Effective Communication to Onboard Your New Hires
When a new hire is brought on board, the goal is to ensure they become productive as soon as possible. In some cases, managers may be tempted to expedite the onboarding process as a means of having the person handle critical duties faster, but failing to cover certain details at the beginning can yield disastrous results.
Three Tips to Communicate More Effectively During the Onboarding Process
Without proper communication from management, a new hire may have trouble getting settled into their role and struggle developing at the company. Here are three tips on communication to ensure you onboard your newest team members effectively.
1. Focus on Engagement
In most cases, the onboarding process is not inherently exciting. It can often involve large packets of paperwork, generic slideshows and robotic speeches about workplace standards. While you typically cannot alter the content itself, how you present the information is in your control.
Taking cues from social media, consider using images and videos to present information to your new hires. Additionally, avoid giant walls of text that can be cumbersome to read and follow. If a presenter is involved in the onboarding process, such as a manager or HR representative, encourage them to allow their personalities to shine through during the presentation, and prompt new hires to get involved by asking them questions or having them participate in scenarios.
Ultimately, if the new hire becomes bored during the onboarding process, they will have a harder time remaining engaged, affecting their overall level of retention. Do not be afraid to make things fun and energetic, as the more entertaining and interesting the materials are, the higher the chance your newest team member will stay involved.
2. Make it Modular
Onboarding is generally not a one-size-fits-all paradigm. For example, an architecture, engineering or construction professional likely does not need information about commission structures that are available to sales staff. Instead of requiring all employees to cover all information when they are hired, create modules so details that are only relevant to a particular department can be bypassed by new hires working in other areas. This will streamline the approach for each individual worker, allowing them to get the information they need to be successful and then move forward as quickly as possible.
3. Communicate Expectations Clearly
While safety and policy information is often presented universally to employees, the expectations you have often vary from one role to the next. In many cases, managers focus on the same core material during the onboarding process and may forget to have a one-on-one conversation with their newest team member about the expectations they have for them.
Without a discussion on expectations, the new hire will not know what their manager wants them to do and in what timeframe. This can quickly lead to confusion as the employee has to guess about the company’s or department’s priorities, and they may make incorrect assumptions. If you want a new hire to flourish, they need to know what is expected of them right from the beginning, making the onboarding process an ideal time for these conversations.
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If you would like to know more about effective workplace communication or are seeking a professional to join your team, the staff at RealStreet has the expertise you need to succeed. Contact us to learn more about our services today.