On-boarding Talent

What is your story? Why would I, or anyone else, want to work for you and your company? Leaders need to face the facts that people join companies because the find an affinity to the values, the culture, the reputation and most importantly, the other people who work there. In order to attract talent, leaders and the human resource teams need to ensure the atmosphere in the workplace is properly translated into the job posting, the interview process and the on-boarding process.


If your company is very one dimensional in decision-making, having a job posting that describes team decision-making would really not paint a true picture. This would also hold true of a panel interview when only one person is going to make the decision.

If the company dress code is blue suits, ties and pumps, then having the interviewer dressed in jeans does not connect. Same goes with a call from the company that has music in the background, noise other distractions, that do not reflect the quiet, calm that is what the potential hire will live in during their tenure.

Attracting talent is really a marketing plan. This plan needs to be built on the brand of the company. Each segment of the hiring process needs to follow the plan. Most important, and most neglected is the on-boarding process. It is no longer acceptable to have to wait 3 days or a week to get access to company email, voicemail or tools. It is no longer acceptable to hope people will just figure it out. As much as we may think that this time spent is wasted, it will actually set the tone for the rest of that new hire’s time in position and their ability to refer people to the company as future employees or clients. You will need to be very methodical and literal in your explanation of policy, tour of area, introductions to all key players and more. This list, although not all-inclusive, would be a great start to build an on-boarding program.

□ Basic tour of entire work area and building including washroom facilities, emergency exits etc.

□ Overview and completion of all on-boarding paperwork with deadlines for returning any outstanding documents – especially for health benefits, this will eliminate future issues.

□ Review of employee handbook or operations manual that describes key company policies, including specific policies that would affect the new hire’s role. For example: a field salesperson will need more in depth review of travel and meal expenses than the customer help line new hire.

□ Introduction to all members of the team – leadership team included. Building a schedule for 15 minute sessions with each area would help the new hire familiarize themselves as well as get comfortable with the new team.

□ Members of own team – develop schedule for 30 minute sessions for each team member so that they can get to know each other one-on-one and then a team session to go over current projects, priorities etc.

□ Show desk area and supplies, as well as how to handle getting more supplies – order process or cabinet, who is responsible for that etc.

□ Work with new hire to develop a calendar for training opportunities that are unique to your company – culture-based learning, e-learning, off-site courses or classes, required meetings to attend. This will help the new hire develop a routine within the business as well as understand the support that is available to them

The list could go on. If your company does not have a structured on-boarding process, I would advise that you develop one. To start, think back to when you started with the company....how did you feel? How did you find out everything? What did you miss and find out later? Build the rest around the brand.