Onboarding: be in charge
Onboarding: be in charge
Be on charge of your own onboarding, make sure you have plan.
Be strategic, think about it in milestones: pre-onboarding, first day, one week, first month, second month, third month.
The first day:
make sure you have received instructions on where to park; bring all the required paperwork complete; get your picture taken and employee badge
request the agenda; learn about the rules of the orientation and as much as you can about the organization’s culture and resources avalaible
take lots of notes; write down the names and roles of the people you meet
First week:
most likely, you will be shadowing other employees to learn about your role, team projects and stakeholders in general, keep learning as much as you can about them
anticipate and prepare questions for each person; organizations benefit from a beginner’s mind, someone who can ask questions without being bias from time/effort invested
when you meet with colleagues, think about how can you help them
at the end of each day, review your notes and write down additional questions to ask
is there anything to follow up with HR; if you are eligible to receive benefits, have you completed all the paperwork?
do you need any accommodation?
First month:
some organizations (i.e. government) will require you to complete mandatory training; schedule time to complete these requirements and submit your certificate(s) to HR; always keep a copy
make sure you are meeting with your supervisor on a regular basis to go over your progress, to review expectations and receive feedback
if you are supervising others, schedule regular meetings too, start a development plan for your supervisees
by now, you might have identified the gaps in your knowledge; put together a plan to develop the skills and experiences you are lacking
attend informal events and activities; get to know people, their personality, interests, make connections
Second month:
schedule meeting with your stakeholders; how can you provide value to them? how can they help you succeed?
plan your own team building activities, weekly meetings, gather feedback
choose your team goals and your own professional goals
start to gain exposure with the senior leadership team: be seen, be heard, connect
Third month:
you are about to go “solo”; do you have any other questions?
are there any processes that can be improved or made easier?
do you need any resources that would allow you to do your job better?
who are your allies? they don’t need to be from your own team, who is genuinely interested in helping you? approach them frequently and seek their advice
be kind to yourself, everyone makes mistakes; keep learning
Starting a new job can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Make the most of your onboarding, be proactive and take control of your own success. Move through the first months with confidence and take responsibility for your own growth.
Related:
If you need help with planning your own onboarding, I can assist you.
Contact me and we can work together. Let’s get started!
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