How Can I Prepare to Onboard Employees?

It can feel daunting to implement an onboarding flow whether you’re a new manager faced with onboarding employees for the first time or a seasoned HR pro looking for some new tactics like an onboarding process checklist. Don’t worry! Here at Yourco, we’ve got you covered.

The key to efficient and effective onboarding is a good process, like the ADDIE model. Of course, there are many different ways you can (and should!) adopt a model like this, but it’s a great foundation for how to think about onboarding.

The steps laid out by the ADDIE model are: Assess, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. Let’s take a closer look at each one so you can be prepared for your next onboarding.

Assess: What Strategies Do You Use to Effectively Onboard Your New Employees?

Odds are that your company already has an onboarding process in place. While there’s no need to reinvent the wheel, it’s also true that you shouldn’t do things just for the sake of tradition. Look at what already exists with a critical eye; gather information on what works well, what isn’t working, and where the gaps are. One of the best ways to get this information is to poll your most recent hires. Since they just went through the current process, you’ll get a fresh perspective on what already exists.

Design: Anticipate Non-Desk and Remote Onboarding Challenges

Now’s the time to make your plan! Using the information you’ve collected in the previous step, you should have a great foundation to start with. However, don’t forget that not all employees have the same onboarding needs!

For example, think about the experience of your non-desk and remote employees. Non-desk employees often don’t have access to email while remote employees tend to be inundated with messages. For both of these cases, it’s extremely easy for them to miss important onboarding messages if you’ve built your communication plan around email.

With your non-desk and  remote onboarding process, consider using a tool like Yourco. Our easy-to-use platform allows you to text new hires (as well as current employees), reaching them where they’re at. And, research shows that text messages are more effective: businesses that send onboarding texts via Yourco have an average open rate of 98% while email has just a 20% open rate.

Develop: Create Resources and Collateral

This next step can seem overwhelming—especially when there’s a lot of information to create. Consider making an onboarding process checklist first to help you keep track of everything that needs to be made. Gather all of your forms in one place so that you can easily send them out in the next step.

With Yourco, you can even create your messages ahead of time using the scheduling feature, attaching the appropriate forms and materials for your new hires. For example, once you’ve created or updated a standard operating procedure, you can draft a text explaining it and attach the document and schedule it to send out at the appropriate time.

Implement: Carry Out Your Onboarding Plan

Thanks to all the preparation you’ve done, implementation should be a breeze. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all the technology options available to make onboarding easier for you and your new hires. For example, with Yourco, if your new employee forgets to turn in all of their paperwork, they can simply take a picture on their phone and text it to you!

Don’t forget to check in with your new hires throughout implementation, making sure that they are fully enabled during the onboarding. Ask if they’re getting the information they need, ensure that they’re understanding instructions, and provide them with all the necessary tools at each step.

Evaluate: Did You Effectively Onboard an Employee?

Last, but definitely not least, evaluate your process from both perspectives. It’s important to gather feedback from all involved parties, including managers and new employees. Carefully consider which aspects of the onboarding process went well and which ones could be improved. Be sure to ask about gaps so you can know what to address in the next onboarding cycle.

So, How Do You Create an Employee Onboarding Plan? With Yourco by Your Side!

Discover how simple onboarding for non-desk employees can be (as well as ongoing internal communication) with Yourco! Our SMS texting tools include:

• Custom manager access levels 
• Employee group segmentation
• Automatic documentation
• Language translations
• And more!

With Yourco, you’ll have the ability to easily communicate with your team whenever necessary. Contact us for demo or try for free!