What is the one thing you wish you knew before onboarding your employees
Introduction
Hiring and onboarding new employees is an exciting time for small business owners. But if you're not careful, it can also be a costly mistake. The cost of hiring the wrong person is always greater than that of hiring the right one. Then there are all those hours spent training someone who won't work out in the end.
So, what are some things to consider before onboarding your employees? Well, you need to source, select, interview, and then onboard your new talent that compliments your company’s brand.
Sourcing
Source for the best talent by creating a job description that is well-defined and specific that will be added to the job posting. Let’s make sure your company’s brand is reflected within the job postings. You want to appear as an attractive place to work. Ask yourself, “What’s going to attract the right candidates to the position?”
Utilizing platforms such as Indeed, Facebook, and LinkedIn may help you advertise your job postings to a larger audience. Job fairs and referrals often produce great candidates from a smaller audience.
Selecting
Now it’s time to select candidates to move to the next step. Carefully sort through all applications, cover letters, and resumes to determine who meets the job requirements. Once you have selected the candidates it’s time to reach out to them for a phone screening. Phone screening is an opportunity to ensure that they meet basic job requirements.
“Our focus should not be on keeping the “wrong people” out, but trying to find the right people to bring in.”
Interviewing
If the candidate has made it to this step, it’s a very good sign! This is an opportunity to ask a set of questions that will help determine their skillset. These questions should help you elicit conversation with the candidate to determine if they would be a good placement within your team.
Onboarding
You’ve found a match! Now it’s time to ensure that their onboarding process is clear, smooth, and quick. Don’t leave room for your new hire to entertain other job opportunities by having unclear communication for their next steps. For example, you could state, “Within 48 hours, you will receive an email from our company to complete your paperwork by Friday. Once completed, you will receive a text notification when you have been scheduled for Monday’s orientation”. Don’t leave room for them to call you and ask clarifying questions regarding their next steps.
Welcome your new hires by providing them with an orientation packet, presentation, or video about your company’s brand, policies, and benefits of working for your business. This is an excellent time to go through a few goals that you and your company would like to achieve for the year. The orientation should be the cliff notes of what your company represents and your overall brand.
Don’t forget to make sure that your onboarding involves training and mentorship. With all the hard work and time it took to get to this stage, you don’t want your new hires to feel unsure about taking this new position.
Conclusion
We’ve provided some great tips to help you hire the best talent for your company. But don’t worry, we have a lot more resources and information at our disposal that can help you with this process. Schedule a Strategy Session with us today and we will provide even more insights on how to find the right people for your team!
