10 Best Practices to Improve Employee Onboarding
Make your new employee’s onboarding experience as smooth, welcoming, and productive as possible with these 10 simple but effective best practices.
Bringing a new hire on board remains a critical step in both your business’s hiring process and the candidate experience. If it’s disorganized and cumbersome for your new superstar, you may receive unwanted publicity on social media. But make it smooth and comfortable, and the employee may sing your praises far and wide – and so will your staff. Here are a few tips to improve your onboarding process:
1. Put Yourself in the New Hire’s Shoes
Sometimes we forget what it’s like to be new on the job. Anticipate what you’d expect or like to happen on your first day and create your plan accordingly.
2. Let Your New Employee Know Before the Start Date What’s Going to Happen Next
Save time by explaining not only where to show up, but how to dress, whom they’ll be meeting with, work hours, vacation and sick day policies, and other details that can be handled before Day 1.
3. Make Sure Immediate Help is Available to Them
That first day can be as scary as starting at a new school. Ask the hiring manager if a staff member can shadow the new employee to answer any questions.
4. Don’t Give Them Writer’s Cramp on Their First Day
The first day is usually paperwork-heavy. Provide payroll/bank deposit forms, Form I-9, and emergency notification info in advance, so the employee can complete them properly without any stress.
5. Create a Checklist for Internal Processes that Need to be Done Before the First Day
Make sure new employee computers and software are ready on day 1, and access to shared drives, files, and other resources already available. If needed, a mobile business phone, email address, business cards, and VPN access should be ordered in advance.
6. Make their First Day Special
Consider offering a “Welcome!” greeting card signed by department staff or company swag. If your company is large, a 60-second “Welcome” video from the CEO or VP of HR can be reassuring.
7. Explain your Company’s Computer Network(s)
Many large organizations forget to do this. Explain where on the network their materials may be found, where the closest printers are, how to fax/copy/print documents, and provide security codes that may be necessary. Explain your phone system.
8. Keep the Process Organized
Schedule training classes as necessary. Keep the schedule organized and tight, but with room for flexibility if things change. Provide the schedule to the new hire and all involved staff.
9. Tell them About Training They’ll be Receiving
If your new hire attends in-person or virtual training courses, explain the curriculum so they’ll know what’s expected from them. The more information new team members have from the outset, the more prepared they’ll be.
10. Solicit Feedback to Improve your Program
The more information you can derive from a new employee about the onboarding experience, the better you’ll be able to improve it. Ask what went wrong, what went right, and what could have been done better. Want to learn how to build a talent strategy with candidates in mind? Check out our interactive eBook on Picking Your Path to Smarter Hiring.
Release Date: February 12, 2026
HireRight
HireRight is a leading provider of on-demand employment background checks, drug and health screening, and electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify solutions that help employers automate, manage and control background screening and related programs.