A new employee’s first few days on the job will determine how they feel about working for you and how long they stay with your company. A poor (or nonexistent) onboarding experience will almost always lead to turnover within the first year. To set up new engineers for success, develop a strong onboarding process that lays the foundation for engagement.

Make Day One A Pleasant Experience 

Starting a new job is stressful. On a new engineer’s first day, greet them at the door so that they feel comfortable as soon as they walk in. Have their workstation set up and be sure they have passwords and access to all software programs.

Have a set schedule and structure for the entire first day so the new engineer is not left wondering what comes next. Include lunch in that schedule and either take a team lunch or ask a trusted member of your staff to take the new employee out. Encourage everyone to be warm, friendly and helpful to set the right tone from day one.

Provide Role-Specific Training 

Often, companies provide orientation to new employees but fail to provide training. True onboarding encompasses both. Training should teach a new employee exactly how to do a specific job. It should be structured and formal, and it should also include regular check-ins from management to measure progress. Training an engineer on their specific role helps set them up for success and helps connect them to their work and their goals. It also shows that you care about their success.

Set Clear Goals 

If you don’t set goals for a new engineer, you cannot measure their progress and success. Goals also give new employees a roadmap to follow and provide a clear outline of your expectations.

Set goals for day one, week one, week two, month one, month two and month three. Hold regular check-ins with the employee to track progress for each milestone and find out what they need to achieve those goals.

Follow Up and Follow Through  

“Set it and forget it” is not an effective approach to onboarding. Check-in with new engineers regularly to see how things are going, offer constructive, actionable feedback and monitor progress. This will allow you to keep a handle on how onboarding is progressing and allows the engineer the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback of their own.

Are You Ready To Improve Onboarding and Retention? 

If you are looking for talented engineers who can help your organization achieve its long-term goals, contact the experts at PEAK Technical Staffing today to learn how we can help you improve your hiring process to boost retention.