In the past six months we have seen a flood of conferences, webinars, teleconferences, articles and studies around the topic of onboarding. Each offers to help HR professionals relieve the pressure they are under to develop a program that is right for their organization.
Before we can "master" we should first focus on the basics by defining the following:
- the business case for onboarding in your organization
- objectives for onboarding
- the audience for whom the onboarding program is intended
- roles and responsibilities of the three primary participants; new employee, hiring manager and human resources for both creating and implementing the program
- how your will measure progress and success
If we jump to designing a "solution" before these basic building blocks are in place, the onboarding process will likely fall flat and become another HR program that misses the opportunity to add value.
So, take the time to build a solid foundation by defining the basics and you will "master onboarding".