Three Strategies for Building a Better Onboarding Experience

A seamless onboarding experience is essential for retaining top talent, especially in an ever-evolving legal sector. Here, we explore three proven strategies to enhance your onboarding process.

By improving the onboarding experience, law firms and legal departments can ensure that new legal hires integrate smoothly, feel engaged, and contribute effectively from day one.

Set up the necessary technology before your new hire arrives.

Your new hire will need certain tech tools to do their job. Many of these tools are also essential to their onboarding experience.

Don’t leave your new hire hanging. Make sure their workspace computer and any other necessary devices are set up before their start date. If your building uses computerized door locks or other tech-heavy forms of access, make sure these are ready to go as well. Collect logins and default passwords for your new employee and present them on the first day, along with instructions on how to change passwords if needed.

These steps allow your new hire to focus on learning the job from the moment they walk in, instead of waiting on your IT department.

Orient your new hires to the onboarding process before their start date.

Keep communications open with your new hire before their start date. Send them information on the job, including access to employee handbooks and information about the onboarding process.

A basic schedule or syllabus can help new hires plan their first days on the job. It can also help your new hire plan for their own success in the first few months.

Integrate onboarding into day-to-day work.

Onboarding succeeds best when it is distinguished from orientation. Orientation should last a day or two at most. It provides a quick overview of essentials: Where crucial tools and departments are located, where to turn with questions, and what key policies apply to employees and the organization.

Onboarding should take longer. It can include deeper lessons about how to work effectively and how to use relevant databases and tools. Incorporate these onboarding lessons into your new hire’s daily work. This allows your new hire to contribute from day one while also receiving essential information.

For help finding additional legal talent, turn to Avata Partners!