Three Strategies for Building a Better Onboarding Experience
As the legal sector continues to evolve, organizations seeking to attract top talent can do so by providing a seamless onboarding experience.
Here are three proven strategies that can enhance your onboarding process. Build a better onboarding experience by implementing these strategies to ensure that new legal hires integrate smoothly, feel engaged, and contribute effectively from day one.
Set up necessary technology in advance.
Nothing slows down the onboarding process – or frustrates your new hire – more than lacking access to the technology they need to learn the ropes and start contributing.
To avoid this unnecessary hurdle, make sure that your new hire’s technology needs are in place before they begin their first day. Set up a new hire’s computer and other devices. Ensure that their access credentials are present in your system so your new hire can log in right away. These steps ensure your new hire can use their technology as the tool it is intended to be, instead of facing it as an obstacle.
Give your new hire an onboarding “road map.”
Your newest team member can focus on learning and contributing more easily if they know what to expect from their first day and from the onboarding process. With early uncertainties resolved, your new hire can focus on integrating with their team.
Items to provide in an onboarding “road map” for your new hires include:
- Basic contact information for administrative, IT, and other support teams,
- Links to essential documents like employee handbooks,
- A schedule for the first day, including who they’ll meet and what they can work on, and
- An overview of the entire onboarding process.
Don’t let a lack of detail for some items prevent you from including them. For instance, if you want to include your new hire in your mentorship program but aren’t sure exactly when that will begin, you can write “Mentorship Orientation – to be scheduled in week 2 or 3.”
Include 30-60-90 day planning in the onboarding process.
An early project on which you and your new hire can collaborate is 30-60-90 day planning. Have your new hires articulate what they expect to accomplish after the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job. Then, work with them to refine these expectations and provide resources to support their efforts to accomplish these goals.
A 30-60-90 day plan sets your new hire to work at once on a task that is essential to their success on your team. It also helps them learn your organization’s mission and core tasks by applying these immediately to their own day-to-day work.
For help finding additional legal talent, turn to Avata Partners!
