Onboarding and mentoring new employees

Problem

"In 2005, when I started in a management role, I realized that there was no process for onboarding new employees at my company. It's important to ensure that employees have a pleasant experience when they are first onboarded, and the first day for a new hire is critical, as they are joining the professional family of their new organization. It took me several years to work out what the best mechanics for onboarding were."

Actions taken

"As well as providing new employees with a buddy or mentor, to make the process of settling in a little easier, I have found that it's useful to send new employees an onboarding packet a few days before they start. This is different from an HR packet and is specifically built around the overall organizational structure and talks about the peers that the employee will be interacting with. The onboarding packet should contain the names of the peers, with a picture if possible, a little blurb about their personality and their technical expertise. It's also useful to include information about your company's leadership team - who to reach out to, their name, their picture, their role in the organization, and their primary responsibilities. Finally, the onboarding pack should contain training material links and resources. This will come in handy for the employee during their first 1-2 months, as they will be learning about the tools used in your organization."

Lessons learned

"I get a lot of good feedback about the onboarding packets. This approach works really well, as it comes as a warm welcome and is really embraced by the new hire." Here is a link to the onboarding package that can be used as a reference.