Onboarding checklist: key steps to a successful integration process

Starting in a new company is not easy. In order to facilitate the integration of their new employees and start the collaboration on a good basis, many companies decide to set up an onboarding process. In this article, we provide you with a complete checklist of steps to follow in order to complete your onboarding process successfully.

Onboarding: a powerful system for integrating and retaining new employees

The integration process, also known as onboarding, has the main objective of preparing for the arrival of a new recruit in the company.

In-person or remote, the onboarding process takes the form of a structured plan or roadmap grouping together a set of actions carried out before, during and after the new employee takes up the post. This may include a presentation of the company, its culture and values, a meeting with the different team members and their roles within the organisation, a clear and precise briefing of the expectations/challenges of the new position or an orientation to the company’s policies and procedures.

The aim of onboarding is to enable your new employee to feel comfortable, to acclimatise easily to their new working environment and to contribute quickly and significantly to the success of the company and the achievement of its business objectives.

Did you know? According to a study published by Workelo, 45% of resignations take place during the first year after hiring. The implementation of an onboarding process is therefore an essential and crucial step, which should be prepared with the utmost care.

What are the main characteristics of successful integration?

The world of work has changed significantly in the recent years. In 2023, the new generation of workers places the human dimension and well-being at work at the heart of their concerns, before the financial aspect. The implementation of an integration process is therefore an opportunity to offer your future employee a positive and dynamic image of your organisation, allowing him or her to project more easily. However, several criteria/predispositions must be taken into account to ensure the success of the onboarding process:

• Anticipate the integration of the new employee: preparing the hiring of your new employee in advance is essential to welcome him or her in the best possible conditions (administrative documents, computer equipment, access codes or badges to the premises, etc.). Good management of the internal integration process allows your new recruit to feel immediately taken care of, surrounded and accompanied in order to become familiar with their new working environment more quickly and easily.
• Offer a complete, personalised onboarding experience tailored to the candidate’s profile: an onboarding process is more than just a coffee and a welcome. In order for the new employee to be effective and operational, it is essential to offer a personalised onboarding experience adapted to the candidate’s profile. To make it more enjoyable and fun, you can incorporate games (such as adventure courses, board games, role-plays, escape games, etc.). However, it is important to specify that the use of gamification must be adapted and consistent with the company’s image and must not in any way disrupt the work and productivity of the team.
• Communicating with the different actors in the company (employees, HR and supervisors) at each stage: communication is a fundamental element in an integration process. It helps to clarify the needs and expectations of each member of a team, to facilitate the adaptation of the new employee, to strengthen trust and group cohesion, and resolve any problems or conflicts. Clear, fluid and transparent communication guarantees the success of the company’s projects/objectives.
• Analyse your onboarding process strategy: measuring the feedback from the onboarding process is essential to enable you to take stock of what is working and what needs to be improved. Several key factors (transition time, retention rate, productivity level, engagement level, new hire satisfaction, etc.) can help you analyse the effectiveness of your onboarding strategy.

The 6 main steps in the process of integrating a new employee into the company

Now let’s discover the complete checklist of steps you must be following to successfully integrate your new recruit into the company:

Step 1 – Definition of short, medium and long term business objectives

The integration of a new member into the company cannot be improvised and requires some preparation beforehand.

Identifying and clearly defining the company’s objectives in the short, medium and long term is essential to enable you to plan your new employee’s integration into the team as well as possible and to make him/her aware of the stakes and responsibilities of his/her new role in achieving the company’s objectives.

Stage 2 – Preparing for the candidate’s arrival

The preparation of the arrival of your new employee is organised at different levels in order to facilitate his or her taking up the post on the day of hiring:

• informing and mobilising the teams for the big day,
• appointing a mentor,
• planning the first day of employment (tour of the premises, introductory meeting, welcome lunch, etc.),
• preparing the workstation and work tools, checking the logistical system (computer equipment, internet and telephone line, entry badge, etc.), as well as all the administrative management (drafting the employment contract, creating access codes for the company’s software, etc.).

Step 3 – First day of employment

The first day of work is crucial for both the existing team and for the new employee. The first day of employment is devoted to visiting the premises, introducing the members of the team, getting the new recruit settled in his or her office and dealing with the final administrative formalities.

During the course of the day, the manager may want to organise an induction meeting to introduce the company, the different departments, the team members and their roles, as well as an update on the company’s current and future projects.

It will also be important to communicate clearly the objectives to the new employee so that they are aware of the responsibilities of their new position. Also, how they can contribute to the achievement of the company’s objectives.

Stage 4 – Integration period

At this stage, the new recruit has started his/her job and is fully integrated into the company’s projects, in collaboration with the various team members. The onboarding period is crucial, as it will allow the managers to get an overview of the new employee’s skills and to ensure that the new employee is fully aware of the challenges/responsibilities of his/her new role within the organisation.

It is also important to organise regular meetings to review the progress of the projects in progress, giving your new employee the opportunity to ask questions or to be cooperative.

Step 5 – Review of the trial period

After a few weeks in the company, a review of the trial period is carried out between the managers and the candidate.

This assessment will check that the new recruit is acclimatising well to the company, has the right attitude and has the necessary skills to be able to perform all the tasks that will be entrusted to him/her.

In addition, this assessment makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of the integration process put in place by the company, and make sure there is good understanding and group cohesion between the different members of the team.

Step 6 – Long-term monitoring

A good onboarding process does not stop at the end of the probationary period. Regular follow-up over the long term is particularly important to ensure that the new recruit continues to integrate well into the company’s world.

In addition, long-term monitoring can highlight potential gaps in your recruit’s skills in certain areas, allowing you to plan training sessions to help him or her acquire more skills.

What are the benefits of the integration process for the performance of a company?

The implementation of an onboarding process can be very beneficial for the performance – profitability of a company in the short, medium and long term:

• Strengthen the company’s brand image;
• Increase employee retention and save money by limiting the costs of a recruitment campaign;
• Enable new recruits to be immediately operational and therefore more productive on the job;
• Improve communication, group cohesion and a sense of belonging;
• Have a better knowledge and use of available resources (software, tools, etc.), allowing the quality of customer service to be improved and thus decreasing the company’s turnover.

The results of implementing an onboarding process are unique to each organisation depending on the strategy adopted. There is no ideal onboarding process, the best approach is to establish a concrete and structured plan according to your organisation needs and objectives.