How to build an onboarding strategy

Although it may not seem that way, hiring someone is the easy part. What comes after is much more challenging, both for the individual in question and the company. After all, it is the process of them acclimating to their new work environment. In addition, of course, to learning how to be good at the job. A strategy built around helping facilitate this process is called an onboarding strategy. And although it is impossible to give a concrete example that every company can follow due to the different needs and specific job details of each, it is still possible to compile useful tips for how to build an onboarding strategy.

Properly define all the rules and procedures

The first step to knowing how to build an onboarding strategy is knowing just what you expect from fresh employees. Obviously, an ideal employee would be someone already familiar with everything that the job asks for. However, this is entirely impossible even if someone has prior experience.

For example, even someone who has done CRM email marketing for moving companies for a different employer will not know the exact way it is done in your company. And if there is a mismatch between the two, it can cause serious issues with filing and keeping track of the relevant information. Start by sitting down and listing out all the rules and procedures which you absolutely need every employee to be familiar with from the start for fear of chaos quickly spreading.

Be realistic with the required training time

Another thing that is essential for knowing how to build an onboarding strategy is gauging the time it will take to carry out the requisite training. However, lots of employers have unrealistic expectations of how quickly people can learn and adapt. Now, it’s true people learn more quickly when actively putting something into practice. But even then you can’t expect the process to be done in mere weeks.

You can force someone to learn the basics in that timeframe. But they will not be sure of their knowledge, which will at the very least make it so they take longer to perform a task. Even if the employee has prior experience with, say, customer management software for movers, if you are using different software, they will need time to re-learn some things. So, always be pessimistic about your predictions, and give your employees at least a month in your plans.

Separate the process into stages

You should never rush your efforts to train new employees, as we have mentioned already. However, this does not mean that you need to constantly put in the same amount of work into their training. In simple terms, you should take off the training wheels gradually. You can separate the training into three parts and you can use your CRM to help employees.

The first part is the period when they need a lot of guidance and even a mentor to properly do their work. The second period is when their mentor can stop supervising their work. With only occasional check-ins to make sure everything is going well. Finally, you can offer them a trial period of sorts when they are left to work entirely on their own. If they show they have grasped their job fully, then they can be considered a fully integrated employee.

Scout potential mentors

A successful onboarding strategy will require the support and implementation of your existing employees to succeed. This is why it is crucial for you to pick out mentors for your new hires well in advance. They should be people who do their jobs well, have decent interpersonal skills, and to whom you can afford to give the task. If you put a key employee into the role of a mentor, then you can expect their normal duties to suffer. This is why it is smarter to pick from among lower-ranked employees.

Another reason to do that is to view the process as a bit of a test. If they have good managerial traits, they will be able to handle training a new hire better. Which can recommend them for a promotion. Of course, make sure to properly communicate what to prioritize during training so you can optimize the process.

Strengthen the sense of belonging through activities

When learning how to build an onboarding strategy, it is also important to remember that it is not all about work efficiency and knowing how to do the job well. These are the people who will be joining your company for the long term. They need to be able to integrate into the company culture and social groups as well. This is why you cannot build an onboarding strategy without planning for activities that can help make the employees feel like part of the group. You can organize an office party, a picnic, or a different sort of outing. The specifics of the plan do not matter as much as just offering everyone a chance to relax and actually socialize rather than just bustle about the office doing their jobs.

Schedule meetings to check the onboarding progress

The final thing you should know about how to build an onboarding schedule is that you need to include meeting with the new employees in your plans. Ultimately, no matter how good a plan you think you’ve made, you need to gauge personally whether or not it is performing up to standard. This is where these meetings come in.

You will be able to personally ask the new hires about their experience. About what they liked and disliked about the onboarding process, whether they have any suggestions helpful towards improving and streamlining the process, and similar. Who knows, maybe one of them can give you advice on how better to teach beginners about lead tracking software for movers, as an example. Working with your employees can help you a lot both in the present and in future endeavors.

Final comment

Be warned, however, that knowing how to build an onboarding strategy does not mean it will necessarily always be successful. In the end, the effectiveness of any strategy depends on the individuals it is used on. So, if the person cannot get used to working for you, it might not be the strategy’s fault. Still, you should continue fine-tuning and experimenting with your strategy!