HR is an important part of your veterinary clinic, and a key component of HR is hiring and training. Knowing this, is there an effective way to onboard new hires? Absolutely - through a structured onboarding program. Here are five tips to build an effective onboarding program that will lead to better retention and a smooth transition for new hires.
Why Structured Onboarding is Good for Your Veterinary Clinic
A structured employee onboarding program for your veterinary clinic ensures that new hires feel welcome and prepared. In fact, new employees who go through a structured onboarding program are 58% more likely to be with the organization after three years. Onboarding programs are simply a formalized way that employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to be effective at their jobs.
Ways to Build an Effective Onboarding Program
1. Engage Quickly to Reach Proficiency Faster
Why wait? Get your new hire started in their duties on their first day. The longer you put off training and getting your new hire started on their duties, the longer it will take them to become proficient.
2. Have Some Fun
Happy employees equal higher productivity. In other words, have some fun! As you’re training and getting your new hire used to the company, make it fun for them. Starting at a new job can be intimidating and stressful, so make onboarding something your new hire will remember and can benefit from. Here are a few ideas:
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Incorporate company mission, values, and vision into an engaging activity
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Use humor to engage your new hire
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Make onboarding interactive with games
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Use what your new hire already knows and build upon it - make them feel good
3. Build a Leader-Employee Relationship
Professional relationships make a difference. How? The relationship that is built as you onboard a new hire will help them feel comfortable and establish respect throughout their time with your company. A good leader-employee relationship can be the difference between a new hire staying with your company for a long or short amount of time. In fact, 80% of employees leave their jobs because of their boss - so make sure your new hire has a professional, respectful relationship with you and other leaders.
4. Make It a Game
Friendly, fun games foster camaraderie. As such, one way to make your onboarding process fun and memorable is to make it a game - literally. Make a large game board that your new hire moves along through with each step of the program. Don’t worry, it doesn’t need to be competitive, rather, it’s simply a way for a new hire to see their start and finish line in the process and have a good time along the way.
5. Have the Employee's Workstation Set Up
A cluttered and unorganized space is difficult to work in. So what do you do? Make sure your new hire’s workstation is set up. Doing so will show them that you’re on top of things and they’ll be ready to work. To make it even more exciting, have a small gift basket of their essentials ready, too. You can include pens, sticky notes, snacks, a mouse pad, etc. Though many of the items you can include are essentials, it’s more memorable to get them in a gift basket, along with other fun surprises.
What are some other ideas you have for structured onboarding for your veterinary clinic? Comment below, we’d love to hear your ideas!
