You are responsible for the fast, effective onboarding of new team members into your department so they become established in the team, are productive, and are aware of our policies, processes and expectations as quickly as possible. Making a good first impression lays the foundation for lasting, strong employee engagement.
The vital first three months
The first three months are critical for everyone. Comprehensive on boarding takes time but your payback is a team member who quickly becomes settled and fully productive. For the first three-months we recommend you meet weekly for 15-20 minutes and check; are they settling in OK, how is training going, are relationships forming and is onboarding functioning as it should etc. Try our weekly progress conversation agenda to help guide these meetings and record progress.
Note: 90-day trial period. Council’s policy is to hire carefully and actively manage any performance or behaviour issues arising during the first three months rather than use the 90-day trial period provided by law. Accordingly, we have no greater rights to terminate employment during this three-month period than at any other time. If you have any concerns about your new team member’s prospects of being successful here make sure you immediately contact your manager and Organisational Development and Capability.
Your responsibility
Other people e.g. Organisational Development and Capability, the ‘buddy’ you nominate, and IT, deliver aspects of onboarding but you hold overall responsibility for ensuring onboarding is well organised, fast and successful including;
- Pre-planning onboarding using our checklists (see below)
- Sending a new user form to IT at least one week prestart.
- Ensuring all necessary equipment e.g. desk, computer, vehicle, phone, business cards, uniform/PPE is ready for day one.
- Welcoming and introducing them to the team and the organisation
- Introducing them to their job, providing all necessary training and resources
- Making your expectations clear, including their objectives for the first three months
- Discussing our values, work rules and your team goals and business objectives
- Regularly checking on their progress and solving any issues that arise
- Ensuring others (Organisational Development and Capability, their ‘buddy’, IT Helpdesk etc.) deliver on their onboarding responsibilities
- Checking they are getting up to speed at the expected rate and supporting them if not
- Checking they are working well in their new team, being accepted and helped
- Raising any performance or behaviour issues promptly
- If they aren’t going to make it start the getting performance back on track process and raise it with your manager and Organisational Development and Capability as soon as possible.
Others with onboarding responsibility
- Creating the employee’s electronic personal file – Organisational Development and Capability
- Ensuring onboarding documents e.g. letter of offer, tax forms, KiwiSaver, banking documentation etc. are signed and completed via WelcomeStreme – Organisational Development and Capability
- Explaining, as necessary: our pay system, attendance and timesheet system, scope and eligibility of leave and the various benefits – Payroll
- Computer systems, service requests, helpdesk – IT
- Training in the use of TRIM – Records Team
- Finance procedures, creditors, debtors, electronic purchasing, delegated authority etc. – Finance & Business Performance.
- Corporate planning – Strategy Team
- Political process and protocol – Governance & Partnerships Manager
- Desktop training – Customer Solutions & Information Technology
- Building access – Property
Planning the onboarding:
Your main onboarding responsibilities and activities for the first three months are summarised in the table below along with the resources you will need. Our approach envisages that you will delegate certain responsibilities to a ‘buddy’ (usually a senior and responsible person in the team), someone in your area with admin or business support responsibilities. In addition people from IT, Finance & Business Performance, Governance & Partnerships, Strategy, Health and Safety etc will deliver aspects of the program. Once your new hire is confirmed, tailor the relevant onboarding checklist (see below) into a comprehensive, personalized onboarding plan.
Key onboarding activities, checklists and other resources:
During the first three months
