| | JULY - 2023MANAGEHRMAGAZINE.COM8In MyOpinionAs human resources professionals we want people to feel appreciated and supported, but how do we achieve that during the onboarding process?Years ago, when I began my career onboarding was very different. The focus was on getting all the legislative requirements for training and paperwork done and getting new hires in their workstation rather than a holistic approach. Things have changed, and that's a good thing. Here are a few simple ways to achieve the goal of a more holistic onboarding process. These suggestions work for onsite, hybrid, and remote employee situations. Onboarding is a Team Sport Make sure to involve team members outside of Human Resources in onboarding, ideally forming a committee that comes up with ideas and helps to divide the workload. In a perfect world, you could get a representative from each department in the company to be an onboarding champion and take part.By Olga Cenic, Senior Human Resources Manager, Voortman BakeryONBOARDING WITH HEARTOlga CenicRolling Out the Welcome Mat Starts Pre-Arrival Personalize the experience. Before a team member's first day, have the team write a personal note letting them know that they are looking forward to that member's arrival at work and are excited to meet them. As part of their package, you can include some swag with the company logo. If your company makes something include varieties of that product, if appropriate. Not everyone has the good fortune to make cookies - I get it. You don't necessarily have to have a big budget for this, use your imagination and make an impact.Be available. If someone leaves you a voicemail or sends you an email, get back to them promptly and enthusiastically. Follow-up is key. Always reassure people that they can ask questions anytime. Ensure the onboarding team member has contact information for their Manager and Human Resources contacts (at a minimum) before day one. So that they feel further prepared for their arrival, give them a detailed schedule of their first week before their first day. They should have a schedule set to their email address as well as their work email. Making someone feel welcome can be expressed in many ways. I once worked at a company that made frames and they sent me a stunning artisanal frame to my home before my first day. Every team member in the office signed the outside of the box in colored markers with welcome wishes and inside there was a handwritten note with some beautiful hand-drawn artwork! No wonder that company had a Chief of WOW. I was wowed!To this day I have that frame and every time I see it those happy memories flood back to me. We can't all be Banksy, but we can all put some personalization and thought into what we do. You know the new team member loves cats, write your message in a cat-themed card, include a few cat magnets, and get a cat-themed notebook. Every time they go to their fridge and see those magnets, they remember the kindness behind the card and box they received. Just putting company swag in a box is a simple way out. Do better. Expect better.Make your own customized staff survival kit for your company, You are only limited by your creativity.
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