What Are The 4(+1) Phases of Onboarding?

Most companies think that their work is done once they hire an employee. But the truth is that the real work starts only after the new employee signs the papers. 

What’s that, you ask? It is known as the employee onboarding process and is crucial in creating a healthy work environment. Let’s look at this process in detail.

🚀 What is employee onboarding? 

Employee onboarding is the process of acclimatizing new employees to the company. 

This includes familiarizing them with: 

• their responsibilities
• software tools needed for work
• company mission
• values and culture.

This process begins on the employee’s day 1 and may last anywhere between 1 month to a year.

An effective onboarding process should be tailored around the 5 Cs.

©️ The 5 Cs of onboarding

Compliance

This is often known as the paperwork part of onboarding and refers to the part where new hires are taught about policies, safety regulations, confidentiality agreements, and harassment prevention.  

Clarification‍

The next step includes clarifying the employee’s responsibilities, long-term goals at the company, and job expectations. This will help them know exactly what their future at the company will look like. 

This may include answering employee’s questions such as:

“What are my monthly as well as yearly objectives?”

“How do my individual goals fit in with my job? How will this organization help me achieve them?”

Culture

Every organization has a culture, and this part focuses on exposing your new employee to it. For example, a company might have a very informal culture where hierarchies are not enforced and everyone works together. In this step, you are really setting the tone for the way people work together.

Establishing culture from the beginning is way easier than trying to change or enforce it after years.

Get inspired by 7 practical examples of company culture

Connection

Interpersonal connections with peers and managers are essential in any organization, and this C helps new hires establish them. A great example of this is assigning an onboarding buddy.

Check Back‍

This part includes checking back with new hires periodically, getting feedback from them, and giving it back. This is the necessary data you'll collect to improve the process for all parties.

📊 The 4 (+1) phases of employee onboarding

The 4 phases are

• Preboarding
• Orientation
• Role-specific training
• Ongoing development

(Note: Some add "role transition" as a 5th phase after this one)

Phase 1: Pre-onboarding 

Preboarding (or pre-onboarding) is the first phase in the employee onboarding process. It begins as soon as the employee accepts the job offer and signs the papers and lasts till their first day at work. 

You can use this time to take care of all the paperwork and prepare access to all the tools and knowledge they need for the job. This might include teasing company culture with a warm welcome message, helping them relocate, sending them a video detailing what to expect on their first day, and even assigning an onboarding buddy. Sending them a swag package is a great bonus!

But why is preboarding important when they haven't even started working for me yet?

Everyone has first-day jitters. That's because there is always uncertainty about what the new job holds. Preboarding helps with that and eases anxiety.

It also fosters loyalty by letting your employees know you are committed to making them feel as welcome as possible, thereby reducing employee turnover.

Moreover, your workload as an HR manager also decreases because most of the paperwork is already done.

Phase 2: Welcoming new hires: Orientation 

Phase 2 begins on the employee's first day and may last up to a week. The orientation or company onboarding phase is essential in acclimatizing your new hire to the organization and making them feel comfortable. 

Orientation may include:

• Welcoming your new hire and introducing them to key members of your organization (including their team)
• Showing them where everything is, such as their cubicle, the break room, the restroom, supply cabinets, cafeteria, and medical facilities
• Discussing key topics such as medical insurance, vacation days, and any other company policies 
• Introducing them to your office culture 
• Any other information not covered during the preboarding process
• Safety training
  

This phase will help your employees see how everything works and clarify any questions they may have.

The more comprehensive your preboarding work was, the smoother (and briefer) your orientation will be.

Pro Tip: Don't keep the new hire waiting on the first day! Be ready to welcome them as soon as they enter the office/virtual call. Nothing's worse than feeling lost and insecure on day 1.

Phase 3: Role-specific training 

This phase begins after the orientation and is the most critical phase for a new hire's continued performance at the company. Without formal training, your employee may feel lost as to what exactly their responsibilities are, resulting in feelings of dissatisfaction and a lower productivity rate. 

Formulate an engaged training plan for your new hires to prevent this lose-lose situation. Again, an experienced onboarding buddy can come in handy here as they can provide 1-1 training and help the new hire till they are confident in their ability to work independently. 

This phase should include:

• Clearly defining their role and expectations
• Reviewing performance goals
• Product/ service introduction
• Assigning them tasks to ease them into their new role
• Role-related training (here's a helpful checklist) 
• Job shadowing
• Familiarizing your employees with the Learning Management System
  

Keep 30 day, 60 day, and 90 day goals, and do an employee performance review after each checkpoint. 

Phase 3.5: Easing the transition to their new role 

Once the training period is over, it is time for your new hire to transition into a full-fledged permanent employee. From this phase onwards, your employee will be ready to tackle more critical projects and report directly to their immediate supervisor.

Since their probation period is now over, the job responsibilities of the new hire will more likely increase after this point. So, ask their managers to communicate any changes and reintroduce them to their goals. Help them visualize what success looks like. 

Congrats! You have successfully onboarded a new employee into your organization! What now?

Phase 4: Ongoing development 

The goal is for your employee to stay with you for the long term and make their way up the corporate ladder as they gain more experience. Ongoing development makes sure that it happens by charting out a comprehensive career growth and personal development plan for your employee. 

For example, someone who joined as an assistant editor may eventually want to become the chief editor. Ongoing development will help them achieve that while also ensuring they are equipped to handle the senior role. 

This phase should include:

• Personal and professional goal setting
• Assessing their competencies
• Skill training in line with the employee's future goals
  

This helps both the employee and the organization achieve their goals. Ongoing development also makes for a great tool when it comes to succession planning.

Great! But there is a tiny problem. Our workplace is entirely remote, so how does onboarding fit into that? 

💻 How does this translate to virtual onboarding?

Here are some tips on making your virtual onboarding process fun and successful!

1. Since the whole onboarding process will happen online, use tools and software to make life easier - especially the preboarding and orientation part. For example, you can use Calendly to schedule meetings, DocuSign or PandaDoc to sign paperwork, and communicate via Slack.
2. Send them a company-issued laptop with all software preloaded. You can also include tutorial videos on how to use them to make the job easier.
3. Set clear expectations and inform them about their job responsibilities. If possible, create engaging video examples so that your new hire grasps the concepts perfectly. You can also create checklists to make it easier for them to keep track of everything they need to do.
4. Get to know your new hire and schedule meetings with their team members and managers. Keep it fun to make them feel welcome! Have everyone else introduce themselves, and encourage the new hire to get to know their coworkers.
5. Assign them an onboarding buddy and set up several meetings between the two. 
6. Check-in on them throughout the process to make sure they are adjusting well. Ask them if they need anything and tweak the process accordingly, and you're all set!
   

💪 Use this remote employee onboarding checklist to ensure you've got everything right.

Plus, we also collected 15 additional onboarding templates, covering elements like the onboarding presentation, buddy onboarding and many others.

To make virtual onboarding even easier, you can automate the whole process by using onboarding software programs.

❓ FAQs 

Why is onboarding important? 

It helps your new hires settle into their new workplace and gives them all the tools and training necessary to be successful in their role. It also helps your new recruits know that you are committed to their growth with the company, thereby increasing their job satisfaction.

What is the purpose of onboarding? 

The purpose of Onboarding is to help your new hires acclimate to the new workplace environment and inform them about their job responsibilities. 

Is there a difference between onboarding and orientation? 

Yes, there is! Onboarding is a process with several stages. It begins with preboarding right after the new recruit signs the papers, and can last anywhere between 3 months to a year. Orientation is a part of the onboarding process. It begins on the employee's first day and lasts up to a week. 

How long should great onboarding take? 

The ideal time for a great onboarding process is 6 months. But it all depends on your company and the responsibilities of your new hire. Use these factors and tailor your onboarding timeline to your needs.

How can you speed onboarding up? 

You can speed Onboarding up using automated onboarding software and designing a great preboarding process. But make sure that you aren't missing out on important things just because you want to speed the whole process up.