This is the first installment in a four-part series on onboarding.
September 01, 2021
By Rachel Smith
Last month we wrote about why it’s smart to treat your job candidates just as you would prospective clients. Just as you are selling your product or service to a potential customer, you are selling your company to potential employees. Today we’re going to share why this method doesn’t end when you hire someone—once your position has been filled, treat your new hire the same way you would a new client.
Perhaps you aren’t familiar with the term pre-onboarding. Or maybe you assume it’s simply the period in which you need to complete any background checks prior to giving a new employee access to your network. Pre-onboarding has become an important part of the employee experience, and just as you have a hiring process and a sales process, you need to develop a pre-onboarding process in order to ensure new employee success.
Pre-onboarding is the period of time between an individual accepting an offer and their first day of work. Depending on the position, the notice provided to their former employer, and whether relocation is involved, the pre-onboarding period can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. And it’s a precarious time—full of excitement, but also uncertainty and stress.
Research has found that a change in work duties alone is as stressful as having a child leave home. Changing to a different line of work is more stressful than foreclosing on your mortgage. In today’s market of too many jobs available for not enough people, the pre-onboarding period is especially delicate. One shouldn’t assume that new hires aren’t still keeping their feelers out for a better opportunity.
Having a robust pre-onboarding program isn’t just better for new employees, either. Companies with pre-onboarding plans in place are 11 percent more likely to retain their first-year employees. They are also 1.6 times more likely to have a lower cost per hire. So, now that you’re sold on the pre-onboarding process, how should you go about developing yours?
When you make a sale to a new client, you would never simply drop them into the lap of a customer success manager and walk away. After all, the seventh P of Maestro’s Phoenix Sales Method stands for post-sale. You’re going to get on the phone with your new client and their new account manager in order to foster that relationship. You’ll check in with them, keep lines of communication open, and ask them for referrals.
Think of pre-onboarding the same way. There should be a warm handoff from the hiring team to HR, IT, and the new employee’s soon-to-be team. Lines of communication need to remain open the entire time. And just as you ask new clients for referrals, you should ask new hires for feedback about your hiring process. It’s a great way for you to evaluate your own system as well as show your newest team member that you value their opinion.
We’re all about quickly-implementable strategies at Maestro, so here are some ideas for making your pre-onboarding process more intentional and successful.
New employees come in on their first day eager to hit the ground running. Nothing squashes that feeling of enthusiasm more than administrative paperwork. Tax forms, NDAs, verification of personal details—all of that can be done before your new hire takes their first first-day sip of coffee—out of their new branded coffee mug of course!
Got any company SWAG? Send it to your new hire as soon as they accept your offer. It makes them feel appreciated, part of the group, and that you are excited to have them join the team. Maybe you’re flush with water bottles, koozies, and t-shirts with your company logo, but if not, don’t worry. Something as simple as a handwritten note sent to them via snail mail is a great way to make them feel connected.
Send an announcement email to your new employee and all of their new team members. Encourage team members to reach out individually. Share your new hire’s LinkedIn profile so that they can easily connect with their new colleagues. Have current employees send short welcome videos, or encourage your new arrival to send one. You might even invite your hire to the office for a tour, or out for drinks with their future coworkers.
It’s easy for new hires to experience information overload on their first day as they get employee handbooks, information on benefits, project details, etc. There’s no reason not to send them these materials before they arrive. They can spend the weeks leading up to their first day reviewing information at a more reasonable pace.
No matter how excited someone is about a new position, or how sure they are about the decision they have made to accept it, the first day can be nerve-racking. Eighty percent of professionals admit to being nervous when starting a new job. (I’m sorry, but who are the other 20 percent? Narcissists? Psychopaths? Who doesn’t get nervous about starting a new job?!)
If your new hire isn’t tele-commuting, be sure to give them all of the information they will need to feel more self-assured coming into the office. Where do they park? Who is meeting them and where? What is the dress code? What do people do for lunch? Where is the closest coffee shop? What should they bring? Sharing these details can do a lot to make someone’s first day go more smoothly and make them feel better prepared.
Does your company have a mentorship program? If so, connect your new hire to their mentor right away. It will be nice for them to have another person to whom they can go for help or with questions. Even if you don’t have a mentorship program, consider partnering new people with a designated employee who can answer questions and provide help when needed.
You want to make new employees feel like part of the team as soon as possible. You can help them feel like they are already a part of the company before their first day by keeping them in the loop on projects and events. Send them photos of what their new team is up to. Send them a picture of their new desk. Let them know how you are preparing for their first day. This will make them feel connected and that you’re truly excited for them to come on board.
Begin sending meeting invites to new employees right away. This will help them feel prepared as well as included. There are surely onboarding activities that are already scheduled. Let them know what those activities are. Even though they have not yet officially started, having new-hire meetings and activities on their calendar will make the job more concrete, as well as help them get excited about what’s to come.
Does your organization use a learning platform for onboarding and training? If so, go ahead and give new employees access before their first day. Letting them poke around will help get them acquainted with the tool in advance of their first day. That means they will be able to ramp up faster.
You would never ghost a client once you make a sale, so don’t do it to your new employees either. Research shows that 22 percent of employee turnover happens during the first 45 days on the job. A strong pre-boarding process can help prevent this from happening.
Pre-onboarding will help your new hires ramp up faster, and help ensure that they maintain their excitement about their new position. Including them as part of the team and maintaining strong communication prior to their first day will help calm their nerves and assure them that they have made the right choice in joining your team. Developing a strong pre-onboarding practice is good for your new hires as well as your business. It can reduce first-day anxiety for everyone (even the maniacs who claim that they aren’t nervous).
Ready to learn more quickly-implementable strategies? Contact Maestro at mastery@maestrogroup.co.
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