Why onboarding results in
better employees and
a strong employer brand

Why is onboarding so important?

The answer is simple: Your new employee will be faster, more effective and better integrated with the company and the team when you introduce her or him to systems, tasks, colleagues and company culture through a planned and thought-out process.

Consider this scenario: It’s the new employee’s first day of work, and you haven’t sent any information about the company, and you won’t help with any info. It’s up to the employee to fetch everything that is needed to become an integral part of the company and be able to do the job. That employee will leave the business before the end of the week!

So, why onboarding? A planned and structured onboarding program ensures that:

• The new employee receives all relevant information before the first day of work.
• He or she gets access to email, intranet, CRM and other needed software.
• He or she learns about the company and the culture in the workplace.
• You introduce the new employee all colleagues and managers.

Your new employee will know everything that is needed to do the job and to cooperate and work with the rest of the team much faster.

Prepare an onboarding package

You can prepare a physical folder of all the things you deem most important (this includes documents on company culture and more), or you can upload everything to the cloud, or if you want to be more modern you can produce video content about the organisation, presentation of the team(s) and the managers, and more. You decide what to include in the package - Do what you feel is the best fit for your company and be sure it’s in line with your company culture!

Assign a contact person or, if you want to sound a bit more fresh, a “best buddy”, who will be your new employee’s primary touchpoint during the first week. This way, you spread the “workload” when onboarding new employees. You can train 2-3 employees as “onboarding ambassadors” so the whole company takes ownership over the onboarding process - When everyone’s invested and knows the positive effect of onboarding, the process and end-result will improve so much more!

Introduction of the new employee

Let the new employee control the content of the announcement by asking your new colleague to write the email herself/ himself. That way, you allow the employee to take ownership of the introduction and ensure that the narrative is in the spirit of the new employee.

How you do the physical introduction is entirely up to you. On the other hand, you could let your new colleague decide. That will go hand in hand with the overall theme of making the employee take ownership of the introduction. Whether you choose to go for a big debut in the main hall or a more intimate tour of the offices, we believe everyone must meet their new colleague!

Fewer hours in the first week

The brain can only take so much in the first week at a new job. There’s no need to step on the gas and drain the mind of all energy, so consider turning down the intensity during the first week. There’s no need to try stuffing the brain with all sorts of info after the opening 5-6 hours, so we suggest you allow the employee to go home a couple of hours after lunch.

You want your new employee to absorb and understand all the information he or she receives and ready for the next day. By reducing the daily work hours during the first week, you allow your employee to consume, understand and use all the relevant information that he or she receives during the first week!

What about relocated employees?

Congratulations on hiring an international employee! It’s a massive step for both the candidate and your company, so we understand if you’re a bit nervous about how the process will unfold. However, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Read our in-depth guide on how to help your new international employee move to Denmark! When you’ve hired and relocated a foreign employee once every next relocation process becomes a walk in the park!

As we’ve mentioned in our blogs about employee retention and how to keep your employees happy, investing in your employees is fantastic for your employer brand. Every action you take that benefits your employees has a positive impact on your employer brand. You want your employees and ex-employees to say “You want to work there, the company is great, and they take great care of you” to friends and acquaintances. With a strong employer brand, your company will be more attractive to talented tech candidates!