Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. ~ Henry Ford
Most of us begin the new year by reflecting on the old—what we accomplished, where we failed, what we’d do differently. Developing and revising the onboarding process requires us to make similar reflections. In the first installment of this series, Skip the Drawing Board, we looked at ways to revise your open enrollment employee benefits materials to work for new hires by examining the information from a newcomer’s perspective. Now it’s time to reflect on every first day you’ve experienced, to return to the new hire you once were. Whether your memories of those days are good or bad, embarrassing or empowering, they hold key insights to what information your newest employees will need as they begin their first day as a member of your organization.
New hires receive and process mountains of information in a short amount of time. It’s overwhelming. Did you feel lost your first day? Or maybe you literally got lost trying to find your way back to your desk from the bathroom or the breakroom. How many new software systems and passwords were thrown at you? Did you have someone to introduce you to your new colleagues? What resources do you wish you had? Don’t just ask these questions of yourself, ask your coworkers and employees. As you gather answers you can compare and categorize them. As we continue this series, we’re exploring some of the most common areas of concern, including how to handle practical on-site information, the history of the company, special recognition and volunteer programs, company policies, resource centers and more. We’re also going to review what we’ve found are the most effective methods of communication and tools for each. Not all aspects of integrating new recruits can be addressed effectively applying one method across the board and to try that approach can prove costly in the long run. Assigning newbies a buddy to show them the ropes might be effective and personal but it also takes experienced employees away from their work or slows them down for significant chunks of time. We want to help you find communication methods that complement each aspect of onboarding while working comprehensively together as well.
Let’s go back to those open enrollment communications we repurposed last time as an example.
Employee benefits are exactly the kind of complex and evolving subject where new additions will appreciate comprehensive video resources they can return to time and again. The combination of audio and visual components makes understanding and retaining the information easier than skimming a benefits guide. Slide presentations allow you to wade into details with engaging, explanatory visuals. Trying to turn those presentations into a video on your own, however, can be a great way to wind up with a headache and an out-of-sync video. Rather than leaving employees to read through each slide on their own or trying to record someone giving the presentation, using the professional conversion services and creative consultations we offer at Flimp can cost effectively elevate the quality and clarity of your presentation video. You might also want to consider providing supplemental explanatory videos like those available to license from our extensive animated educational video library. These videos supply generic overviews of common benefits and HR topics, programs, and policies through engaging animation and can complement new and existing presentations, printed and digital benefits guides, as well as stand on their own in an employee resource center. They’re a great way to cut costs and confusion for both new and existing employees. We’ll be looking at other materials your recent recruits will need and how to build lasting resource centers in greater detail next time.
