9 Key Elements of a Sample Onboarding Plan for New Employees
A well drafted sample onboarding plan for new employees can provide an HR professional or a line manager with a step-by-step planning. This will ensure that new hires receive all the essential information at the start of their employment. This will enable them to perform in their roles and act in accordance to the norms of their new workplace.
A sample onboarding plan for new employees should aim to increase the teamwork among the employees and improve office culture. Moreover, it should also aim at recouping the costs of onboarding a new employee. This is possible when you attain fast productivity and contribute to the team efforts.
The following are the key features that we decided to include in our sample onboarding plan for new employees. Our plan is based on the strategic onboarding framework.
Key 1: Ahead of Day 1
Any activity and interaction that occurs prior to day one belongs to the Preboarding Stage. Preboarding includes activities such as receiving a welcome message from your new manager, and the logistical set-up that would enable you to do your job as early as day one (especially related to your IT onboarding process).
Key 2: Day 1 Orientation
The activities included in your Day 1 orientation (Onboarding day) are crucial for setting the tone for the overall onboarding process and its success. A sample onboarding schedule for your first day at work would include personal introduction to the other team members, as well as an introductory presentation of the organisation, its mission and vision.
Key 3: First Week Activities
Some first week activities which you can expect in the first week include: participating in a social activity with the whole department/ section / team, as well as some cross-department introductions. These will enable you to gain a better understanding of the organisational structure of your new company in practice.
Additionally, you can also expect planning and revision of your onboarding process here. Once you get a first point of contact, you receive all your equipment, and you meet the key stakeholders involved in your process, you can have a first idea of how your onboarding will shape out for the following weeks. You can also expect here to set together with your manager your employee onboarding process metrics. KPIs are a necessary part for such a complex process like onboarding. Having clear objectives will also help you track the progress of your journey.
Once you acquire more clarity, you can solicit additional support, if necessary.
Key 4: The First 3 Months Schedule
The first 3 months schedule includes the necessary on-the-job training to be provided for equipping yourself and fellow new employees with the skills you need to perform effectively on the job.
Furthermore, organisations often start tracking your performance early to that you fulfill your onboarding goals. You can expect allocation of smaller tasks and projects at first. You will eventually transition into taking more ownership of projects, as your onboarding process progresses.
Again, you can expect some progress tracking meetings along the way. That will ensure that you are on track, meeting the milestones of your onboarding journey.
Key 5: The First 12 Months
After the first 12 months, it is important for your employer to review your journey to date. This meeting would not only survey your performance, but also your feelings for being a part of the team. At that point in time you can consider yourself integrated in the team. (You can discover here a sample of onboarding survey questions.)
Additionally, you can start thinking about your development within the organisation. You can decide together with your manager or your mentor what your development goals would be. Furthermore, you will decide on the timeline for achieving those goals.
Key 6: Continuous Feedback
Feedback collection is crucial feature for our sample onboarding plan for employees.This is because it allows both yourself and your employer to have a progress and status report. It is also providing a platform for learning and adjusting.
You benefit from feedback and surveying by expressing your needs and receiving additional support in any “problematic” areas. At the same time, the employer has an opportunity to gain insights that can shape future onboarding efforts.
Key 7: Tools and Software Solutions
The trend of automating processes is also apparent in the way multiple organisations carry out their onboarding. This is especially the case for employers with large volumes of new hires and a global distribution.
More precisely, multiple employee onboarding solutions have emerged on the market. Their aim is to make onboarding more seemless, less error prone, more engaging and more resource efficient.
Employee onboarding software solutions, such as introdus, leverage multimedia content and pre-made modules. Your employer combines the available modules to match your specific role and department. Additionally, they can implement additional tools so as to ensure a smooth journey. A classic example of such tools is a well-structured onboarding checklist.
A sample onboarding plan for new employees should be supported by checklist of activities that your will undertake every stage of your onboarding process. You can download our free onboarding checklist template below:
Get the Checklist
You can also consult a more specialised onboarding planning, with our software developer onboarding article. The article also includes a checklist and a list of best practices.
Key 8: Gamification
Another feature of an onboarding plan for new employees that is gaining popularity lately is gamification. Onboarding gamification introduces game-based elements like competition, scores, and rewards to boost your morale as you experience Pre & Onboarding. Additionally, it aids you in building engagement with your new company.
Key 9: Onboarding Agendas
During your onboarding process you will have multiple meetings. Some will be informal and focused on socialisation and relationship building. Others will be essential for setting the goals and objectives of your onboarding. Additionally, progress meetings will track your progress for reaching those goals and objectives.
An onboarding agenda template is a ready-to-use onboarding tool that your organisation can leverage to communicate to you the key objectives and talking points for each meeting. In this way you can feel prepared for every single one.
For example, you can expect the first meetings with your manager to touch on role clarification and setting milestones. You ca know to prepare in advance if you receive a meeting agenda in advance.
