Learn How to Pre-Board Your New Hires and They'll Love You Forever: Or "What to Do Before Your Newbie Starts"
Don't panic, it's got nothing to do with water boarding ...
Most organizations have such horrendous onboarding processes that they should pay their new hires a stress bonus.
A new job, a new start, and a new dream shattered because someone couldn't be bothered to create a simple onboarding process.
Think I'm exaggerating?
I've seen new hires arrive and no-one knows who they are. Their manager was missing, the team weren't expecting a new colleague, and the newbie was left to introduce themselves and tell everyone their job title. Oh, and there wasn't anywhere for them to sit.
A friend of mine started a senior role with a large company and discovered on her first day that she had to provide her own laptop and phone.
An ex-colleague was once sent on a residential induction course in a different city on their first day at a new job. Their manager sent them home to pack and travel to the training venue immediately.
Not an ideal start to a new job.
But why should you care about this? Why is this important to you?
Because poor onboarding not only gives new hires a bad impression of you and the organization, but it also leads to a waste of resources. Sometimes, they leave, and all the money and time you've spent recruiting them is wasted. You still have a vacancy in your team and the work that goes with it, plus a damaged reputation to repair.
“According to a Glassdoor survey, onboarding improves a company’s retention rate by 82% if conducted properly.”—35 Important Employee Onboarding Stats for 2024, buildempire.co.uk
An effective onboarding process should encompass:
Pre-boarding (what you do before the new employee starts)
The first day
The first week
The first month
The first three months
I've spent decades in Learning & Development roles, designed several onboarding processes, and spent many years running induction days. I've also conducted onboarding reviews to see where onboarding processes need fixing.
In my experience, the results of poor onboarding are similar, never mind which industry you work in.
Your new hire feels uncared for and that there is no future in a disorganized workplace that doesn't value its employees.
Look back to your first days in a new job. First days are stressful and a bit scary. You wonder whether you'll be able to do the job, what your colleagues will be like, and if all the good things the recruiter told you in the interview are accurate.
New recruits continually assess whether they've made the right choice, and a poor onboarding experience can make them think they haven't.
Today, we will discuss pre-boarding, which is done between the job offer and the employee's first day to make them feel welcome.
“Best-in-class companies are 35% more likely to begin the onboarding process before day one than all other companies combined.”—25 Employee Onboarding Statistics & Trends You Must Know in 2024, aihr.com
In some organizations, the recruitment team does most of the pre-boarding, while in others, the Learning & Development team or the line manager handles it. If you are one of several people organizing the pre-boarding area, ensure everyone knows which part of the process is their responsibility and which part isn't.
A simple discussion to decide who does what can clarify this, especially if followed up with a 'you do, I do' document. I've included an example in the downloadable resource at the end of the article.
If recruiting and onboarding are all up to you, it's a lot of work, but on the plus side, you have total control of the process.
Create instant credibility by simplifying the red tape
Your new hire wants to be reassured that they've made the right choice. After all, they are trusting you with their career and ability to pay the bills. They want to know that you are professional and competent.
You can demonstrate your competence by simplifying all the red tape of a new job. The forms, processes, annoying e-doc signatures—the list can seem endless.
There is an awful lot to send, including:
Employment forms such as for employment contract, tax, pension, identification documents and bank details.
Benefit forms such as for health care, and discounts with business partners or sponsors.
Personal forms such as for next of kin details.
Processes & Procedures such as H&S, non-disclosure agreements, and privacy policies.
Equipment & Uniform forms such as for boots, uniforms, name badges, hard hats, swipe cards and ID cards.
Welcome brochures such as an Employee Handbook, EAP leaflet and organizational chart.
Training videos & courses to complete before the first day.
All this can be overwhelming to the new hire. Imagine receiving an email with twenty or more attachments. How would you know which documents to look at first and which are critical?
In one of my roles, I was in a working party reviewing onboarding because the organization had received such bad feedback about the process. Each new hire received multiple emails, each with more than fifteen attachments.
This amount of information is impossible to navigate, let alone distribute. The volume of pre-boarding emails became so great that the HR coordinator accidentally sent the wrong contract to one new hire.
So be careful what you decide to provide before the first day. There must be a balance between familiarizing the new employee with organizational policies and not overwhelming them.
Apply this caution to any online training you ask your newbie to complete. Firstly, you should never ask new employees to do training without pay, and secondly, it's a waste of time unless you follow up with a de-brief to discover how much they have retained.
To make your new hires onboarding experience less stressful, you must decide:
What your new hire receives
When they receive it
Best practice is to send these documents out in waves and call your newbie to explain each set of forms and what action they need to take.
If you have a fancy HR system that does all this for you, it's still best to talk your newbie through it.
Action point:
If you don't have a pre-boarding plan, make one.
List all the documents, processes, procedures, and training you want your new hire to receive.
Design a timetable for when they will receive each document.
Make your newbie feel valued by assuaging their fears
There are three things you can do to welcome your employee into your team:
Send a welcome letter
Write your new hire a letter giving them all the information they are too nervous to ask.
As well as welcoming them to the team, include:
What time to start on the first day
Parking arrangement
How to gain access to the workplace (if they can access lifts or need to be signed in)
The phone number of someone to call if they can't get in the building
Who they should ask for
The timetable for the first day
If lunch is provided and if so ask for allergies or other dietary requirements
If lunch isn't provided, whether there will be a fridge or microwave
Local venues to buy lunch (if there aren't any, tell them that too, so they know to bring lunch)
Arrangements re tea, coffee, and vending machines
The dress code
Many years ago, I was told to report at 7.45 am sharp for my first day. Unfortunately, the lifts had swipe pass access before 8.30 am and I couldn’t get in. I had no-one to phone, and it was extremely stressful.
Clearing up first day logistics will go a long way toward assuaging first-day nerves. If you're wondering why there is such an emphasis on lunch and food, remember that some people have allergies or medical conditions like diabetes, and managing their food is critical to their peace of mind.
Make a phone call
It is also good practice to talk to your new hire to review the contents of the welcome letter and answer any other questions.
It allows them to talk to you again in person, and you can expand on what will happen on the first day.
Despite our modern world of working remotely, social media, and digital chat groups, personal interaction is still the best, and time on the phone shows you care.
Organize a workplace visit
If your new hire can take time away from their current role, inviting them to a morning tea or office tour before they start will make them feel like part of the team before their first day.
They can see where they will be sitting, tour the workplace, meet other team members, and ask questions.
If your newbie is a remote worker, you could organize a Zoom catch-up with the team instead.
If there is a planned workplace event, like a family day or holiday celebration, invite your new hire along. These are fantastic opportunities to get to know your newbie before the first day.
When I started my first job in NZ, I received an invitation to a family day. Although I couldn't attend, it gave me a great first impression of the organization.
Action point:
Getting all the documentation right assures your newbie that you are competent, but you also need the personal touch to show you care about them as a person.
Create a template welcome letter you can amend for each new employee.
Diarize a few times to call your newbie and check their onboarding process.
Arrange a workplace visit if it's viable to do so.
Set up your new hire for success by setting up their workspace
When I started my first job in NZ, I was impressed that someone had already set up my desk. I had a phone waiting for me in its pristine new box. As welcome gifts, there was a free branded umbrella and picnic blanket.
I even had business cards waiting for me (OK, that shows my age, but still, it was a nice touch!)
My computer passwords and log-on worked, and I had an email address and access to the HR system.
It felt great, and I could see that a lot of time and thought had gone into my first day.
When you hire a new team member, you must manage many moving parts to make their first day go smoothly. Before that day, you can make sure you get all the equipment ready.
Workspace - desk, computer, charger, mouse mat, set of drawers, shelves, laptop bag, screens, mouse, keyboard, footrest, rubbish bin, stationery, keys.
Phone - phone, charger, headset, phone loaded with employee numbers.
Passwords & Log ons - Computer password & log on, systems passwords and Log ons, access to systems and files, email set up, printer access.
PPE & Uniform - uniform, boots, shoes, name badge, lanyard, torch, hard hat, hi-viz, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, mask.
Cards - access swipe cards, ID cards
It pays to have a reusable checklist of all the equipment that new employees need.
Action point:
Ensure you have a checklist of the following:
The equipment your new hires need
Who to contact for that equipment
The process of getting that equipment
The lag times between the request and equipment arriving at your newbie's desk
Takeaways
It's easy to welcome your new employee and provide a good onboarding experience. You need to do this, as the first three months of an employee's time with an organization are a prime flight risk period.
Your new team member's CV is up to date, and prospective employers may still be inviting them to interview.
“20% of employees quit within the first 45 days of employment.”—Employee Onboarding Statistics: Top Trends & Insights (2024), devlinpeck.com
Pre-boarding is the first step to providing an outstanding experience as a new employee.
If you:
Are organized around what documentation you provide
Make your newbie feel welcome with a letter, a call, or a visit
Ensure you've ordered all the equipment for your newbie's workstation
you will be well on your way to impressing your new employee.
Here's a downloadable resource to help you plan your pre-boarding process:
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Great resource and well-done research, Wendy! I vividly remember the difference between my first day with a company that was well-prepared for onboarding versus one that wasn’t. The logistics and equipment are crucial! When everything is ready and organized, it makes new hires feel valued.
I recall doing some research on email sequences years ago and one of the examples was pre-employee onboarding. The suggestions included a bunch of what you have here as well as a few more personal emails over the course of hte week preceding the start of work like: meet your co-workers, good local restaurants, and a few other life/culture type things to mix in with the logistics.
I've thought since then -- must be a good decade or so now -- "why the hell don't more companies do this?"
Of course, then I usually remember that the workplace in corporate America is nearly uniformly a shyte experience and that HR is on the side of management, not workers, and go "oh, yeah, that's why."