A little anecdote – not so anecdotal – about the arrival of a new employee. Doesn't this remind you of a situation you've already experienced?
(the new guy) – Hello, I'm Pierre, I was told to come here at 9 a.m. because I just got hired in the marketing department.
(the assistant) – Oh? Uh, I'm not aware of that, please wait, I'll check...
It's the first day, and it's already off to a bad start... For a new employee, arriving in a new company is a bit like the first day of school: remember that mix of stress and excitement, discovering a new class, new teachers, and every year the same good resolution: "this year, I'm going to be perfect."
However, if upon your arrival, everyone is indifferent, and you have no office, no computer... your motivation can quickly wane.
Now let's talk numbers: according to a November 2024 study by Robert Walters, one out of every two executives feels that integration into the company is disappointing.
💡 : It is possible to listen to this article! Find the audio at the bottom of the page 🎧
What is onboarding?
Onboarding encompasses all the processes that will allow the new employee to be welcomed in good conditions. It's all these things that, precisely, will give them the impression of being expected.
The benefit of implementing onboarding is twofold:
- Integration: a well-received employee will feel 'at home' faster. The feeling of belonging is crucial for an employee; they will have more reasons to invest in the company, to feel good there, and therefore to create an atmosphere conducive to good development of themselves and the company. This also contributes to the employer brand image. Onboarding for certain strained professions can even be decisive in the employee's decision to stay or leave.
- Productivity: when an employee arrives in good conditions, they will be operational more quickly. An employee who does not have everything they need to work will ask their colleagues more often and quickly lose motivation.
Best practices for welcoming a new employee
1. Communicate upstream
Just because the employee hasn't arrived yet doesn't mean you should ignore him or her: communicate upstream! The firm's study reveals that 12% of future employees would not introduce themselves if they had not received any upstream communication.
As soon as the contract is signed, establish regular communication with the future employee. Here are a few ideas for exchanges you can have prior to the start of the contract: send a welcome video message, invite him/her to breakfast (real or virtual) with his/her future team beforehand, invite him/her to informal evenings, include him/her in your internal communications such as the newsletter or company social networks to familiarize him/her with the organization. You can also send them a welcome document explaining how the company works and its habits and customs.
We'll look at this in Part 2 of the article, but don't forget to give him his main IT access the day before or the day of his arrival.
2. Keep future colleagues (direct or indirect) fully informed.
We mainly think of the involvement of HR in welcoming a new employee, yet HR is only the 'institutional' and contractual part of the arrival. Those who will scrutinize the newcomer the most will be their future colleagues.
If their arrival is expected and they meet many people who welcome them, it will immediately put them in a positive atmosphere.
However, it must not be a flash in the pan and after the first day, be met with complete indifference. Make sure that during the first few weeks, they don't eat alone or that they are offered to participate in coffee breaks, which are an essential informal moment to create bonds with colleagues.
3. The welcome pack
The employee is also not a mere spectator during their onboarding. Therefore, they should be encouraged to connect with new colleagues through pre-arranged work meetings.
An organizational chart can be provided to the new employee to allow them to quietly familiarize themselves with all the employees, and an institutional kit can be provided to help them integrate the values, objectives, etc.
This is also the time to introduce corporate networks for discussions like Slack, Teams, Workplace... but also file storage spaces.
Let's not forget the essentials ^^ their office, their workspace, their equipment, their software, etc.
We almost always think of the office, the computer, or the chair, but we often forget what is not visible: IT access, software... Indeed, what good is having a nice PC on your desk if the user does not have an identity? And how can they start working without an email box?
Small gifts are always welcome at this time 😁.
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4. If you are the direct manager, prepare the first half-day of support
And don't rush things: take the time to welcome them and put them at ease. If you are overloaded with work and this arrival encumbers you, make the effort not to show it and put on your biggest smile. Show that you are comfortable and relaxed. These efforts will be repaid a hundredfold by this newcomer when they are operational.
It is also conceivable to postpone their arrival by a day or two to be more present when they arrive if an emergency occurs the day before or the day before that. You can discuss this with them so that they do not feel rejected.
Take advantage of this half-day to introduce him or her to everyone by visiting the company's premises. Explain in 2 words what this new head will be responsible for. If there are a lot of you, split the visit in two, for example half in the morning and half in the afternoon. This will allow the employee to 'digest' the amount of information, and also reduce the stress of meeting so many new people for the more timid.
According to a study by Robert Walters, four out of ten employees say they did not eat with their team on the first day.
5. After the first day
So far so good, you've been flawless, everyone is playing their role as a perfect host, and then poof, in the weeks and months that follow, nothing happens.
As we know, one doesn't feel at home in 5 days. When we think back to our beginnings, it took us time to feel completely comfortable with the company, colleagues, work, and methods.
In fact, according to a study conducted by Robert Walters, 64% of executives wanted to benefit from a training and induction program within their first few weeks. In addition, 54% hoped to take part in an induction event after starting their new job, and 52% expected to be put in touch with a mentor or referent.
It is important that human resources and the manager organize themselves to plan check-in points. It is important to talk about it transparently with the collaborator upon arrival, in this way, they will not experience it as assessments since they will be warned. You can schedule them for their 1st month, 3rd month, 6th month and 1st year.
These points should not be reports of the person's work but points of feeling for both parties. This allows discussing misunderstandings, small discomforts or other, but also what is going well, what is pleasing, etc.
These points between manager and employee can be done in a less formal setting to open the conversation.
6. Onboarding tools
You might say, great, I have everything I need on paper, except that we know that in real life, everything doesn't work perfectly.
How to ensure a smooth process? Leverage available solutions; there are plenty on the market. SaaS solutions offer the advantage of not requiring heavy installation and complex configurations, and they provide good flexibility.
You can start by looking at what you already have in your existing tools. Your payroll software or your HRIS may have features to facilitate workflows, such as sending an email a few days before a new employee arrives to remind them of essential information like the location, date, time of arrival, and manager's name.
You can also send them presentation documents that will allow them to familiarize themselves with the company, the products, or even their integration plan.
Do not forget the technical part of onboarding at this time, the account creations. There is a blur between HR, the manager, and IT regarding equipment and access. You may not have known it, but there is also software that automates account creation.
Now that you are an expert in human onboarding, I present another equally important aspect of onboarding: IT onboarding.
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What is IT onboarding?
IT onboarding is the set of actions put in place to welcome new employees from an IT point of view. It covers all aspects of the IT department: hardware and accounts. According to a study by Robert Walters, 49% of new arrivals declare that their workstation was not fully installed.
1. Hardware
Make sure their equipment is present and operational on day one, but above all, make sure that access has been transmitted according to security rules. So we forget the password posted on a post-it on the employee's PC 😉.
2. Telephony
Telephony must also be ready, both in terms of hardware and configuration.
3. Account creations
As we saw earlier, an employee without an email address is necessarily blocked, so think ahead about the various settings for instances such as Active Directory, email, Google Workspace / Microsoft 365, Slack, etc.
As account creation is a sensitive part of onboarding, the IT department will ensure that a smooth process is in place. This implies rigor and, unfortunately, many back-and-forths with HR and managers. This is time to take into account.
4. Passwords
Another rule that should be adopted in all companies is that the initial password should be temporary, and employees should be prompted to change it upon their first login.
A solution
For this, IT will certainly need administrative information held by HR; the two departments will need to liaise in advance.
Think automation! Indeed, there are many software solutions that allow you to link your HR source, such as an HRIS, to Active Directory (or other user directories) in order to collect the necessary information without systematically disturbing people in the IT and HR departments. The settings are configured only once, and the risk of errors is eliminated.
Identity and access management (IAM) software is therefore a real asset in employee onboarding.
It resolves many points of friction and saves a lot of time. You automate your account creations, modifications, and suspensions, your password transmission, and your IT stock management. You will also have better management of your licenses by only paying for what you consume.
Here are some questions to ask about the software:
Software compatibility
Cost and connection (cloud)
To prepare your onboarding, you can connect all your software and applications using an IAM solution for easy account creation and information synchronization: who arrives, who leaves.
Make sure the solution can connect to as many of your software and applications as possible.
Be sure to compare solutions; some are very expensive because they integrate into broader frameworks than just IAM. Others are on-premise, meaning they are stored on your servers, which weighs down the software.
Also, consider the ease of connecting to the solution; if it's SaaS, you can connect from anywhere.
The ease of use of the solution
Adapted to the size of my company
An IAM solution can quickly become extremely complex to use.
Make sure that everyone can find their way around it, that it is clear and efficient for HR, with in-depth settings for IT, and a smooth interface for managers.
There are all types of IAM solutions, from ultra-complex solutions adapted to very large companies, but whose implementation and handling are complex. There are also solutions for mid-sized companies and SMEs that are easy to handle and perfectly suited to a large influx of new users, process automation, while ensuring the security of your identities and access.
An onboarding process is therefore crucial, but the departure of an employee should not be treated lightly either. That's why its counterpart, offboarding, which is less well-known and less popular, is also an essential step in the life of a company.
Offboarding, like onboarding, has its key points and risks, so be sure not to neglect it!
Youzer, a specialist in user and account management, helps companies manage their arrival and departure processes. Youzer integrates a workflow process to help HR and IT master their human and IT onboarding.
