4 Tips to Level Up Your Onboarding and Retain New Hires

Onboarding your new hire is just as important as hiring the right candidate. The perfect candidate for an open role can quickly slip away without a smooth confidence-building process that both welcomes them to the company and trains them to effectively complete their daily tasks.

Over a third of new hires don’t make it past their first month due to inefficiencies in the onboarding process. Onboarding new employees is a crucial moment for welcoming fresh hires – 70 percent of new hires are willing to stay with a company for at least three years if their onboarding experience is positive.

Every company has a different approach to onboarding – and the best companies take the time to introduce their new employee to the people and the technology they will need in their new role. They provide support without overwhelming the new hire and give them projects along the way to test their skills. We’re sure you’re doing all that, so here are four tips you can incorporate into your onboarding process to make your employees feel welcomed and supported.

1. Don’t rush the onboarding 

Train your new hire with interactive video sessions that show every aspect of the company, from culture and the mission statement to the technologies used daily. An innovative way to use video interviews is to send short daily videos that break down otherwise overwhelming information sessions into a series of manageable tasks. 

For example, at LinkedIn, their five-day program includes regular touchpoints so new hires don’t feel overwhelmed or overlooked. Day one covers company values, day two includes an introduction video, day three a LinkedIn executive meeting, day four an online scavenger hunt, and day five a Q&A session with a benefits expert who assists with enrollment activities.

New hires frequently feel overwhelmed with all the information they’re absorbing in the first few days or weeks. To avoid onboarding exhaustion, provide dedicated, bite-sized, on-demand video training sessions complete with questions to see whether they have retained information from their training. By incorporating these mini-quizzes, you reinforce your new hire’s training and see if they need extra support.

2. Provide the essentials

A welcoming video overview of the company can go a long way. Employers might consider opening with a description of the company and mission statement, then transitioning into a role description or department overview. Follow with a technology tutorial and a guide to executing day-to-day activities. It’s always better to provide too many resources than too few in the beginning.   

In addition, no matter how large the company is, it’s always useful to include a company organization chart. New hires often spend a lot of time with their new team, but less time with other employees, which makes it harder to understand the overall company structure.

3. Give each new hire a point person for questions

Scheduling informal virtual lunches and coffee breaks with a mentor can be a relaxed way to integrate someone new into the company culture. Mentors serve to guide the new hire and answer any questions they might have about the new role or company. Mentors should check in regularly and encourage new employees to engage with one another during live group training sessions and 1:1 video chats to build camaraderie, especially on distributed teams. 

4. Ask for feedback at the end of the onboarding process

One of the best ways to improve your onboarding process by integrating video interviewing is to set up an on-demand feedback session for your new hire. At the end of the onboarding period, your new hire should know what they are expected to do and how the company functions, but they might have additional questions or concerns that haven’t been resolved. 

Providing them with a space to air their concerns (or praise your company for a flawless onboarding process) is less stressful in a digital space. Your new employee doesn’t have to look for the acceptance of their hiring manager as they give their feedback, enabling them to respond more sincerely.  

Use interviewstream to onboard and retain new hires

Video interviewing software is ideal for narrowing down the candidate field, building strong interviews, saving time on scheduling, and creating a fast, efficient hiring process. Yet, the benefits don’t end there. You can also use video interviewing technology to improve onboarding for new employees.

We believe that video interviews create a seamless process for you and the candidate, from the first contact to their last feedback session. Hiring the right candidates and onboarding them correctly will ultimately reduce employee turnover and stack your company with quality employees. Let us show you how we can help you today.

About The Author

Esteban Gomez is a marketing consultant with interviewstream. He loves learning and has a passion for traveling, having visited many countries including China, Colombia, Italy, and Peru.