deserves a chance to succeed in sales and customer service. With smart technology, we make learning an integrated part of the everyday workflow. We can help your company future-proof its workforce by providing employees with the opportunity to learn new skills on their own time, without disrupting their day-to-day routine. Want to see how Future Ready can benefit your business? Contact us for a free demo! Our team is excited to show you how our innovative platform can help your employees stay ahead of the curve and improve your bottom line. Thanks for reading!