As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate at any given moment—especially if you’re in the middle of the hiring process. Growing your team allows you to delegate some of your responsibilities to others, but first, you must recruit and train your new employees.
While this process can be daunting, creating a smooth onboarding process will help your small business’s new hires leap from recruits to full-fledged team members. Considering 62 percent of employees are not engaged in the workplace, and 15 percent are actively disengaged, it’s important to start strong and give new hires all the tools they need to thrive in their roles.
Plus, you can be confident that at the end of the onboarding process, new hires are ready to start taking on tasks, allowing you to free up some of your time and keep your business running smoothly. Let’s explore how to build an employee onboarding process that sets new team members up for success.
1. Develop onboarding goals.
Start by defining your goals for the onboarding process. In other words, what should new hires know and be able to do after onboarding is complete? While onboarding goals may differ from company to company, some universal goals you may consider implementing include:
- Establishing a clear understanding of role expectations and responsibilities
- Fully integrating new hires into the broader team and business
- Familiarizing new employees with the business’s internal processes and culture
- Getting new hires up to speed on relevant trends in the industry
- Teaching new team members the ins and outs of your products and/or services
- Making new employees feel welcome and confident in their ability to succeed in their new roles
Brainstorming the goals you’d like to focus on upfront will help you create onboarding plans and materials that reflect these goals. For example, if you run a coffee shop, you may compile data about trends in coffee sourcing, ordering technology, and beverage preferences so new hires are aware of the broader context in which your business operates.
Additionally, creating and sharing these onboarding goals with new employees gives them clarity on what they should achieve and a sense of purpose that will drive them through the onboarding process.
2. Prepare welcome materials.
There’s nothing worse than walking into your first day on the job in a state of panic. Of course, nerves are normal, but you can help lessen the first-day jitters by sending new hires welcome materials before they start.
These welcome materials will give new employees a preview of what’s to come and just enough information to enter on day one, feeling confident, eager, and ready to learn more. For instance, you may send them:
- A brief introduction to the business. Although new hires likely have some knowledge about your business, if you employ a recruitment marketing strategy, remind them what your business does and who they’ll be working under.
- Instructions on how to get to the office or workspace. Let new hires know where you’re located, how they can get there, and where to park. Alternatively, if new hires are remote, walk them through how to get set up with your online conferencing software and any other communication tools.
- What new hires can expect on their first day. Send new employees a schedule or overview of what their first day will look like. Let them know who they’ll be meeting, what activities they’ll complete, whether you’re providing them with a meal, and any other relevant details.
- Any login credentials they’ll need. Set new hires up with their email and other company systems so they can easily access these tools.
- Dress code. Give new employees examples of appropriate attire for your workplace, and send them any specific items they’ll need to wear, such as a name badge.
- The paperwork they need to complete. Lastly, send any pre-employment paperwork or notify them of any identification or information they’ll need to bring with them to complete the paperwork in person.
Accompany these materials with a message welcoming new hires to the team. Let them know how excited you are for them to join the team and become part of your small business.
3. Plan a thorough orientation.
One of the hallmarks of the onboarding process is orientation. A strong orientation program introduces new hires to your business and acclimates them to the workplace.
To kick off their time on your team, make sure to do the following during new hire orientation:
- Inform new hires of your business’s background. Dig into the history of your small business to give new hires some context on how you’ve gotten to your current state. You should also go over your company’s values and organizational structure.
- Review employee policies. Share your employee handbook with new hires, and walk through your most important policies, such as your code of conduct, performance expectations, safety protocols, compensation, and leave policies.
- Teach them how to use any necessary software or equipment. Chances are, there are certain tools new hires will need to become familiar with. For example, DanceStudio-Pro explains that dance studio apps allow “studio owners, teachers, and administrators to manage all elements of your business.” During onboarding, a dance studio owner may teach new employees how to collect tuition, take attendance, access lesson plans, book private lessons, automate emails, and more using the platform.
- Introduce them to other team members. Make new hires feel like part of the team right away by introducing them to other members of your staff. You may even have certain team members meet with new hires individually to offer their unique perspectives and advice on working at your small business.
- Highlight any special dates to be aware of. Have new hires mark their calendars for any mandatory special events or occasions. Depending on the nature of your small business, these may include specialized training, workshops, fundraisers or charity events, recitals or performances, product launches, or even Small Business Saturday.
Additionally, inform new hires about any special perks they receive from working at your business. One of the top benefits small businesses may offer is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.
According to Double the Donation’s CSR statistics guide, 71 percent of employees want to work for a business that gives back through philanthropy and volunteering, so this is a great option for both engaging employees and making a difference in your community. Other perks you may offer include employee discounts, branded merchandise, or wellness programs.
4. Establish clear communication mechanisms.
As a team leader, it’s up to you what your internal company culture is like. Avoid fostering a culture of secrecy by being upfront from the beginning and giving new hires a chance to get actively involved in the onboarding process. That way, you can establish a good rapport and encourage them to speak up and ask questions throughout their time at your business.
Facilitate open communication with new hires by:
- Scheduling regular check-ins. Meet with new hires throughout the hiring process to check in with them, see how they’re doing, and answer any questions they may have.
- Sending surveys. Solicit feedback about the hiring and onboarding processes to show new hires you value their opinions and will use their advice to improve your operations.
- Establishing communication standards. Moving forward, it should be clear when and how you’d like new employees to communicate with you and other team members. For example, if an employee needs to call out sick, how should they contact you?
Communication training can not only help new hires become successful members of your team but also give them valuable communication skills they can leverage throughout their careers.
Ultimately, the goal of your small business onboarding process is to ease the transition for new hires and motivate them to become successful team members. As you’re creating your onboarding plans and materials, ask current employees what they wish you’d covered during their own onboarding processes or anything they think is important for new hires to know. That way, you can incorporate different team members’ perspectives and develop a well-rounded onboarding process.
