Exploring effective onboarding practices

​As I debated what to blog about this week, I checked Google Bard for the most popular human resources searches in the last month, and it showed onboarding was #1. Given the amount of information on onboarding, I was surprised, so I decided to look at an area that isn’t often discussed, the socialisation aspect of onboarding.

Often, onboarding is geared towards knowledge acquisition, particularly helping new starters understand how we do things here or various organisational practices that are vital to the organisation's smooth functioning; however, it is important to consider the socialisation component when bridging the time gap between employment and productivity. Also, as a bonus, this is the time to build organisation commitment. See my previous post on commitment.

I have been leading a project at work on reviewing our onboarding to help new employees to feel, connect and understand the organisation to do their best work at the earliest opportunity. The opportunity to work on this project has underscored the importance of the socialisation process and how that can lead to better outcomes.

To back up some of my findings from delivering this project, I went on a hunt for research that would back my practice, and, luckily, I found a study that investigates onboarding practices, their impact on newcomer socialisation, and the perceived helpfulness of these practices (Klein et al. 2015).
The concepts of onboarding and socialisation are different; it is crucial to differentiate between the two. Onboarding refers to the practices implemented by organisations. At the same time, socialisation involves the proactive efforts of new employees in understanding their new environment facilitated by the mechanics within the organisations, which supports the curiosity and intrinsic motivation of the new employees in the early days. 
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In the article, the authors categorised onboarding practices into three groups: inform, welcome, and guide. Inform practices aim to provide the necessary information and resources for successful adjustment, welcome practices that focus on developing social connections, and guide practices that assist new employees in transitioning effectively. This is similar to the aims of the project I referred to earlier, feel, connect and understand the organisation.

There are several findings from this article, but the most important one I would like to draw out is the research on the helpfulness of the practices that make up the onboarding process. The authors measured the following activities within the groups identified. I have arranged the groupings in order of their helpfulness according to their research, with the most helpful being at the top.

Ranked number one in helpfulness is guide. The onboarding activities include:

• Assigning someone at a higher level, the line manager, to be a mentor.
• Having a single point of contact (welcome coordinator) for any questions.
• Having a colleague assigned as a ‘buddy’ to help answer any questions.

 
Ranked number two in helpfulness is - Inform-Resources. The onboarding activities include:

• Being shown how to find things on the company’s website.
• Being given an initial plan that outlined development opportunities.
• Being provided with a glossary of abbreviations and 'buzzwords' used throughout the company.
• Being directed to a section of the company website specifically designed for new starters.
• Being given a list of names and contact information of important people within the company.
• Ensuring that the workspace was ready (including all supplies, materials, and equipment), and if onboarding remotely, ensuring that the supplies arrived either before the first day or by the first day.

 
Ranked number three in helpfulness is - Inform-Communication. The onboarding activities include:

• Attended a question-and-answer session where new employees could ask senior leaders questions.
• Being invited to meet with a senior leader.
• Having the line manager set aside a block of uninterrupted time with the new starter.
• Meeting with someone from the HR team.

 
Ranked number four in helpfulness is - Inform-Training. The onboarding activities include:

• Being shown a new employee video.
• Being encouraged to observe a current staff for some time.
• Receiving on-the-job training on how to perform the job.
• Being given a tour of company facilities.
• Attending an orientation program with other new employees.
• Completing the online orientation program.
• Attending a session where presentations were given by colleagues who were experts on specific tasks or procedures.

 
Ranked number five in helpfulness is - Welcome. The onboarding activities include:

• Receiving a personalised welcome (phone call, email, or letter) to the company from a senior leader.
• Receiving a personalised welcome (phone call, email, or letter) from my manager.
• Being given a welcome kit.
• Participation in exercises to get to know other colleagues.
• Organised gatherings (meeting, welcome lunch) to meet other colleagues.
• A new employer welcome celebration was held.
• Invitation to participate in a social event to get to know other colleagues.
• New employees' families are invited to attend a social activity held outside of work.
• New employee joining was announced in an email, on the company website, or in a company newsletter.
• Company t-shirts or other items with the company name/logo are sent to the new starters' home address.

 
As with all research, there are limitations; in this study, the authors relied on data recall from the 373 participants. With my project, I got feedback from new employees 30 days into the role, and the feedback showed similar results but with some nuances depending on roles, seniority and complexity of the organisation. All new employees ranked activities related to guide and inform- resources highly. New employees whose roles had limited interaction with leadership really appreciated the opportunity to meet the senior leadership team. From my interpretation of the feedback received, my colleagues would rate inform-training activities in fifth place and welcome activities in fourth place, give or take some nuances.

Many of my readers will have a solid onboarding process; the key message here is that regardless of how your onboarding is structured, it is essential to include a mix of effective practices from each category listed above. The guide and inform practices enable the socialisation process, and formalising these activities helps with the socialisation process. It goes without saying that organisations should continually evaluate the effectiveness of their practices, ensuring that employees are experiencing them as intended.

Effective onboarding practices are vital for new employees to feel connected, understand the organisation, and perform their best work early on. The project I worked on and this study shed light on the importance of specific onboarding practices and their impact on newcomer socialisation. By implementing the right combination of practices and considering individual needs, organisations can create a supportive onboarding experience that sets their employees up for success from day one.

Reference
Klein, H.J., Polin, B. and Leigh Sutton, K., 2015. Specific onboarding practices for the socialisation of new employees. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 23(3), pp.263-283.
 
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