It is said that the first impression is the last impression. So, it is the first and foremost duty of employers to make onboarding a smooth experience, which encourages employees to build a long-term relationship with the organization. Try adding some fun elements to the onboarding experience.
If you are not able to figure out how you can make onboarding fun, check out these five pro tips to get you started.
1) Buddying up: The first day at a new office is a novel experience. Everything is new – the organization, its culture, and the peer group. Assign a buddy to the new joiner who will help him/her adjust to the new environment, understand the culture, and even introduce to other employees. With their buddies by their side, new joiners won’t feel aloof in the new environment. Buddying up helps employees feel comfortable, helping to quickly adapt to their new environment.
2) Gamification: Using gamification in onboarding helps to serve two purposes: it adds the fun element to something very serious and helps employees go through the onboarding process at a faster pace. Research shows that about 17 percent of organizations use game elements in their onboarding plan, though more organizations can benefit by incorporating gamification in their HR processes. Employee engagement improves significantly with the use of gamification. It also helps mitigate a number of onboarding mistakes and challenges.
3) Introductions: Onboarding should not be limited to introducing an employee to the team. It is the perfect opportunity to introduce the organization’s policies, vision, mission, and goals to the new employee. If, during the onboarding process, new employees are introduced to their role in the organization, they will be able to relate more with their job, which will help in better employee retention.
4) Showing the bigger picture: Onboarding should not just get over with the introductions but should be an introduction of a step ahead, right from career advancement opportunities to the appraisals.
5) Warm welcomes: What is more heart-warming for employees than to feel special as they receive warm welcomes when they enter a decorated bay area, a welcome cake waiting for them, along with a gift? Employees who receive warm welcomes get a boost to their confidence levels, which helps them to connect quickly with the office environment.
Hiring the right employee is a difficult task and building rapport with new employees at the beginning is more difficult. These quick tips will make onboarding fun and will also help in building a better relationship with new employees.
