10 Tips for Onboarding with Clarity and Connection
To set up new hires for success in a role requires intentional preparation. While it does take time on the front end, it pays dividends in the long run. When new team members are intentionally welcomed into their positions with a clear understanding of their role, how their work connects them to a broader team, and alignment on expectations, they feel invested and seen from the get go. The process doesn’t guarantee that your new hire will remain on your team forever, but research shows that it’s a strong first step for staff retention.
Our team at KJCG often helps organizations build foundational onboarding plans that can be replicated for all new hires and customized by individual managers based on strengths, growth areas, and preferences of new hires. The tips we’ve compiled below are rooted in the existence of an onboarding plan. If your organization doesn’t already do this, we strongly recommend implementing the process.
Tip #1: Proactively Map Out 90 Day “Milestones”
Think 90 days AHEAD from your new hire’s start date before they even come into the role: What must they be able to do by that point to be considered a fully knowledgeable team member? Spend 5–10 minutes brainstorming to provide a long term view of what success looks like. From that brainstorm, take 5 minutes to work backwards. Ask yourself: What knowledge and skills must they learn to get them to that point? What other people do they need to be connected to? Those are the foundational building blocks of your onboarding plan.
Tip #2: Backwards Plan from 90 Days
More detailed onboarding plans build in milestones for a new hire’s first 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, AND first week. Think to yourself: What will success look like for the new hire at each of those moments? This helps provide clarity for how they will get started in their role, and ultimately grow in responsibility as they learn more. Be sure to scaffold the schedule and have a gradual release of responsibility wherever possible, so you can best set up the new hire for long term success and build their investment in your organization.
Tip #3: Create a Tracking System
Decide what system you will use to track progress on a new hire’s onboarding plan. The system should track various “to dos” and foreshadow next steps from day 1 to day 90.
Tip #4: Focus on Clarity During the First Week
Think of a new hire’s first week as an opportunity to model use of your team’s existing systems — for instance, by using Google Calendar to schedule meetings, using Asana to schedule tasks, or setting up Teams for chat. Build in tasks on the plan to answer common questions: Who should the new hire reach out to with questions? What time does the day end? What communication channels are used most frequently? Remind them of what they are ultimately responsible for doing, and show them how the onboarding plan will scaffold them to that place. We all feel better when we can see how we will be supported.
Tip #5: Provide the Tools They Need
From computers to logins to wifi to key internal documents and broader institutional knowledge, new hires need so many things when they start. And streamlined access to such tools is essential to new hires feeling welcome from day 1. Not sure you’ve got it all ready to go? Ask your existing team members to share the top 3–5 “tools” they need to do their jobs well, and cross check with your onboarding plan.
Tip #6: Focus on Connection From Day 1
One way to achieve this is to integrate into the onboarding plan opportunities to get to know teammates. Give those folks a heads up that the new hire will be reaching out, and model how to use the organization’s scheduling system to set them up. As far as content for these interactions, if possible just frame them as opportunities to get to know the team and the paths others took to get to the organization.
Tip #7: Make Unwritten “Rules” Clear
Make unwritten rules clear so your new hire does not have to second guess themselves. Do teams, for instance, take lunch breaks? If so, what could you do to proactively put that on the calendar? Do folks take calls while on walks, or is the norm to be behind a desk? Do folks reach out directly to C-suite leaders, or do they go through an administrative assistant? If you’re not sure of these norms, invite your broader team to help create this portion of the onboarding plan.
Tip #8: Create Space for Working Styles Conversations
Invite your new hire to reflect on their own communication and working style preferences and then share those in dialogue with the teammates they will work with most regularly. This can preempt tensions from arising later on.
Tip #9: Give them a Small Project to Lead Early On
When possible, give your new hire a small project to lead early in their onboarding process. This project should give them an opportunity to share their individual approach while also allowing you, as the manager, to set some boundaries and schedule time to reflect upon completion. The goal here is not perfection but rather a chance to “grow into” the team culture, address questions and gaps early AND highlight the strengths that your new hire will bring to bigger projects soon.
Tip #10: Build in Opportunities for Connection Past Week 1
Even after the first week, be sure to build time into your new team member’s onboarding plan to have 1:1 check-ins with you, to join team meetings as an observer, etc as needed, and to be able to connect with other teammates. Even when the schedule is busy, it is incredibly important to spend time with your new direct report, to make sure they are clear about their roles and responsibilities, and to start building connections. 30 minute “get to know you” conversations can help build trust across teams beyond the first week and bring new hires in contact with senior leaders as well.
In sum, the onboarding plan is not your work to do with the new hire, but the compass for them to feel not only ready for their job but seen as a human within your broader organization. If you’d like to schedule time to talk more about how we can support with the onboarding process, please let us know.
