When engaged in continuous improvement (CI) it’s important to frequently assess our approach, starting with the foundation.

When it comes to engaging employees, the process begins with onboarding, which is the process for welcoming new employees. Among other things, onboarding is an opportunity to make new hires feel confident in their decision to accept the position as well as in their new role and team.

Despite the fact that onboarding sets the tone for the rest of your new employee’s experience at your company, and despite the fact that effective onboarding has a strong impact on retention and productivity levels, data shared by SHRM, Indeed, and others indicates that over 80% of businesses don’t have a very good onboarding plan.

If you’d like to improve your employee onboarding process you might start by considering the following best practices:

• Start communicating before your new hire’s first day
• Prepare well in advance
• Set up the employee’s workspace before they arrive
• Send out a new employee announcement including name, role, etc. If done by email, cc them
• Pair new employees with a peer mentor / “buddy”
• Ask new employees for their feedback early-on in the process and several months into the process