Formalizing onboarding for new employee success
Great talent makes your practice—employees deliver output and secure long-term client relationships. This makes it critical to get any new recruit up and running quickly.
Once you have selected a new candidate to work for you, they need to be efficiently introduced into your accounting firm. This process is called onboarding. Some businesses might also refer to it as induction or orientation—but essentially, they all mean the same thing.
The ultimate goal of onboarding is to set up your employee quickly and productively so they can play a key role in helping you reach the goals of your firm sooner. There are a number of benefits to running a good onboarding program. These include:
1. Increasing the likelihood of retention.
Do you remember what it is like to start a new job? New employees can feel a bit nervous—especially those younger. Employees become more productive and will be more loyal when they feel a part of the team from day one.
2. Ensuring the essential paperwork is ticked off.
It is important that letters of offer or contracts are signed, employee bank and tax file numbers have been completed and other required aspects of the working relationship are formalized.
3. Sharing the bigger picture.
Smaller practices, particularly those with strong leaders, are often very good at sharing the vision of the firm and demonstrating how each staff member contributes to key objectives. It is not uncommon for employees of bigger practices to feel distanced from the bigger picture. Sharing your vision early on can help empower an employee, and show them that they have an opportunity to make a real contribution.
4. Instilling good work practices and habits.
Onboarding provides the opportunity to continue the conversation about your firm’s practices and culture that began during the interview process. Employees feel more secure when they know how the firm works and what the expectations are on both sides of the employment relationship.
5. Meeting key stakeholders.
New employees like to meet their key stakeholders quickly. Onboarding needs to enable relationships through early meetings and training.
6. Putting in place training requirements and a schedule.
Depending on the nature of the role, some training will be required. Every firm has their own procedures and processes, so it is good to get new employees familiar with these key practices early.
7. Meeting legal requirements related to occupational health and safety.
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