Onboarding

Onboarding is a word used by recruiters to describe the process of bringing a new member of staff into the business. You might also hear it referred to as an induction programme.

Large companies often put on detailed programmes of sessions, meetings and events, particularly when they are recruiting groups of several new graduates at the same time. SMEs won’t have the resources to do that in as much detail, and you may be the only new person, so the experience will be different. One advantage of this is that your induction can be more tailored to your individual needs.

The basic point of onboarding is to help a new employee feel comfortable in their new environment. This can begin before your start date, with welcome emails about how to find the premises, administrative forms to fill in and even a programme for your first week. In your first few days, you can expect some of the following activities:

• A guided tour of the business premises
• An overview from the boss about what the organisation stands for and where it’s going
• Introductory meetings with your new colleagues – perhaps sitting in and observing their work
• Training on any processes or equipment that you need to get up to speed with quickly.

Another important part of the process of welcoming a new staff member is to arrange regular meetings with their new line manager to make sure things are going smoothly, answer any questions etc.

Asking for help at work

In a working environment where everyone is extremely focused on the product or service they are providing, and you’re expected to hit the ground running, you will need to be comfortable with asking for help.

Writing for the Harvard Business Review, careers adviser and author Gorick Ng (2021) gives some useful advice:

• Do your homework – make sure your question is worth asking and that you can’t find the answer easily for yourself, e.g. from previous emails. If your question is ‘What should I do next?’ – think through the options for yourself and choose the one that makes the most sense. Ng advises ‘if you can identify an option that is clearly superior to the others and is a decision you can make without impacting other people, then no need to ask your question.’
• Find the best person at the best time – Ng suggests asking yourself:
• Who is the best person to ask? – start with the most junior person and work up. If your question isn’t time sensitive, collect a few questions to ask all at once.
• When is the best time to ask? – think about the least disruptive time to approach someone.
• Where is the best place to ask? – when you’re new and getting to know colleagues – a good approach might be ‘I’ve got a few questions – shall I put them in an email or could we arrange a time to meet?’
• Show your homework – think about how to frame your question and share what you’ve done so far to find the answer for yourself.

Remember that as a new team member, people will be expecting you to ask questions.

Over to you

Spend a few minutes reflecting on when you’ve started a new job in the past. What was your induction like? Was it a positive or negative experience? Why? Is there anything you or your employer could have done differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below.