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The checklist for the HR onboarding process plays a vital role in introducing a new employee to the company’s culture. A checklist helps you preform the best onboarding practices. Human resource professionals know that a valuable onboarding checklist establishes a positive first impression. It is also responsible for increasing employee retention rates and boosting productivity. The checklist, when done right, typically includes steps that are ongoing and can extend the course of an entire year. If you are a human resource professional, consider reading this post to discover ways for creating a valuable HR onboarding checklist.
Think Long-Term
When creating a valuable onboarding checklist, HR managers need to think long-term. A misconception about the onboarding checklist is that it is just a sequence of steps that ends after the employee’s first day. Companies with that mindset experience a much higher turnover rate and have less productive employees. Astute human resource professionals understand that a valuable onboarding checklist includes many points of contact with the new hire. Depending on your industry, this could mean that the process spans weeks, months or years. It is up to you, the human resources professional, to think long-term when creating a valuable onboarding checklist.
Review The Structure
The structure of the onboarding process directly affects the steps in the checklist and is something human resource professionals should occasionally review. If your company has adopted a strong, formal approach, the HR onboarding checklist will likely conform strictly to the four C’s – compliance, clarification, culture and connection. At the other end of the spectrum are the companies that just “wing it” when the new employee walks through the door. When it comes to creating a valuable HR onboarding checklist, it is important that human resource professionals review the structure in place. This way, you will be able to define the steps in the checklist accordingly.
Individualize The Process
When you are creating an onboarding checklist, be sure to add activities to individualize the process. Human resources professionals know that the “one size fits all” approach is not an effective way to immerse employees into the company culture. Instead, they create HR onboarding checklists that incorporate ways to address the unique needs of each individual. For example, you can individualize the process simply by touching base on a regular basis. By doing so, employees are more likely to be engaged and feel vested in the organization. Employees who feel cared about are more likely to believe that they are an important asset to the company. This is why individualizing the process is part of creating a valuable onboarding checklist.
Ask For Feedback
Always consider your HR onboarding checklist as a work-in-progress and ask for feedback from employees each step of the way. This will help you keep track of evolving needs and sharpen your focus on the checklist. When we are all too familiar with a process, we tend to ignore the obvious. Collecting this information can take the form of a formal survey or a conversation in the break room. Regardless, professionals who take the time to ask for feedback are on track to creating a valuable HR onboarding checklist. Employees and companies alike will both benefit from the human resource professional’s efforts in this area.
Integrate With Online Tools
It should come as no surprise that there are many apps to help automate tasks in your HR onboarding checklist. After you have thoughtfully outlined the steps for your onboarding checklist, consider integrating it with online tools. This allows human resource professionals to automate tasks in the checklist including sending welcome emails and contracts to new hires. Moreover, you can use the online tools to collaborate with other members of your team, which ensures that the tasks on the checklist are not overlooked.
A lot of thought goes into creating a valuable HR onboarding checklist. When properly constructed, a checklist is one of the best employee onboarding tools to improve your processes. The steps defined in this process by human resource professionals are essential in helping define the company culture. The key is to think long-term as you review the structure of your onboarding checklist. Additionally, it is important to individualize the process for each individual you hire. Remember, this does not have to be elaborate and can be just a simple follow up conversation. Human resource professionals can always use that opportunity to ask for feedback about the onboarding process and adjust your list accordingly. The integration with an online tool will help you further streamline the steps in your HR onboarding checklist. Whether or not you are starting your checklist from scratch, consider the points in this post for creating a valuable HR onboarding checklist.
