Onboarding Best Practices: Taking It to the Next Level
Moving from traditional orientation to onboarding best practices ensures that your new hires achieve full productivity faster and strengthens new hire retention. Once you have an effective onboarding program in place, multiple benefits can be realized by applying onboarding best practices beyond your new hires.
Leading organizations are extending onboarding to existing employees transitioning to new roles.
Onboarding Best Practices for Existing Employees
Employees transitioning to a new role benefit from their knowledge of the organization and its culture, as well as established relationships. However, the work environment, performance expectations, and tasks of their new position can differ significantly from those of their previous role. Employees can still struggle in a new role despite their familiarity with the organization itself.
New role onboarding is a best practice we recommend to our clients. Although onboarding will be shorter and less comprehensive for the existing employee, providing guidance and support to the employee can ensure a smooth transition.
When onboarding your existing employees, consider the following:
What job tasks and performance standards will the employee need to understand?
What new relationships will the employee need to build?
What are the communication styles and expectations of the new team and leader?
What work procedures and policies are unique to the position?
What training and skill development will the employee need?
How will the employee’s performance be measured at end of the probationary period?
Job transitions can be difficult, even for seasoned employees. Each new situation and team has a different dynamic and culture. By extending onboarding best practices to existing employees, you can ensure that employees transition to their new roles successfully.
Content Editors or Webmasters: You may reprint this article providing you include the following “About the Author” information in its entirety. (Including a hyperlink to www.LeadingforLoyalty.com):
Wendy Phaneuf is a professional speaker and author and a global expert in employee motivation and retention. Wendy is also the Founder of The Training Source and www.LeadingforLoyalty.com — a one-stop information source that helps leaders and their organizations enhance employee motivation and retention.
