All of us have had new employees show up at the door for their first day of work and no one is ready for their arrival and they sit. Similarly, how many of us have arrived at a new position and wish it had been more like the former scenario as we’ve been buried in administrative briefings the first few days, only some of which seemed important? Both are extremes, and the goal should be to strike a balance which achieves the three goals of on-boarding:
– ensure the employee has all the information they need to do the work they have been hired to address;
– ensure the employee has all of the safety and security information they need to keep themselves and the company protected; and
– ensure the employee has all of the personal information they need concerning payroll, benefits and company regulations.
With respect to the first task. When your new colleague walks through the door they are joining a team and driving to assimilate as fast as possible. New colleagues may or may not have been part of the hiring decision, regardless they will be interested in verifying the new employee credibility and capability. If you are the hiring manager, giving the new employee some early opportunities for accomplishments in their area of expertise greatly assists the new employee assimilation.
Security briefings are a must, both for compliance in a NISPOM-driven world, but also from a safety and security perspective, especially when individuals are working in environments which by design may be disconnected from external technologies (a SCIF). These briefings area designed both to keep the employee safe (exits, rally-points, processes, etc) and secure (personal security and security of company and customer property & data).
The employee benefit briefing, may in fact be the one that is the least important for the individual manager, but may in fact be the most important for the new employee. The employee is making sure everything promised is being delivered and once the validation and verification has been completed, they are at ease.
That’s a lot of new information to digest and remember even for the most savant among us, but you the hiring manager can help you new employee by ensuring that security briefings are refreshed in 90 days; the new employee is reminded of the variety of benefits offered and providing the employee a review of those quick wins and setting the ongoing expectations. The key to remember, on-boarding employees successfully is not a week of orientation and you’re done. The most successful employers make it an on ongoing interactive process.
When you hear or say “Welcome Aboard,” mean it.
