Onboarding Best

Practices
March 2016
 Why is proper onboarding
important?
Welcoming new employees properly is not only good for morale, but financially
prudent.

—  The cost of replacing an entry-level employee is 30-50 percent of the

person’s annual salary. And, for mid and senior-level employees it can reach
150 - 400 percent respectively. Onboarding done right, reduces turnover.1

—  Proper onboarding also reduces time-to-productivity therefore within weeks

new and veteran employees are working on close to the same level.

—  On-boarding and engraining employees into organizational culture and

workplace is particularly important for diverse new hire retention, particularly
when they are under-represented. The first year is often the most telling.
Why is proper onboarding
financially important?
 On Boarding Plan Best Practices- Engaging and retaining diverse talent
Its important to note that first year is a critical time when diverse talent assesses whether they should stay or go.
Engage and connect talent to others early, in the first year.
Pre
Pre Hire First Day First week 30-90 Days 3-9mth
Establish Ensure building Schedule meetings Invest in Training Review
comfortable work access, security with team and key and allot time for objectives
space- tech, ID, clearance stakeholders job shadowing if and create
connectivity, needed development
phones, etc. plan
Plan agenda for Provide tour of Review all key Facilitate Connect high
first week- mtg facilities, including processes/ meetings-ERG’s, potentials to
key leaders, introductions to responsibilities networks, key decision
including ERGs key stakeholders philanthropy makers
If relocating, Provide small Review and establish Build regular Discuss
offer to provide welcome gift-could role and objectives. feedback and longer term
info on local include company Include review of check-in career
ethnic businesses, logo tchotchke performance process opportunities objectives
schools, etc
Prepare Plan lunch with Review calendar for Conduct Check in with
communications team key meetings, events, performance HR
to introduce activities review (60 days)
Provide any pre- Plan managers Ensure orientation, Assign a Assign to
reads, materials meeting with team review of benefits, “buddy”/”peer cross
that may be employee mentor functional
helpful communications project team
 How do companies introduce their
brand to new hires?
The introduction of your brand to a new hire is accomplished in “pre-boarding”
activities.

—  Ernst & Young provides an onboarding portal that includes an online virtual
tour that provides their new hires with information about their firm, it walks
them through the onboarding process and it answers the questions that are
most frequently asked by previous new hires.

—  Warby Parker sends an electronic welcome packet, with the company history,
core values, press clippings and what a new employee should expect during
their first day, week and month. Also, the night before starting, new
employees get a call from their direct supervisor to make sure that they know
“where to show up and when”.

—  MasterCard, immediately after a new employee is hired, sends a welcoming

email which includes links to company videos, and access to a website where
new hires can update their employment information, upload a photo for their
badge, read about learning opportunities and complete paperwork for
benefits enrollment, taxes and direct deposit.
 What do companies do beyond day one activities to provide
additional touch points for new hires to reconnect and reinforce
their decisions to join the company?
Extended Onboarding

—  Facebook requires 6 weeks at their onboarding “boot camp” and Rackspace and Zappos
offer a 4-week long onboarding program.

—  Morgan Stanley’s Multicultural Professional Development Series provides African

Americans and Hispanic Analysts and Associates hired in the past 12 months with
engaging professional development sessions and interactions with senior leaders.

—  L’Oréal offers a full 2 year long comprehensive onboarding process.

—  Succeeding@IBM is the 2 year on-line learning continuum that provides new hires with
information covering corporate values, strategy, tools, and the resources necessary to be
successful.

—  JPMC High-Touch Gold Desk supports veteran new hires. For the new veteran hire the
Military Human Resources group provides full-time support during the onboarding
process and beyond to facilitate successful assimilation and professional development.
This includes training for JPMC managers to help them understand the unique strengths
veterans bring to the workplace, and training for newly hired veterans focused on the
unique aspects of the firm’s corporate culture, norms, and processes.
 What do companies do beyond day one activities to provide
additional touch points for new hires to reconnect and reinforce
their decisions to join the company?
Mentoring Programs

IBM Royal Blue Ambassador

—  Provides every new hire with an experienced employee mentor for 30 days in order to help
them adapt quickly to working at the firm. Beyond these 30 days, IBM has a volunteer
collaborative group known as the “grassroots community” which continues to help new
hires transition into IBM.

EY Unplugged

—  This program brings together the ethnically diverse staff from around the US to network,
connect and be mentored by minority executives within their first four months with EY.

Intel First Year TouchPoint

—  Matches new black hires with more experienced black professionals for the first year of
employment. The mentor shares the “unwritten rules”, helps to navigate roles, getting work
done, making introductions. The program is run and managed by the Black ERG.

General Mills

—  A dinner is scheduled with an appropriate the ERG representative prior to start date or
within the first week. The representative provides cultural unwritten rules in the office as
well as social and community resources (events, religious, hair, social, sorority) as needed.
 What do companies do beyond day one activities to provide
additional touch points for new hires to reconnect and reinforce
their decisions to join the company?
Listen to Feedback

—  In order to reduce early turnover by ensuring that new hires are satisfied with
their first job assignment, Facebook (for all employees) and Cisco (new
college grads) allows new hires after completing onboarding to choose the
team that they join.

Address Professional Baggage

—  Cisco’s Emotional Onboarding Program helps employees break their

emotional ties to their old company. It is a structured program aimed to more
deeply engage employees at the start of the job and reduce premature
turnover. Managers assign the new employee some sort of project to
complete in their first week. Also, managers schedule lunch partners for their
new employee.
 How do you embed company culture
into the onboarding process?

—  Employees learn the company culture through the onboarding process –
new hires are becoming familiar with the company’s place in its industry,
learning project goals, reviewing training materials and beginning to
contribute.

—  Culture is embedded into the onboarding through the people the new
hire interacts with. The goals is to create a positive learning environment.

—  One of the keys to a new hire embracing the company culture is the
connections and/or relationships they make with tenured employees.
This increases an employee’s desire and influence within the
organization. 
 How do companies provide a customer
experience for new hires?

A customer experience for new hires is achievable through ensuring new hires
have the opportunity to express their thoughts on the on-boarding process.

—  Survey new hires after 1, 6 and 12months. This data can be used to see
where improvements can be made.

—  An advanced practice of onboarding includes letting new hires know that if
they do eventually quit, the company wants them to remain in contact in hope
that they may return as a “boomerang rehire.”
 Additional Resources
—  Are There Any Best Practices For Developing Gen Y/Young Professionals? – Cornell
University

—  Extreme Onboard: How to WOW Your New Hires Rather Than Numb Them -Dr.
John Sullivan, HR Thought Leader

—  Is New Employee Orientation Good Business Strategy? – MindTickle Research

—  The Powerful Way Onboarding Can Encourage Authenticity – Harvard Business
Review

—  Onboarding 2013: A New Look at New Hires – Aberdeen Group

—  Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success – SHRM Foundation

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact us by

email (lindsey.clark@diversitybestpractices.com) or phone
(212-219-7451).