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When it comes to hiring new employees, the onboarding process is one of the most critical elements of the recruitment process. A good onboarding process sets the tone for an enriching employee experience, ensuring new hires feel welcome and well equipped to succeed in their role.

While sourcing, screening and hiring new employees comes with great care and great cost, the onboarding process is often met with less consideration. Erin Austin, Division Director at Robert Half with more than 5 years of experience placing candidates in their dream roles, warns that “employers who adopt a ‘sink or swim’ mentality or, those reliant on rushed integration efforts, risk losing the talent they’ve spent good money and time to acquire.”

With research showing that up to 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment, the importance of employee onboarding cannot be overstated. In this skills-short market, a good onboarding process is the key to enhancing brand perception and productivity, while boosting positive engagement and retention.

If you are wondering what a good onboarding process looks like, there is no ‘one size fits all’ formula for successful onboarding. However, there are 6 elements that are inherent to all good onboarding processes.

Here are the 6 c’s of effective employee onboarding that can help to deliver an exceptional experience for new hires:

1. Compliance

Compliance is the integral first step in any onboarding process. It helps to ensure that new employees understand the organisation’s policies and procedures and that they comply with legal and regulatory requirements. With an aim to mitigate risk and maintain a safe and ethical work environment, compliance training ensures that your new hire is legally equipped to represent your company.

Compliance encompasses the mandatory ‘housekeeping’ elements of the onboarding process. This includes all of the basic information that prepares your employee to legally navigate your business from day one. Employee contracts, handbooks, office maps, ID cards, logins and physical devices are some examples.

While compliance typically includes the basics of a first day welcome pack, it’s an ideal opportunity to fast track the information to your new hire before they’ve started. This pre-onboarding period is the ideal time to engage your new employee and build corporate connections so they can arrive on day one feeling prepared and productive.

Related: 7 simple ideas to improve your pre-onboarding process

2. Clarification

In order for employees to succeed, they need to fully understand their job and all relevant responsibilities and expectations. Clarification is an essential part of good onboarding, equipping your new hire with the knowledge they need to be effective and efficient.

Hinged on concise communication, clarification illuminates the bigger picture so new hires can understand where they fit within the organisation and its wider vision.

This vital component inspires a sense of confidence and purpose for individual and team success.

3. Confidence

While clarification focuses on providing information, confidence focuses on providing the tools to thrive.

Confidence is a state of mind and good onboarding will always strive to cultivate it. A confident employee is more likely to adopt positive attitudes about their work, their colleagues and their decision to join your organisation.

Your chosen training methods will have a direct impact on building confidence and competence so, ensure they are positive and productive.

Seek to deploy engaging, interactive training sessions that immerse rather than overwhelm and, swap information overloads for bespoke breakdowns. Also, look to assign a mentor who can guide your new employee to grow and develop professionally.

4. Connection

Connection is a critical part of any successful employee onboarding experience. With new hires prone to amplified feelings of isolation, connection efforts help them to feel more integrated and less like a stranger.

Building a sense of community starts with onboarding so, quick office tours and mountains of first day paperwork won’t suffice. A focus on interactive activities such as team building exercises, hands on training and mentor sessions, will fast track relationship building to create a better sense of engagement, camaraderie and support.

Positive relationships are powerful and they directly influence employee engagement, job satisfaction and productivity. When new employees feel accepted and connected, they are motivated to ask questions, offer new ideas and give their best.

Remote employees cannot afford to be overlooked when it comes to building social connections. 7% of employers anticipate remote interviewing and onboarding to be their main staffing challenge since 2022*.

As such, employers must carefully consider how to replicate relationship building in the virtual sphere. Online buddy programs, virtual team building activities and remote mentoring sessions can aid in connecting widespread teams, helping individuals to feel more connected, integrated and motivated.

Related: Here are 4 useful tips for onboarding remote employees

5. Culture

An organisation’s culture encompasses its values, beliefs, norms and practices that shape the way people work and interact.

The cultural element of onboarding takes new employees beneath the surface so they can navigate the spoken and unspoken elements of company culture. While it focuses on overarching factors, it must expand on how these translate in the workplace. This includes tangible examples such as dress codes, arrival times and accepted behaviours.

Effective onboarding programs should prioritise cultural training and immersion to help new employees acclimate to your company's values and ways of working. Introducing them to key stakeholders and providing socialisation opportunities, will help new hires to connect the pieces of the cultural puzzle, fostering engagement and purpose.

6. Checkback

Last but not least, checkback is essential to all good onboarding processes. Checkback involves checking in on your new hire at various intervals to ensure they are thriving in their role.

This critical step is a platform for new employees to provide feedback and raise concerns, so that any challenges can be addressed. Regular checkbacks help new hires to feel supported and valued from the start, fostering a positive and productive workplace culture.

Be sure to use check backs as an opportunity to evolve your onboarding process. Ask questions and gain feedback to tweak your processes based on what’s working and what’s not.

Extra Considerations

While good onboarding is essential for new employees, it’s important to consider the function of re-boarding for existing employees who may be returning to work following prolonged absence.

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Related: 7 re-onboarding tips for employees returning to work

The Takeaway on Onboarding

A good onboarding process is a roadmap to success in the competitive market.

With a considered strategy and commitment to onboarding, businesses have a greater chance of differentiating themselves as an employer of choice for top talent while building emotional buy in with new employees.

While there is no universal structure for successful onboarding, the 6 c’s of onboarding offer core considerations when building (or rebuilding) an effective new hire journey.

If you’re still looking for your next ideal candidate in Australia, our experienced team of talent specialists can help.

If you’re seeking advice on any workplace issues within your business, our experienced team of management specialists can help.

Find out how much you should be earning in Robert Half’s Salary Guide

*The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in June 2022 by an independent research company, surveying 300 hiring managers, including 100 CFOs and 100 CIOs, from companies across Australia. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management, and trends in the workplace.