The Importance of Pre-Onboarding for New Hires and How to Make It Successful

The first few weeks or months of employment are essential for any new hire’s journey at an organization. Employees enter a new environment and can feel uncomfortable at times and might choose to leave before getting settled in. Having a pre-onboarding process is a great way to build your employer’s brand while making the employee onboarding process much smoother.

New Hire Pre-Onboarding

Pre-onboarding is a stage between when a candidate signs an offer letter and when they begin their first day at your company. You can use this time by sharing information about the organization and policies, preparing new hires for what to expect once they start, and delighting them on their first day.

Engaging new hires before their first day at the office not only makes an excellent first impression but also boosts productivity and improves employee retention.

Here are the best strategies you can implement in order to streamline the pre-onboarding process:

New Hire Announcements

Introduce new hires with company-wide email announcements. You can detail their work history when their first day is and share their LinkedIn or Facebook profile for the team to connect with ahead of time. Highlight why you are so excited to have them join. This can help the new hires be more valued and excited to be included in their team.

Provide Clear Guidance for Day One

Share essential company information and send clear instructions to new hires for the first day. Provide appropriate materials before their first day – for example, an employee handbook, a benefits guide, details on employee resource groups, etc.

This helps new hires familiarize themselves with what you’re offering. When new hires know exactly what is provided to them and expected from them before their first day at the office, enrolling them on day one will be easier.

Start using eSignature software and enable recruits to sign all company documents digitally. Making this part of the pre-onboarding process and saving you lots of time when it comes to onboarding.

Implement Continuous Conversations

Many candidates fear asking about vacations and employee benefits during the recruitment process. You can remove these concerns during their pre-onboarding by sending the new hire packet. You can provide all the information about parking rules, break periods, organization benefits, holidays, and much more. Ensure all the information is digital so they can save it and refer back to it when needed. Configure automatic email notifications, so the right information is sent at the right point to avoid information overload at once.

Design Custom Pre-Onboarding Processes

Hiring new employees might be a routine task for your recruiting team, but for the candidates, accepting a job offer is perhaps not something they usually do. Consider the individual needs of your new hires and design their pre-onboarding process accordingly. Take an interest in their well-being; this works better for boosting job satisfaction rates.

Managers play a crucial role in the pre-onboarding process. A simple conversation over the phone is an excellent way for managers to get to know the new hire and answer their questions if any. This also helps make meaningful introductions between the new hire, manager, and the team on their first day.

Share Appropriate Information

Share relevant information with new hires, including answers to those most frequent questions new hires have or need access to. Any relevant information for their team and new role. It helps new hires better understand how their team works, what the current focus is, and what needs to be completed. Most candidates are very keen on accessing this information early on, and giving them the opportunity to do so helps everyone benefit.

Create First-Week Schedules

Create a schedule outlining the first week for your new hires. When it’s ready, send the package of documents and tasks to them a few days in advance. Most new hires always want to know what is awaiting them, and what could be accomplished early, plus it’s an excellent way to help them combat their first-day nerves.

The Takeaway

Pre-onboarding is an effective way for new hires to get to know their new workplace. New hires are not stunned on their first day and can reach productivity much faster. At the same time, you can save valuable time and boost your employees’ engagement from the start. With an advanced, AI-assisted recruitment software solution, it can become a seamless part of your hiring process.

SutiHR’s recruitment module kickstarts new-hire pre-onboarding before the first day at work. You can design a pre-onboarding track for new hires and share necessary information.