Risk & Business Magazine McFarlan Rowlands Magazine Winter 2018 | Page 7

ONBOARDING 5 Top S tudies have shown time and time again that when time and effort are put into the process of designing onboarding programs, the payoff is increased, the retention of employees is improved, and the ability for new hires to become productive skyrockets. According to recent research, companies with a solid onboarding process tend to have far better employee retention rates over a certain period of time than companies that do not. While deep thought is necessary to start the process in your office, it may play a big role in your retention rate so is worth the effort. Here are the top five must- dos to help your organization develop an effective onboarding program for new hires: Ways To Onboard New Employees 2. ASSIGN A MENTOR 4. INSPIRE THE NEW HIRE To increase the probability of success, you need to assign at least one mentor for every new hire. Mentors can be their go-to person for questions they have or these mentors can help them obtain needed resources. A mentor can provide advice and give needed support to new hires and drive them in the right direction. You hired the new employee for specific reasons, whether it was their unique skills, talents, etc. Don’t be shy about continually reminding your new hire about how important their work is to you and how much you value them. 3. INVOLVE LEADERSHIP When your new employee is going through the onboarding program, make sure that you are providing a channel of open communication with them. Make sure new hires know they can come to you with concerns if they need to. It is essential to involve leaders, managers, and other stakeholders in your onboarding process. This may help your new hires to understand that everyone, from the top executives down, values them and are taking an interest in their success. 5. TWO-WAY FEEDBACK 1. CLEARLY DEFINE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND GOALS If you want a successful outcome, you first need to outline a plan that will help you to reach your goals. A customized onboarding plan should be properly developed for every new hire. It takes time but is truly important to achieving long- term success. For the new hire, it makes everything clear from the beginning. 7