Law firms and legal department have varied policies regarding the importance of onboarding. Philosophies range from taking a structured, systematic approach to having a more “sink or swim” attitude. But studies have shown that early attrition can frequently be attributed to the lack of a formal onboarding program.
The Four Cs of Onboarding
Successful onboarding is frequently broken down like this:
Compliance is the most basic level, including mostly teaching policies and rules.
Clarification goes a bit deeper, providing employees with a strong understanding of their job responsibilities and expectations.
Culture means providing employees with a sense of the organization’s philosophies, mission and work style.
Connection refers to building the relationships and networks that are so vital to working within an organization.
These four facets must all be addressed to increase your chances of retaining successful, engaged employees. How can these goals be achieved?
Keys to Onboarding Success.
Successful onboarding is in everyone’s best interest. All functional levels must take responsibility for onboarding new employees.
- HR smoothes the way with a simple transition plan to cover the basics.
- Managers lead the most structured portion of the process.
- Peers offer an informal way to ask questions and learn the culture.
- Departmental teams can offer support, knowledge and welcome the new employee.
Onboarding Best Practices:
- Begin before the first day of the job. (Get any paperwork that must be completed out of the way.)
- Develop a formal orientation program and be sure that it is consistently implemented.
- Get buy-in at all levels from executive to peer.
- Use milestones, such as 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the job to check employee progress.
- Ensure that the new employee has multiple resources for asking questions and offering feedback.
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