Critical Items for Your Employee Onboarding Checklist

Far more than a “new employee orientation” where new hires are briefed on policies and job duties, introduced to co-workers, badged and sent on their way, is a comprehensive onboarding program that is aimed at providing tailored skills-based training to get new hires productive and engaged quickly. The process includes logistics, of course, but more importantly, it involves showing your new employee the big picture to expedite a broad understanding of skills-based training.

The Future of Jobs Report: 2018 by The World Economic Forum found that by 2022, 54% of all employees will require significant re-skilling. By incorporating skills-based training programs into onboarding and continued professional development, it is possible to mitigate the impact of the skills gap. With the unemployment level at a 50-year low (3.5%), finding employees with all of the ‘right’ skills is unlikely. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in training new talent to ensure your business realizes a return on investment.

The following sample onboarding plan for new employees is designed to give you the tools you need to deliver a smooth and successful onboarding experience.

New Employee Onboarding Checklist

Before Your New Hire Starts

In today’s tight job market, the period between a candidate accepting a job offer to their official start date is a critical time in the onboarding process. Continued contact is the key to mitigating the risk of losing your new hire to a competitor before they start.

Calm Those First Day Jitters.

• Call the new hire and confirm the start date, time, place, contact person, parking, dress code, etc.
• Send the new employee a scheduled series of welcome emails.
  • Send an inviting, personalized welcome letter.
  • Send a welcome packet including information about the company culture, policies, and what to expect in the first days and weeks of their employment, including details about skills-based training.
  • Email the new employee company paperwork they can complete ahead of time (tax forms, emergency contact information, etc.).
  • Send an email announcement to your new hire’s department/team. Include start date, employee’s role, and bio. Copy the new employee.
  • If business cards are used for this position, send an email asking how the new employee would like their name to appear.
  • Prepare and send the new staff member’s calendar for the first two weeks.
    • Set up meetings with critical team members for the employee’s first few weeks.
  • Send a confirmation email in the days leading up to the start date. Be sure to include the name of the person the new hire should ask for when they arrive.

Prepare for Skills-Based Onboarding & Training.

• Work with the hiring manager and employment assessment professionals, such as eSkill’s expert team, to develop job-related skills assessments to identify skills gaps.
• Send your new hire a packet explaining skills tests and the benefits the assessments will have on the employee’s overall success and career trajectory.

The First Few Days

Get the New Hire Up to Speed.

• Explain their schedule, job duties, and expectations.
• Introduce the employee to co-workers and provide an overview of their workspace.
• Provide email and voicemail instructions and keys if applicable.

Begin the Skills-Based Training Journey.

• After the initial orientation, explain to the new hire that skills assessments are used to determine the type and amount of training that is needed and that the assessments will be used on a continuous basis to provide tailored training opportunities. Ensure that your new hire understands that these assessments are used to help the employee learn new skills that can be used for career advancement.
• Administer skills tests.
• After reviewing the results of the skills assessments, put together a training program to help the employee get up to speed efficiently.
• Assign the new employee a mentor who can continue to check in on their progress, answer questions as they arise, and offer suggestions.

Beyond the First Days

‘The Forgetting Curve’ was first explained by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885 and has since been repeatedly validated by research. Ebbinghaus discovered that the mind’s loss of retention is exponential, and 30 days after learning new information the ability to recall information flattens out at a fraction of the original ability. Yet many onboarding programs use a front-loaded training approach delivering everything the new hire needs to know in a concentrated session or sessions.

To successfully onboard and train a new employee, it is critical that frequent refresher modules are taught to boost memory, especially within the first 30 days after the initial learning. Implement a repeated cycle of testing, learning or reinforcing the material, and assessing the employee’s confidence in what he or she knows. By using a “questions-first” approach, you can assess the information your employee has mastered, and where they have skill gaps and need additional instruction.

Skills-based training should not stop 60 days, 90 days, or even a year after new talent is acquired. The State of the American Workplace Report by Gallup found that organizations with highly engaged employees experience 22% greater profitability, 21% greater productivity, and up to 65% less turnover. eSkill’s assessments allow companies to tailor training programs to meet the individual needs of each employee. Not only does this customization increase employee engagement, but it sets the company up for success in this ever-evolving age of technology.

This sample onboarding plan for new employees should be used as a starting point for determining how to best integrate skills tests into your company’s employee onboarding and training processes. The professionals at eSkill are available to assist your team in developing customized job-based skills assessments. With a vast library of combinable skills tests and modular subjects, eSkill makes it easy to start the process of skills-based training today.

Interested in Taking Advantage of Skills Tests?

Learn more about the benefits of incorporating eSkill’s skills tests with your new employee onboarding checklist.

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