"Create an Engaging Onboarding Process - Unlock Success From Day One!"

As Richard Branson said “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to” - Onboarding is a critical component of any successful recruitment process and one that often gets overlooked in the hospitality industry. Onboarding goes beyond the traditional welcome mat of orientation and onboarding paperwork - it is about integrating new employees into an organization's culture, values and mission. When done well, onboarding can be a driver for employee engagement, productivity, commitment and longevity within an organisation.

So how can organisations in the hospitality industry create a people-focused onboarding process? Here are some steps to help you get started:

1. Start before day one – Remember that onboarding starts before your new employee even arrives on their first day. Send out a welcome pack outlining expectations, company culture and other vital information. This will help set the tone from day one and ensure that your new hire is well-prepared.
2. Introduce team members early on – Schedule time for a ‘meet and greet’ with relevant team members as soon as possible so your new employee can start building relationships right away.
3. Communicate expectations clearly – Ensure everyone, including the department head, understand what needs to be achieved to succeed. Make sure all expectations are communicated clearly and regularly, offering feedback where necessary.
4. Training - Provide your new hire with the necessary tools and It is important to give detailed and job-specific training to new recruits, which includes explanation, demonstration, and role-playing of their expected job responsibilities. Only after this, they should be paired with a training buddy to shadow and assist for a minimum of 3-5 shifts. Remember that every organization has unique procedures, and it is essential to ensure that the new team member is not only aware of the expectations but also feels confident in performing their job duties comfortably.
5. Career Development - To support your new employee's future growth, establish clear career paths within your organization. Ensure that they feel recognized and rewarded, both in terms of job title and compensation, for completing training and advancing within the company. If there are no available internal positions for career progression, consider working with a trusted recruitment agency to secure external promotional opportunities for your team member. By investing in their career development, even if they leave now, they may be more inclined to return to your organization in the future.
6. Foster a culture of respect – Promote an open-minded work environment that is conducive to healthy working relationships and mutual respect between colleagues. Encourage a sense of ownership amongst your team by allowing different ideas and perspectives on how to reach goals.
7. To ensure that expectations are met and to get feedback on your employee's performance, it is advisable to have regular check-ins during the onboarding process. Use these meetings to acknowledge progress and achievements, give constructive criticism to aid development, and provide the opportunity for anonymous feedback from new and existing team members to ensure that your team and organization are aligned with your culture and mission statement.

By taking into account these steps, organisations in the hospitality industry can ensure that their employees are engaged from the moment they are offered a job to six months after they have started. Ultimately, this will lead to better performance, mutual respect and commitment to the values of your organisation. So get creative and give your team members an onboarding experience that is inspiring from the start!   

 As Simon Sinek's The Optimism Company said "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it". 

 Thanks for reading! I hope this article was helpful and gave you some insight into how to create an effective onboarding strategy for your organisation. Please get involved in the conversation and share best practices on how we can make sure new employees feel welcome and inspired from day one!

Together, we can create a brighter future for those entering the hospitality industry.

What are you waiting for? Join the conversation now.