Onboarding is usually seen as the very first step in every employee’s journey in a company. This is where they learn the essentials of their job, the work culture of the company and the expectations they have to meet. For any new recruit, adjusting to all these changes can be quite intimidating. In fact, it has been observed that The first week in a new job is when 33% of new employees decide whether to stay or go.

Most recruiters will tell you that they have faced situations where new hires fell through at the last minute. The story is almost always the same. An offer was extended, the candidate enthusiastically accepted and then abruptly quit before their first day. There are many reasons this happens but the lack of communication in the time between a candidate accepting the job and their start date often makes things worse. New hires usually have weeks, or even months, to seek out another offer which might make them second guess their decision to work for your company.

So what can you do to ensure your new recruits remain excited about the job they are offered?

One simple and easy solution is pre-boarding!

Pre-boarding is basically engaging with a new hire between the time they accept your offer and their first day. This process takes place before the employee’s first day and is followed up by the common onboarding practices.

Why use pre-boarding exercises?

• Solidifies commitment : Often a complete lack of communication allows the new hire to feel as if nothing is yet final.On the contrary, interacting with their coworkers can make them feel like they’re officially part of team.

• Prepares them for the first day : They can come into the office already familiar with the team, culture and way the business operates. Instead of spending the day getting a tour of the office and meeting with HR, your new hire can instead get right to work.

• Helps handle the nervousness : Receiving a warm welcome shows that your company is happy to have them. It also instills positive notions about their superiors.Taking up a job offer is a major life decision and even a small gesture can make a person feel that they’re headed in the right direction.

Here are a few pre-boarding exercises you can practice :

• Introduce games like ‘Know thy neighbour’, which allows them to learn more about their coworkers. This will help establish a personal connection between employees. They can also reach out to other new hires and learn from their experience.

• Share success stories , news and other publicly available information with the new hires. This will help them to keep up-to-date with the latest happenings within their new organization.

• If your company hosts a weekly happy hour or other social events, invite the new hire to attend.They can come back in more relaxed with a sense of familiarity.

• Have them complete tax and benefits forms a week before their first day will save even more time when they come into the office.

• Send them a few basic online training modules.This will help them get a clear picture of what their job is going to entail and will help them during the onboarding process. By providing them with this insight you can also reduce ramp up time for your new recruits.

• You can also notify them about the company’s policies and compliance regulations, .This can accelerate the training process and provide them with a basic understanding of the company.

Pre boarding can not only help move along the onboarding process, it can also engage your new recruits even before their first day. It helps prevent no-shows and sets new hires up to hit the ground running on day one.

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