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ITSM for high-velocity teams

How to create an effective onboarding workflow

Integrating new employees into your company culture and helping them become productive team members as quickly as possible saves money and improves employee retention. An effective onboarding process goes a long way toward ensuring new employees feel welcome and understand expectations.

An effective onboarding workflow maps the new hire process steps, including signing the contract, ordering equipment, reviewing policies, training, and understanding the probationary period. It can also include the offboarding process when an employee leaves a company.

This article guides you through the stages and benefits of a standard onboarding process, how to create an onboarding workflow, and why Jira Service Management is the premier onboarding software platform.

Get Jira and try the new employee onboarding template.

What is an onboarding workflow?

An employee onboarding workflow brings structure to integrating new employees into your company. It defines the steps necessary for the individual to become a productive team member. The workflow describes stages with steps that all new employees go through, such as reviewing company policies, undergoing background checks, and setting up payroll details. It also includes role-based steps, such as team meetings and specialized training.

Your onboarding process defines the necessary steps for new hires. The onboarding workflow organizes these steps into logically sequenced, concrete tasks, making the process clear and achievable.

Benefits of having an onboarding process

Everyone has started a new job at some point; those first few days and weeks can be challenging. You may be unsure where to find necessary information, who to contact with questions, and how to contribute. A detailed onboarding process can make those early days successful and welcoming, offering the following benefits:

Improved employee retention: Planning for employee success reduces new hire anxiety. When new hires see the steps they will go through, can track their progress, and understand when and how they’ll contribute, they feel supported long after integrating into the team.

  • Faster productivity: When new employees can visualize the process from their first day to the day they fully integrate, it empowers them to add value earlier. Most new employees want to be fully functioning team members quickly. An effective onboarding process and flowchart help them set the pace. 
  • Better cultural integration: The onboarding process helps new employees assimilate to the cultural aspects of the company, such as dress codes, communication styles, and general expectations. While you hope every new employee is a good hire, the onboarding process helps identify those who may be struggling. Red flags include inappropriate language, failing to complete onboarding tasks or other issues. 

Onboarding workflow stages

Your onboarding workflow stages may vary based on your business needs, but there are typically five stages, each with a clear starting and ending point. These stages frequently align with goals and objectives connected with performance management, employee experience management, and employee engagement strategies.

Pre-boarding

Before the new employee’s start date, necessary tasks include sending a welcome packet, setting up hardware, ensuring network access, and signing necessary documentation. This stage encompasses everything the employee needs to begin work on day one.

First day

The first day is the employee’s initial impression of your company. Have a plan for what will happen, including team introductions, an office tour, and an overview of the company’s mission and values. Include what employees can expect during their first week, such as scheduled training, check-in points, and team meetings.

Training and development

Your onboarding workflows should account for both formal and informal learning opportunities. Provide a clear overview of the training and development in which new employees will participate. 

For example, all new employees may start with high-level product training to understand what the company produces, for whom, and why. New hires in accounting may then move on to role-based training in accounting processes. In contrast, employees in product development may participate in user acceptance testing to deepen their knowledge.

Ongoing integration

Ongoing integration defines the steps necessary to support employees beyond the initial onboarding period, including check-in points, mentorships, and additional professional development. 

For instance, if you hire a product designer, there may be a company-specific style and design system to master. This may include partnering with an established designer to meet company standards as the employee begins producing work. Include employee recognition programs and other incentives during this stage to help shape new employees’ experience with your company.

Follow-up

Follow up with new employees to ensure they understand their role, the company culture, and how the company measures performance. This phase can include one-on-one meetings, surveys, and performance reviews. Gathering feedback is also an opportunity to improve your onboarding process and workflow. Integrate these outcomes with employee experience platforms for ongoing management.

Steps to create an onboarding workflow

The onboarding workflow outlines the steps to evaluate new employee progress and provide a roadmap for successful integration.  Use the following process to create an onboarding workflow.

Define your goals

Clearly state what you want to achieve with your onboarding process. Examples include teaching new employees about compliance and regulatory measures or participating in a collaborative culture. Be sure your objectives are measurable and relate directly to employee performance.

Design the onboarding process

Create a structured plan outlining the onboarding stages in a timeline. Within the stages, define the steps or objectives to complete, assign responsibility to stakeholders, and collect necessary materials. For example, if the training stage includes regulatory compliance, assign a knowledgeable person to oversee the task and ensure documentation is ready.

Implement the workflow

Coordinate with relevant teams to ensure the onboarding process runs smoothly. An IT service management (ITSM) platform like Jira Service Management can help manage necessary hardware, software, and network access, aiding in efficient process tracking. HR automation best practices also provide consistent, repeatable implementation of your workflow.

Monitor and gather feedback

Using surveys, interviews, and performance metrics, collect input from new hires and their managers to assess the onboarding process. Things that may seem obvious to seasoned employees may be unclear to someone just starting. Pay careful attention to whether new hires feel equipped to complete tasks and are comfortable asking questions.

Evaluate and refine

Review the objectives you defined for the onboarding process to analyze feedback and performance data. Identify areas for improvement and make necessary adjustments to enhance the onboarding process's effectiveness. Delineate and address problems, keeping in mind that unsuccessful employees, even terminated ones, may have valuable input for improving the onboarding process.

Best practices for a successful onboarding workflow

Following these best practices can bring success to your onboarding workflow:

  • Personalize the process. Identify the needs of each new hire based on their role in the company. Create an onboarding workflow that provides a path to success. Keep the workflow focused and achievable.
  • Clearly communicate expectations. The onboarding workflow is a map of the tasks you expect the new employee to complete successfully. Be sure it includes expected outcomes, clear measurements for success, and the person responsible for overseeing its completion.
  • Continuously improve. Collect feedback from new hires and managers during and after onboarding. Compare the feedback to your goals, and continuously fine-tune the process to optimize outcomes.

Onboarding software like Jira Service Management allows you to automate, monitor, and continuously improve the onboarding process and workflow. Jira Service Management includes a new employee onboarding template with built-in best practices that help ensure a successful onboarding experience.

Enhance onboarding efficiency with Jira Service Management

Creating an efficient onboarding process with role-based workflows improves employee retention long after new hires become productive members of your team. An employee onboarding workflow template offers a clear outline of expectations, a structured sequence and timeline, and success metrics, all critical for engaging new employees and empowering them to succeed.

Jira Service Management can streamline onboarding with templates, best practices, workflow automation, task tracking, and continuous improvement. It integrates with other HR tools for employee experience management, performance management, and more.

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