As an advisor to small businesses, one question I often get asked is: Why is it so hard to find and keep good people? One area business owners often overlook is a strong onboarding process as part of their overall strategy.
Onboarding for small businesses is critical and can be the difference between an engaged and motivated employee who delivers consistently and forms part of the culture, versus someone who, after the initial excitement of joining your business, is exploring new opportunities outside of your business within the first twelve months.
Given that small businesses often operate with lean teams and tight budgets, every new hire counts, and the cost of employee turnover can be significant.
Here are a few key strategies for building a strategic onboarding plan.
Culture fit: Given the importance of finding and keeping good staff, strategic onboarding starts before you even hire the new employee. Ideally, if it is a full-time role, the recruitment process should include a psychometric assessment. This allows you to understand more about the employees and how they might work with the rest of the team. Very few companies take the time to explore this, which can be costly. Get clear on why you are hiring, the role the new employee will undertake and how you will measure their success. It may also be worth involving other key team members who will be working closely with you in the interview process.
Once hired, it’s important to make the new employee feel part of the team. Some ways to do this include:
Welcome pack: Provide your new employee with a welcome pack, which can include a welcome letter, key contacts in the company, a simple playbook (which highlights and provides background about the company, its mission, etc.) and, although not essential, a few branded items, a pen, notepad, coffee mug, water bottle, etc.
Values, Mission, and Vision: Start with the foundations and ensure the new team member understands your values and what your business stands for.
This will help them understand how / where they fit into the business and the importance of their role.
Set clear expectations and build relationships early: As someone who has worked both for and in small businesses, one thing that cannot be underestimated is the importance of ensuring that the team bonds quickly and that the new team members are welcomed.
Introduce them to the team with a welcome email and hold a get to know you session.
Set expectations early around performance with agreed check-ins with their manager and provide guidance on how to get help if required, encouraging curiosity through regular dialogue.
Explore existing resources and tools: Many small businesses may not have access to an HR team. Build a simple framework, based on the resources you have at your disposal that don’t require additional cost (such as an Excel onboarding worksheet / checklist) and use this to ensure you cover the fundamentals for a new employee. If you are using technology like ChatGPT, ask it to build you a simple template and then put it into Excel and then customise it for your business.
During the initial period, the first 4 weeks or so, assign a mentor / buddy, someone who knows your systems, processes, who can support the new employee on their journey. Additionally, continue to check in for the first four weeks or so to see how they are settling in.
Explore areas to streamline and improve: Seek feedback from the team and the new employee on areas where the onboarding process could be streamlined and improved.
A key part of success in onboarding new members to the team is to help new employees feel a part of the business by understanding how their role contributes to the business, so that the new employees feel valued and supported and enjoy what they do. Working in a small business can be challenging, but with a supportive team that is collaborative and engaged in their work, growth is inevitable.
If you would like some help with onboarding new team members or even finding the right fit, please don’t hesitate to contact Joanne or Martin for further information at hello@eyb.net.au
