Onboarding: Setting Your Team Up for Success From The Get-Go

Designing an onboarding process for new employees helps provide a smooth transition to your organization, sets up new employees for success, and gives them a chance to integrate by providing the necessary knowledge and tools.

However, onboarding isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. And it’s been on my mind lately as I’ve brought on six new hires over the last four months. Now, they aren’t all full-time, but they each need to understand:

• What we do and how we function.

• How to find what they need.

• Who to direct questions to.

• What their role is.

• What the expectations are.

• And the list goes on...

Some onboarding aspects will apply to every new hire, such as providing them with a warm welcome and introducing the company’s culture, values, and mission. 

You’ll want to orient the new employee with the office layout (if they’re not working remotely) and basic protocols and complete routine administrative tasks such as signing contracts, setting up payroll, and enrolling them in benefits.

Every employee could also benefit from some form of cultural integration.

Activities like team building, introducing new hires to team members in different departments, and providing opportunities for social interaction allow new employees to forge connections and gain a sense of belonging. Cultural integration can enhance employee satisfaction and increase engagement and retention rates.

A Tailored Approach To Onboarding

Onboarding needs to be flexible and meet the needs of each new hire. It’s important to adapt to the employee’s learning style and pace and provide additional support as needed. Onboarding benefits from a collaborative approach where you also make adjustments based on employee feedback, evolving needs, and changing circumstances.

Each of my new team members has uniquely approached their transition and integration. And I’m working to meet each of them where they are and onboard them in a way that best supports their learning style and level of expertise.

For example, our new social media staff member, A, needed access to all of our files right away and training in one of the tools we use that’s new to her. She also needed to learn our process. She’s working closely with our Head of Marketing to choose which additional platforms to include and how we’ll use them. We already have wonderful branding documents that are explicit about design, etc., and we recently built our social media guidelines.

The best part about onboarding A is that she’s an experienced staff member who figures things out on her own. She’s comfortable reaching out and asking questions, and she has reacted positively and immediately to feedback and tweaks. She’s organized and disciplined, which, combined with her down-to-earth nature, makes her an incredible asset to the team.

Changing Circumstances

When J started as our Head of Client Relationships, we were just beginning to operationalize parts of the business. We didn’t have processes and guidelines for marketing, nor did we have a central location for all of our content.

J and I worked together (long ago), so we knew each other well, but we still had to re-learn each other’s styles. We worked together super closely, almost every day, and every month, we did a full week of onboarding in person.

When J started, she conducted an external listening tour and competitive analysis. She talked to leaders in roles like the ones we support, tagging in colleagues and friends to get the inside scoop on what great support, connection, and communication could look like, and then she applied her learnings.

She also conducted an internal audit to assess where we were, what we were missing, what was in good shape, and what should be jettisoned in favor of something new.

J would learn, ask questions, explore, compare, and contrast, and then reach out and share issues she was finding. We often did this in real-time on Slack; Zoom was also a frequent meeting place. After the first two months, the calls became different. She was leading them and sharing what she thought we should do. By the third month, she was developing the strategy, planning, and implementation.

J is also highly experienced and skilled in sales and marketing, and she’s very operationally and strategically minded. She’s a unicorn, people like J are hard to come by, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had her with Lead Bee during a pivotal growth period. Although marketing was neither her role at the time nor Chief of Staff, she jumped into both roles in some ways. Her role shifted and morphed as the company passed through certain milestones, and she adapted beautifully. I can honestly say that Lead Bee would not be where it is today without J.

Ongoing Support

Part of being flexible and adaptive in your onboarding strategy is recognizing that depending on the role, the circumstances, and the new hire's experience, the new staff member may need time to get the lay of the land and require ongoing support as they find their footing.

I started at Talbots as Head of Learning and Development when they were PE-backed. The previous team had been large and robust before financial troubles drastically downsized the group, and it essentially needed to be reimagined and rebuilt from scratch.

My first step was a listening tour. My boss at the time, K, headed up HR and was a fantastic resource. She was incredibly busy but made time for me not only in our weekly one on ones, but in many other meetings so I could share what I was learning in my meet and greets and provide additional background information on different individual functions, teams, and learning needs. She helped me understand how best to work with the function heads that I would be partnering with, which, in turn, helped me understand the people and resources who could best support the initiatives that would be needed. This assistance was invaluable as I was onboarding.

Industry Familiarity

If a new hire is new to your industry, it can be helpful to provide them with an overview of the sector, including its trends and challenges. They may also benefit from the opportunity to connect with industry experts in your organization who can offer insight and guidance. By providing this type of context, new employees can find a deeper sense of purpose in their role.

Experience Level

With inexperienced or entry-level employees, focus on foundational training, mentorship, and gradual exposure to their responsibilities. Encourage them to ask questions and set up regular check-ins and coaching sessions where you can offer support and constructive feedback. Help them to set realistic short-term and long-term goals. And invest in developing soft skills such as communication or problem-solving with opportunities to practice what they’ve learned.

With more tenured or senior-level employees, focus on organizational-specific knowledge and nuances. Offer them a level of autonomy that allows them to make informed decisions and contribute their expertise. It’s important to trust the capabilities of experienced hires. Facilitate networking opportunities and connect them with key stakeholders, executives, and cross-functional teams.

Role-Specific Training

Begin by assessing new employees' existing skills and knowledge to determine the depth of training required and areas of focus. Training should be tailored to address job-specific responsibilities and tasks.

Preferred Learning Style

It’s also critical to offer training that aligns with their preferred learning style to give them the best chance of success.

For example:

Designing an onboarding strategy should include two parts. First, a program that every new employee goes through which can reduce management lift. The second part, however, must be able to adapt to meet the specific needs of each new hire and consider industry familiarity, experience level, role-specific training, and learning style as well as provide ongoing support.

When onboarding can be flexible and responsive to both the circumstances and the individual’s needs, we can create a smooth transition for all new team members and set them up for success.