5 Innovative Pre-Boarding Strategies to Keep New Hires Engaged Before Their First Day

While it’s true that companies spend a lot of money on new hires, it’s also crucial to remember that about 33% of new hires begin looking for a new job within the first six months of starting their employment.

Employee turnover expenses range from 100% to 300% of the compensation of the replaced employee. As a result, it is critical to guarantee that employees begin to experience a sense of belonging from the very start.

“Workers want to feel connected to their job, manager, and organization,” according to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace survey from 2017. If those links aren’t present, employees are more likely to leave, forcing their company to repeat the costly recruitment, hiring, and onboarding process.

Drafting a successful pre-boarding strategy and getting your new hires ready for their new jobs before the onboarding session starts can help them stick around. But how do you go about it once you send the job offer? Let’s find out.

Five Killer Pre-boarding Strategies You Can’t Miss

Step 1: Make New Hires Feel Welcomed

It is easier to break the ice if new hires feel they have made the right choice. While they decide on that, your welcome gifts should make them feel comfortable. For example, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Google provide extravagant welcome kits with branded pens, notebooks, mugs, and tote bags.

Do you want to know how you can make every new hire feel welcomed yet simultaneously save time? Consider a mix of the personalized and automated pre-boarding welcome kits to make them feel valued:

• A handmade, personalized postcard, for example, communicates that you realize your new employee is worth the extra work without increasing pre-boarding costs
• You can also send them an automated welcome email expressing your delight at their joining the company
• You may install chatbots to answer their queries
• You can send an inaugural onboarding video from the CEO or hiring manager or a message from a team member with some on-the-job tales and insider suggestions
• Also, one informal meeting with team members who would be in charge of showing them around the office and workstation and introducing them to everyone, in a manner somewhat close to the “buddy” system used by many institutions for new students who join midterm

Microsoft has also launched a buddy program for new hires. This training greatly influenced the new hires’ perceptions of their speed and productivity. In their first ninety days, 97% of employees who connected with their pals more than eight times reported an increase in productivity.

Step 2: Engage Them Early On

Employers must ensure that new employees are adequately informed about the company’s culture, accomplishments, growth path, values, etc. Doing this is one of the best employee engagement strategies you can use.

You can utilize videos and infographics to deliver this information to them before their joining date. Employers should focus on developing a decent career website and staying in touch with candidates until their first job day.

This will let them understand that the company is preparing for the new hire’s arrival, and it will also guarantee that they turn up on the first day, instead of disappearing as many candidates do.

What else can be done to engage them better during the pre-boarding stage?

Tip 1: Provide FAQs in Advance

Answer questions before they have to ask. A little knowledge can go a long way toward reducing stress during this time. It prevents miscommunication, job ambiguity, and rookie mistakes on the first day.

You can provide a list of pre-boarding and onboarding FAQs to your new hires. The closer they are to their start date, the more effective it will be.

• What are the hours of operation?
• Who would be the reporting manager? And who else is on my team?
• Will training be provided? How long will the training last?
• How long will the probation be? What will be the leave policies?
• How to find a parking spot? Directions to the office if complicated?
• Will there be any dress code?
• Is there a water cooler in the office?
• How would you describe the culture?
• How do you check-in?

Enrolling new hires on day one is much easier when they know precisely what is available to them and what is expected before even walking through the office door.

Making this a part of the pre-boarding process not only drives them to become familiar with the day-to-day operations of the firm (and the company culture), but it also saves you time during onboarding.

“Organizations that do not focus on acclimating new employees to their company culture are at a big disadvantage,” Amber Hyatt, SHRM-SCP, explained. “Employees who understand their company’s culture and work environment make better decisions that are more consistent with the company’s recognized standards.”

Tip 2: Have Them Make a Personalized Intro Video

Empower your new hires to seize ownership of their first impression through a tailored introductory video.

This is a terrific way to start a conversation with new hires and existing coworkers. Having something to talk about other than work will bring your team closer, affecting their productivity.

You can give your new hires some pointers on what they can include in the video:

• Their function
• Their interests
• Where did they work previously?
• What do they anticipate? What excites them?
• An interesting fact about them

Tip 3: Offer a Sneak Peek

Make a schedule for your new hires’ first week on the job. Then, email it to them a few days ahead of time after it’s finished. Your employees likely want to know what’s in store for them. This small gesture will go a long way toward easing their first-day jitters.

You might also send out digital calendar invites for the following events:

• Session of employee onboarding
• Meetings for in-house training
• Lunches that have been planned
• Send calendar information for whatever you’ve planned

Step 3: Reinforce Your Employee Value Proposition

You are utilizing the pre-boarding process to reinforce the EVP displays that you’re a company that follows through on its commitments and shows that your managers care about the new team members.

How does this help?

• Firstly, requesting input on your hiring process helps you get current-of-mind feedback to help you improve your hiring process.
• Secondly, you’re priming your new hire to feel appreciated to make a difference by adding their viewpoint, and you’re establishing a continual line of feedback, all critical retention measures.

According to a survey, 72% of job applicants complained about a horrible hiring experience on social media, and this negative publicity may be discouraging top talent from applying: After reading a negative review online, 55% of job seekers decided not to use to a company.

So it’s essential to ask for feedback during the pre-boarding to prevent yourself from landing in such a position and eventually losing the candidate.

Another workplace incentive that will attract new talent to your organization and improve your EVP is company swag. Most important is that this accurately reflects your company’s tone, culture, and spirit. Some things to think about are:

• Employee handbook
• Snacks
• Merchandise for the company
• Office supplies
• Mentorship programs

Amber Hyatt was cited by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) when she said that “Mentoring programs can be as simple as assigning a new employee a go-to person or having an elaborate team of mentors for any questions that might arise.” These programs can provide great support to new hires.

Step 4: Invite Them to a Pre-boarding Hangout

The pre-boarding period doesn’t have to entail engaging your recruits with emails and phone calls. Instead, focus on strategic communication about topics that will be important to them as they progress through their careers.

According to the Harvard Business Review, “Up to 20% of new hires quit within the first 45 days,” forcing companies to start over with sunk expenses from earlier recruiting efforts. Without any actual relationships, a new hire may begin to drift away in search of other, more relevant chances.

What can you do to stop this?

For new employees, an informal get-together with team members is a terrific way to start forming relationships before their first day on the job.

Although popular meals and happy hours, little get-to-know-you discussions can also help form early ties.

• Why not invite them to lunch if you have the time and the funds? Their future manager, as well as the rest of the team, should all be present. This ideal location allows you to meet and converse in a more relaxed atmosphere, eliminating those awkward first-day introductions.
• If lunch isn’t an option, you may organize a video call instead. Yes, it’s more formal, but it allows you to meet everyone before their first day.
• Is your workplace particularly friendly? Do you host any social gatherings or team celebrations? If that’s the case, invite the new hire to join you.
• Consider pairing new hires with one or two prospective coworkers who are business culture role models. Pick individuals who reflect your organization to function as an introductory buddy throughout the process, rather than limiting invites to a new hire’s direct report.

Step 5: Get a Head Start On Admin Tasks

Nothing is more stressful than starting a new job and discovering that neither IT nor office management is ready.

On the one hand, this step entails preparing new employees for their new roles inside your company in advance, which comprises delivering firsthand information about your company’s culture, perks, and policies, which aid in establishing job-specific expectations.

On the other hand, preparing your hiring managers, IT member, or the founders to welcome the new hire is also important.

Your hiring department together must be head-started with automation tools helping them to prepare all the documentation, like tax forms) for final onboarding, send it over to the new hire before the first day. Now is the time to start using eSignature if you haven’t already. We recommend that new hires digitally sign your company’s documentation.

Jill Chapman, Human Resources expert at SHRM explained that “when you get all (or most) of the paperwork checked off before a new employee’s first day, it allows for a great deal of interpersonal interaction with new coworkers from the get-go.”

Furthermore, your IT team must set up all the required software and guide the new hires to finish all the sign-ups. Assisting them and setting up their new email address is also one of the things you might accomplish for them before they join.

Nowadays, companies also set up the software to learn so that the candidates get well versed with the company’s product and services, compliances, and target audience before joining. This helps in continually tagging the candidate’s interest and engaging them in your company.

Ready to Launch Your Pre-boarding Process?

Giving your employees an excellent pre-boarding experience enhances your reputation as a quality employer and increases the likelihood that they will stay with you longer.

Contact us at Recruiter.com to learn more about how to boost employee engagement before their first day and avoid the trouble of rehiring. We’ll assist you in determining the most effective method for retaining prospects during the pre-boarding process.

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