Employee onboarding is an essential process for welcoming new hires and helping them to become productive members of your organization.
While the focus of onboarding is often on the practical aspects of getting a new employee set up with the tools and resources they need to do their job, it’s also important to create an emotional connection with new hires.
Here are a few simple activities you can incorporate into your employee onboarding process to help build an emotional connection with new employees:
Personalised welcome
Start the onboarding process by sending a personalized welcome message to new hires, either via email or in person. This can include a message from the hiring manager or a member of the leadership team, as well as a welcome packet or gift.
This will help new hires feel valued and appreciated from the very beginning. You can have a small get together with a few important employees who the new hire will be communicating with and maybe tell your stories as a newbie in the company and how you were able to overcome the challenges and make him/her feel at home.
Focusing on a single incident or obstacle will allow you to examine all of the emotions, abilities, and knowledge involved.
Buddy program
Pair new hires with a “buddy” or mentor from the organization. This person can help to answer questions, provide guidance, and introduce new hires to the culture and norms of the organization.
It’s a great way to create an emotional connection between new hires and the company.
In addition, you can organize peer coaching, or physical mentoring sessions(maybe once a week) with experienced staff members and new hires. Until the new employees find their feet, the experienced members of the team can provide direction and assistance with the tasks to be carried out by the new hire.
Team-building activities
Staying or leaving an organization doesn’t only depend upon materialistic factors like salary, bonus, growth opportunities. Employees, being human beings, crave for social ties even in an office setting.
So, incorporating team-building activities into the onboarding process, such as group lunches or team-building exercises will help new hires to feel a sense of belonging and connectedness to their team.
It does not always have to be physical activities. You can try virtual onboarding activities like virtual team games, remote team welcome lunch, coffee breaks, new hire scavenger hunt and so on. You can literally convert physical activities into virtual activities.
Culture immersion
Provide new hires with an in-depth understanding of the company’s culture, values, and mission. This could include a presentation from the leadership team, or a tour of the office and introductions to key members of the organization.
By understanding the company’s culture, new hires will feel more emotionally connected to the organization.
Providing a buddy or mentor at the time of joining can be helpful to provide an in-depth understanding of the company’s values and what the company expects from the employee as well.
Encourage feedback
Provide new hires with the opportunity to share their thoughts and feedback throughout their onboarding process. It is important to give new hires an opportunity to express any concerns or ideas they may have to improve the onboarding process for future employees. This helps new hires feel heard, valued and as a part of the team.
Overall, employee onboarding is a critical process for welcoming new hires and helping them to become productive members of your organization. By incorporating these simple activities into your employee onboarding process, you can help to build an emotional connection with new employees and set them up for success.
