The Benefits of Preboarding and Onboarding Programs

These Last years of a candidate-driven job market have caused employers to review and rethink their recruiting practices, compensation philosophy, and how they are engaging new employees. It is no longer enough to breathe a sigh of relief that an offer has been accepted, confirm the start date, and move on. Savvy employers use the time between offer acceptance and the start date to build on the new employee’s excitement about the upcoming opportunity, to welcome the new team member, to provide a deeper understanding of the company, its history, and culture, and to get to know a bit about the team. To new employees, a lack of communication may sound like crickets on a warm summer’s night and could cause them to rethink their acceptance of your position and continue their search or entertain another offer.

Whether hiring remote or on-site workers, creating a constant connection with your new hires through preboarding and engaging them early through onboarding is the key. Well-executed introductory processes lead to higher levels of success early in a new employee’s career, faster engagement with the job and the company, longer average new hire retention, and greater productivity.

Preboarding begins the minute a candidate accepts your job offer, allowing you to reinforce culture and welcome the employee to the team. The time is used to help reduce the anxiety that can come with a new position, sets expectations for the new hire, begins an introduction to company culture, and provides structure for the company. As most candidates provide anywhere from two to four weeks of notice to their current employer, the planning and timing of preboarding activities will depend on their schedule, but as a general guideline, contact twice per week is considered optimal.

Some preboarding ideas to create affinity between the organization and new employees include:

• Send a welcome gift to their home consisting of company swag—a coffee mug or cup, t-shirt and/or other items. Some companies include branded items for family members to welcome the “extended” team.
• Have the manager reach out with an overview of the team structure and member profiles, then follow up with a quick call to make an introduction and welcome the new hire to the team. A Zoom call with the team is a great way to meet the members and have some familiarity with faces.
• Confirm who will be making travel arrangements, provide travel and expense reimbursement policies and forms if travel will be part of training or required for the job.
• Confirm location, parking, start- time, dress code, and any other details for the first day if the employee will be in-person. If the employee will be remote, make sure he or she has the proper hardware, software, etc., and is ready to go on day one.
• Set expectations for scheduling and time management during the first week by providing a copy of the onboarding schedule, including scheduled team lunches or other activities to help in preparation for each day.

Onboarding begins on your employee’s first day and continues to build upon engagement efforts started during the preboarding process.

Most HR professionals are familiar with some form of onboarding, but the definition of the process varies widely. Research indicates that a new hire generally needs an average of eight to 12 months to fully understand the job and role in the company. In light of this, an onboarding program of only a couple of weeks may not sufficiently support the success of a new hire. Most HR professionals recommend a minimum of three months, with ongoing activities for up to a year, to ensure complete integration into the organization.

Prolonged onboarding activities provide opportunities to continue offering organizational insight and training and set expectations for the employee. Initial weekly meetings with the employee’s manager promotes the opportunity for questions and clarification. As the employee gains skills and confidence, the time between these meetings can be extended to every two weeks or monthly.

Communicating performance metrics at 30, 60, and 90 days paints a clear picture of what success will look like and provides a common language for early performance conversations. A seasoned co-worker may also be assigned to act as trainer or mentor.

Recent onboarding experience statistics indicate that as much as 20 percent of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment. This reinforces the need for organizations to provide a positive, nurturing preboarding and onboarding experience to ease doubts, fears, and uncertainties, and supports employees’ abilities to build confidence in themselves and their choice to join your company, creating a positive outcome for all.