What is People and Relationships?
The People and Relationships component is the heart of onboarding. This is all about taking the time to connect the employee with crucial people across the organization and their team. We want them to know who the key leaders are and who they will be working with to foster connection and belonging.
Why is it important?
Creating time for people and relationships in the onboarding process is key as it sets apart successful onboarding from simple orientation. This is important because workplace relationships are essential to employee engagement and retention. Building relationships and friendships in the workplace is an important component of belonging which can lead to greater alignment with the mission, vision and values of the organization.
General Guidelines
Assigning an Onboarding Sponsor to support a new employee is a great way to foster connections right away. The Onboarding Sponsor should be someone who is well connected themselves so that they can make introductions to key people and therefore help the new employee settle in. It’s a good idea to encourage the onboarding sponsor to check for understanding along the way so they can explain department terminology and acronyms that may be confusing to the new employee.
Helping the new employee connect with the key staff they will be working with can break the ice and open the door for knowledge sharing to help the new employee get up to speed faster.
Culture is something helpful to think about in this component. A great way to help them get plugged into the culture is to let them know about opportunities to connect with others like Employee Resource Groups or other events that help the new employee gain a sense of belonging. This makes them more likely to stay with the organization.
Having a welcome message or meeting with executive management for the new employee is a great way to help the organization and leadership come across as approachable and supportive. This can also reflect positively on the organization's culture as a place of welcome.
