Employee onboarding is a program that aims at successfully absorbing a new employee within the organization or an existing employee within a new team. In crux, employee onboarding tries to sharpen the organizational effectiveness by connecting the incoherent and disconnected experiences and messages an employee gets when he/she first joins the organization. The more effective and powerful these messages are, the better the learning process of the employee would be. Total onboarding program helps in making this entire process an organized one.
There are some basic elements that constitute the employee onboarding process. These are –

Acquire

This is the process that involves identifying a potential candidate, selection, recruiting and then finally getting him/her to join the team.

Accommodate

This is the process within the total onboarding program, where the newly recruited employee is given the proper tools for his/her work.

Assimilate

This step involves helping the employee join others in the team so that they can work together and in a better way.

Accelerate

Keeping the team objective in mind, this is the process to help the employee make the process faster and achieve better results for the organization.

Steps to follow in Employee Onboarding: A Total Program:

The first step for making the total onboarding program a success story is to decide the primary goals and strategies accordingly. In short, the processes and steps have to be prepared to make an employee successful in the organization even before recruiting him/her. This will ensure the success of the organization. Some of the detailed steps involved in the process include the following:

Crafting the onboarding strategy

Before implementing an idea, there should be a detail plan regarding how to proceed. A total onboarding strategy will involve making a thorough plan that includes the recruiting brief and timeline of the plan. Then the plan has to be shared with others involved and align them around the strategy.

Creating a line up of potential candidates

Creating options with potentially strong candidates should be done following an employee plan which is guided by tools, timelines and milestone.

Evaluating candidates against recruiting brief

This is a strength-focused approach where the interview process is completed with formal post-interview de-briefs, more information gathering, and also post-interview follow ups with the candidate.

Closing the offer

This is another important part while recruiting the right candidate. If the candidate is suitable, it is better to close the deal right away by making the right offer.

Co-creating a personal onboarding plan with the new employee

Creating a personal onboarding plan with the newly recruited employee starts the professional relationship on a great note. This helps both the employee and employer in creating a sound work environment.

Implementing employee onboarding program properly is beneficial in retaining good talent and creating a good work culture, which will help the organization to make further progress.