5 Tips to Effectively Onboard New Team Members

Ensure They Have Work/Downtime

These meetings are important, but resist the urge to schedule your new team member in back-to-back engagements all day. They need work/downtime to process learnings, complete paperwork and online trainings, review documents, prep for meetings, etc. For more junior employees, I provide suggestions for what to do in each downtime block during the orientation period to help keep them on track. 

Build Connections

Schedule a team lunch or gathering in their first week. Yes, this can be done in virtual contexts - schedule a time to eat and chat together. If resources allow, you can give team members Uber Eats gift cards so everyone can “eat out” at home. 

Beyond the primary team, it is important to introduce your new team member to the rest of the internal team. Depending on organizational culture and practices, this could be via an all-staff email, inclusion in a newsletter, on your intranet, etc. Include information about their background, their role, and perhaps a fun fact or two (with the person’s permission). If the new team member is on the leadership team, be sure to share the introduction with board members as well. 

Set Onboarding Goals 

I’m a big believer in goals and like to have an evolving set of goals for new team members. It starts with Onboarding goals, which some refer to as 90-Day goals. These describe a clear set of deliverables and related activities that, when complete, will ensure the team member has a comprehensive understanding of the organization and their role and are actively contributing to the work. Onboarding goals should include some basics, like taking on the management and development of their direct reports, establishing collaborative relationships with peers, building and starting to advance project plans for new initiatives, etc. 

I suggest having the manager draft the goals by considering the following questions: What experiences does this person need to have in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the organization and their role? (hint: consider introductions, standing meetings, and special events).  What will this person have accomplished in the first 3 months on the job to indicate they are performing at/above expectations? What deliverables and activities do I expect them to complete and/or advance? 

Have the Manager Bookend Their Time with Them

The new team member’s manager should have a meeting with them on the first and last day of the orientation period, in addition to being available as needed throughout the first 1-2 weeks. The first meeting is focused on reviewing their orientation schedule, the goals for each meeting, and the initial draft of their onboarding/90-day goals. The last meeting is focused on debriefing their experiences and learnings from orientation, finalizing their Onboarding/90-Day goals, and establishing the key components of their calendar moving forward (check-ins, standing meetings, team/project meetings, etc.). These check-ins may require more time than a typical check-in - I typically plan on 90 minutes vs. 60 and try to do them in person when possible. 

A little bit of planning can go a long way in making your team member feel welcomed and set up for long-term success in their new role.