Onboarding a new employee is like setting up a new gadget. First impressions matter, and for small businesses, a good onboarding process is crucial for both the employee and the company. It’s not just about paperwork. It's about creating a positive experience that sets the stage for a productive relationship. As small businesses grow, creating an inclusive onboarding process becomes even more important. It’s not just about making sure everyone feels welcome—it’s about making sure everyone feels like they belong. In this article, we’ll explore what it means to onboard inclusively and how small businesses can create a process that works for everyone.
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What is Onboarding?
Onboarding is the journey that starts as soon as a new employee accepts an offer. It involves everything from paperwork and setting up workstations to introducing new hires to their roles, teams, and the company culture. This is more than just a checklist; it’s about helping people feel part of the community.
A well-crafted onboarding process ensures recruits quickly adapt to their positions and understand their expectations. It’s not just a one-day event; it can extend through the first year to integrate the employees fully.
The Stages of Onboarding: A Closer Look
Onboarding begins the moment an offer is accepted. It carries through the waiting period before their start date and into the first day of work. The process doesn’t stop there. It continues through orientation and sometimes even stretches to the end of the first year. This approach ensures new employees fully acclimate and succeed in their roles. The goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible, removing any barriers that might hinder their success.
Why Onboarding is Essential for Every Business
Onboarding isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity. Regardless of your industry, a strong onboarding process is crucial. It sets the tone for a new hire’s entire experience with your company.
When you onboard effectively, you’re not just filling out paperwork and handing over a laptop. You’re laying the foundation for a successful relationship. Proper onboarding helps new employees feel welcome and informed, increasing job satisfaction and retention.
Crafting an Onboarding Process That Works
Creating or refining your onboarding process requires planning and intention. You shouldn’t wing it. You need a strategy that covers all aspects of the new hire experience, from the logistical to the emotional.
An onboarding checklist can be invaluable here. It ensures you don’t miss a step and that every new employee has a consistent and positive experience. When you invest time and effort into onboarding, you’re investing in the success of your business.
Related Reading
• Onboarding Goals • How Long Does It Take to Onboard a New Employee • Onboarding Phases • Onboarding Meeting • Onboarding and Training • New Hire Orientation Survey • Onboarding Remote Employees • New Hire Onboarding Survey Questions • New Team Member Announcement
Why the Onboarding Experience Matters
The onboarding experience is critical for employee retention and engagement. An effective onboarding process can set the tone for a new hire’s entire journey with the company, helping them feel welcomed, informed, and equipped for success. Research shows that 89% of employees who go through a strong onboarding process are more engaged at work, which boosts productivity and job satisfaction.
The High Cost of Poor Onboarding: Why First Impressions Matter in Employee Retention
The financial aspect is also significant. Onboarding typically costs around $4,100, while finding a replacement for a lost employee can cost up to twice their salary. Since 70% of employees decide whether to stay with a job within the first month, that first impression matters more than ever. According to Create LMS, a poor onboarding experience is a leading reason for early resignations.
The Link Between Onboarding, Training, and Employee Retention: Why Investing in Early Experiences Pays Off
Businesses with adequate onboarding and training programs are twice as likely to retain employees. TeamStage notes that nearly 40% of resignations stem from poor training alone, but the likelihood of turnover soars when combined with ineffective onboarding. Prioritizing onboarding reduces turnover and saves on the costs associated with rehiring, making it a crucial investment for any organization.
What are the 4 Phases of Onboarding?
1. Launching a Seamless Pre-Onboarding Experience
Kick off your onboarding process even before the first day. When they accept the offer, send a welcome email with essential info about the company, team, and first-day expectations. Set them up with access to tools like email and project management software.
Share a first-week agenda with meetings and training sessions, and give them a heads-up about company amenities and development plans. By handling paperwork upfront, you streamline the process and keep the excitement building.
2. Creating a Welcoming Onboarding Moment
Welcome your new hires with more than just a quick introduction. Make them feel like they belong by blending job-specific and cultural information. Use live and recorded methods to introduce them to team members through video messages. Organize a welcome lunch or a virtual coffee chat to help them start building connections.
The first day sets the tone, so ensure it’s engaging and memorable. Host a team lunch or a virtual meet-and-greet to introduce them to colleagues, giving them a sense of belonging and a solid start on relationship-building. A thoughtful welcome kit with company swag and essential resources shows you value and appreciate them.
3. Designing Effective Training for Success
Effective training helps new hires understand their roles and responsibilities. Break down the training into manageable modules covering essential skills and knowledge areas, allowing new hires to absorb information comfortably. Include hands-on practice sessions where they can apply what they’ve learned in real scenarios.
Regular check-ins help address questions and provide feedback on their progress. This phase also introduces new hires to key stakeholders and cross-functional teams, helping them build a network and understand how departments collaborate.
4. Supporting a Smooth Transition to Full Productivity
The transition phase focuses on integrating new hires into the team and providing ongoing support. Schedule regular check-ins during the first few months to discuss progress, address concerns, and offer support. Assign a mentor or buddy to provide guidance, answer questions, and help them navigate the company culture.
Encourage continuous learning and development through training sessions, workshops, and access to learning resources. Ongoing development keeps employees engaged and motivated. Ensure new hires can provide feedback on their onboarding experience. This helps you identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments. Celebrate milestones and achievements to keep new hires motivated and feeling valued.
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13 Steps for Successful Small Business Onboarding
1. Start with a Personal Touch
Creating a welcoming atmosphere starts from day one. Offering personalized onboarding gifts shows new hires they're valued. Small businesses can provide branded apparel, customized office supplies, or a welcome kit that reflects company culture.
Thoughtful touches like a branded notebook or a personalized coffee mug foster inclusion and excitement. They help new hires feel that their arrival is anticipated and appreciated.
2. Make Paperwork Painless
Handling paperwork is crucial but often tedious. A smooth process is vital for small businesses without a large HR department. Collect necessary documents like tax forms, direct deposit details, and confidentiality agreements well before the start date.
Use digital tools like e-signature platforms to streamline this process. Getting paperwork out of the way early allows new employees to focus on learning their role instead of dealing with administrative tasks on their first day.
3. Communicate Clearly from the Start
Communication is key to a positive first-day experience. Before their start date, send an informative email outlining everything they need to know. Include the start time, dress code, contact details of their manager, and any documentation they need to bring. This helps ease anxiety and demonstrates your company’s commitment to organization and professionalism.
4. Equip Them with Essential Info
A well-organized new hire packet sets the stage for a smooth transition. This packet doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Include essential information like the employee handbook, company policies, a summary of benefits, and an organizational chart. Providing training materials or key company resources allows them to familiarize themselves with your business at their own pace.
5. Set Up for Success Before They Arrive
Make sure new employees have access to all the tools they need. Set up email accounts, software access, and workstations before they arrive. Even in a small business, ensuring employees have everything ready is crucial.
This shows them you are prepared for their arrival and value their productivity. Small touches like ensuring their clean and equipped workspace can make a positive first impression.
6. Give Them the Grand Tour
Small businesses often have the advantage of close-knit teams and more intimate workspaces. Use this to your advantage by offering a thorough, personalized office tour. Introduce the new hire to key team members and show them where essential resources are located. This helps the new hire feel more comfortable and reduces the unknowns that can overwhelm the first few days.
7. Introduce Them to Your Culture
Company culture is the glue that holds small businesses together. It’s crucial to introduce new employees to this culture early. This can include:
- Team lunch
- Coffee break
- Informal gathering
To help them get to know their coworkers. Encourage socialization and team bonding to help them immediately feel like part of the family.
8. Pair Them with a Buddy
One of the best ways to help new hires settle in quickly is to pair them with a mentor or buddy. In a small business setting, assigning a seasoned employee as a guide provides new hires with a go-to resource for questions, advice, and company insights. This one-on-one support can be critical where formalized training may be limited.
9. Set Specific Goals Early On
Onboarding doesn’t end after the first week. Setting clear, role-specific goals for new hires during their first 60-90 days gives them a roadmap for success. Ensure these goals are:
- SMART
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Regular check-ins help ensure the new hire is on track and feels supported in their growth.
10. Anticipate Their Questions
New hires are bound to have plenty of questions. Anticipating these questions and preparing a document or FAQ saves time and ensures they always have a reference point. Cover everything from general company policies to specific information about day-to-day operations. This proactive approach helps reduce uncertainty for new employees.
11. Provide Tailored Training
Training is one of the most crucial parts of onboarding. In small businesses, the need for formal training departments means that training needs to be customized and hands-on. Tailor your training to the specific role of the new employee. Personalized guidance, such as job shadowing or interactive training sessions, can make new hires more confident.
12. Connect Them with Leadership
Small businesses often offer greater access to leadership. Arrange for new hires to meet with key leaders to learn about the company's mission and goals. Even a brief meeting can make a lasting impression, showing new hires that leadership is invested in their development and success.
13. Check In Regularly
Onboarding doesn’t stop after the first week or month. Regular follow-ups with new hires ensure they are integrating smoothly and offer an opportunity for feedback. Small businesses often excel at maintaining personal connections with employees, so take the time to ask about their experience and address any concerns.
Related Reading
• Remote Onboarding Best Practices • How to Build High Performing Teams • How to Influence Culture in the Workplace • How to Create an Onboarding Process • How to Onboard Remote Employees • Effective Onboarding • How to Improve Onboarding Process • How to Onboard New Employees • How to Improve Connection in the Workplace
7 Best Onboarding Software for Small Businesses to Streamline Onboarding
1. Giftpack: Revolutionizing Corporate Gifting
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2. BambooHR: Seamless Onboarding Experience
BambooHR is a comprehensive HR tool with a stellar onboarding program. It simplifies new hires with:
- Quick paperwork
- Electronic signatures
- IT checklists
- Welcome emails
You can personalize New Hire Packet Templates, making every newcomer feel welcomed and valued.
3. Trainual: Fun and Engaging Onboarding
Trainual brings creativity to onboarding with gifs, in-app recordings, and the ability to embed company videos. Share your company’s story, mission, and values in a fun way. Their onboarding playbook includes a hiring checklist and policy templates, making it informative and enjoyable.
4. RUN Powered by ADP: Smart and Efficient
This cloud service offers smart onboarding with industry-specific form libraries that are accessible anywhere. You can create personalized portals and landing pages for new employees. It also handles compliance and integrates smoothly with ADP payroll for seamless data handling.
5. Ease: User-Friendly and Secure
Ease ranks high for its simplicity and ease of use, with a 93% satisfaction score. It offers a central, secure database for all employee information, including important forms and direct deposit details. HITRUST CSF Certification ensures your data is well protected.
6. Deel: Global Hiring Made Easy
Deel helps you hire and onboard employees worldwide without the hassle of setting up local entities. They handle all local regulations and compliance, taking on employment liability. Deel digitally gathers all necessary tax, payroll, and compliance documents, streamlining the process.
7. Namely: Personalized New Hire Experience
With Namely, capturing new hire data is a breeze. Use configurable templates to collect everything from emergency contacts to favorite coffee. You can also create a personalized welcome message and assign new hire tasks for a smooth transition.
6 Common Small Business Onboarding Mistakes To Avoid
1. Start Early to Make a Lasting Impression
Handling onboarding paperwork takes more time than the first day. Unlike drowning in a sea of forms, you want your new hire to feel welcome and prepared. Begin the process before they show up.
Send a welcome email with details about their start date and orientation schedule. Having them complete paperwork electronically in advance sets a tone of readiness and respect. This approach allows you to spend their first day on high-impact activities like discussing company culture and introducing them to the team.
2. Onboarding Is Not a One-Off Event
Trying to cram everything into a brief orientation period is a recipe for disaster. A successful onboarding process might last two to three months.
It should involve a gradual introduction to expectations and responsibilities, HR processes, and ongoing training. Think of onboarding as a slow build rather than a quick splash. This gives new hires time to adjust and absorb information to perform confidently and independently.
3. Avoid Information Overload
New hires easily feel overwhelmed as they absorb information while trying to get their bearings in a new job. Instead of bombarding them with everything at once, spread orientation activities over at least a week.
This approach makes it easier for new employees to digest the basics before diving into more intensive training. You should create an employee handbook that outlines all the important information and serves as a resource for your team.
4. Set Clear Expectations from the Start
Employees who don’t know what’s expected of them or how they’ll be evaluated can be frustrated. Use the onboarding period to make your expectations clear. Explain how and when you’ll offer feedback, whether it’s at the end of every week or after each training session. Likewise, be explicit about performance reviews. Your new hires will appreciate knowing how they’ll be assessed.
5. Technology: Ally or Adversary?
Relying on paper-based processes helps things be faster and can lead to mistakes. Digital tools can make a big difference in streamlining onboarding. Using technology wisely, from document management to training programs, can help you create a more efficient experience for everyone involved. Embrace the change and see how it can improve your onboarding process.
6. Feedback Is a Two-Way Street
While you might think your onboarding process is perfect, the new hires experience it firsthand. Feedback is essential to understanding what’s working and what’s not. Survey your new employees after they’ve been with the company for a few months to get their take on the process. Use their feedback to make adjustments and improvements.
Related Reading
• New Hire Orientation Best Practices • New Hire Welcome Kit • Onboarding Gifts for New Hires • Best Onboarding Programs • New Employee First Week Schedule Template • Fun Onboarding Questions for New Hires • Fun Ways to Introduce New Team Members • New Employee Checklist • HR Onboarding Checklist • Best Practices for Onboarding New Employees • Onboarding Activities • New Hire Orientation Presentation Ideas • New Hire Training Plan
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