Your candidate has accepted the job offer, signed the dotted line; their references have cleared and you’ve both agreed on a start date. Now you need to start prepping for their arrival. As we know, a positive onboarding experience makes a huge difference to a new hire’s overall impression of an organisation – so it’s important that all the candidate communications and onboarding components are in place to make sure this is what they get.
One part of a successful onboarding experience is the starter pack. The employee welcome pack is not designed to replace the onboarding program; rather, it includes nice-to-know information on business operations, contact information and ‘where things are’ details. Ideally it will be a physical document – with perhaps an electronic copy sent to the new hire – so that from day one they can be comfortable in the knowledge that they have all the information they need.
The employee welcome pack forms part of the overall orientation program, and provide the new starter with the necessary resources to perform their job – setting them up for a successful first day at work. A welcome pack also eases the burden for busy managers, who might not have the time to answer those “nice to know” questions.
Below are the four key components of an effective employee welcome pack.
1. Onboarding plan overview
When onboarding is undertaken digitally, as in the case with HROnboard, this reduces the amount of time HR teams and leaders spend collating forms to be filled out on day one, freeing up time and immersing new starters into their team, faster.
In this instance of virtual induction, the inductee will be prompted by email to complete the necessary onboarding documents such as personal, bank, and superannuation details, read the company policies and procedures, and undertake any role-specific training – but it’s still helpful to outline in the physical welcome pack which onboarding modules they should aim to complete in the first, second and third weeks. This will help the inductee to more effectively manage time spent on onboarding and help to prevent them feeling overwhelmed.
2. IT and login information
No company is immune to IT issues! Every workplace has them, and almost every new hire has questions about new operating systems or login information. Providing the new hire with information on IT systems, and who to contact should any technical issues arise, will help the new hire feel confident and will speed up the time to productivity.
But even before the IT issues come, providing the login information for a new starter’s computer, emails and any other essential applications, is a great way to ensure your newbie feels comfortable in their new role, removing the need for them to gather information from several sources.
3. General info
First and foremost, the welcome pack should include general orientation information on your workplace. This includes everything from an office map to where the office is located and which entrance to use, and details on any sign-in processes required on arrival. It could also include information on where employees can eat their lunch on-premises, and a guide on local hotspots, gyms, and parking information.
An important workplace aspect to cover off is dress code. Many offices these days have a “smart casual” dress policy, but if they are customer-facing, this may not be the case. It’s important that the new hire knows what they should wear on their first day – and if there is a “dress-down Fridays” custom in place.
4. Directory of the organisation’s people
This is a particularly valuable resource in larger organisations, where it is virtually impossible to ever know or remember every employee’s name – let alone in the first few weeks of a new job. Perhaps the most useful element of any orientation document is a digital directory of employees. ELMO, HROnboard’s parent company, offers cloud-based HR solutions (for example Recruitment, Learning & Development), most of which come with directory functionality, so that new starters can look up anyone they need to. This saves time, and potential embarrassment!
Finally, the directory should point out the key people to speak to for different matters in the organisation. For example, those in charge of HR should be clearly identified, so that the employee knows from day one where to go should they ever have a problem.
ELMO Software offers end-to-end solutions for the entire employee lifecycle, from ‘hire to retire’. This includes recruitment, learning, performance management, payroll, rostering / time & attendance, and more. For further information, contact us.