The world of work has changed almost beyond recognition as we know it in the past two years since the pandemic begun. I’ve met many people who started a new role without ever meeting their colleagues on day 1.

A lot of focus and effort goes into finding the right talent but once they are through the door, we need to ensure focus and effort on creating a positive and inclusive experience throughout their journey.

So how do you ensure a positive and inclusive induction and onboarding process especially now as many employers have adopted a hybrid working model? 

In this highly competitive candidate driven market, employers know it is important to offer the right package of benefits that entice wider pool of candidates to apply. 

But once in the door, how do you ensure they have positive experience to avoid the costly mistakes of high turnover?

Top tips: 

• Make them feel welcome and create a good impression before they start. Simple things like sending a card or inviting them to a virtual or hybrid team lunch or coffee can help them to get to know you and your team better.

• Introduce a buddy system to assign a new starter to an employee to help them integrate and build relationships with other colleagues

• Send weekly updates including any all staff newsletters so they can keep up to date with what’s going on.

• Plan a schedule for the new starter in advance including any important things they need to know like ensuring they have the right tech set up at home, get familiar with the different communication channels and where to access information remotely e.g. important policies like the Employee Handbook.

•  Set up meetings (video/hybrid/in office) with key people in advance, ensure a clean tidy desk and welcome pack to create a positive experience first few days of joining the team.

•  Ensure all team members know their start date and organise a team lunch or if they work remotely, part- time or different location you could arrange a video conference or plan somewhere that is convenient for a team gathering. 

• Prioritise a day for the team to get together in person to meet the new starter and for them to get to know everyone.