Employee Onboarding Best Practices
Employee Onboarding Best Practices

Best Practices to Pre-Board an Employee – Remote or Onsite

Shay Misra |

The recruiting and hiring process can be an exciting time for both the company and the new employee. But what happens in the days, or even weeks, before that first day of work?

As a recruiter, you may have felt the sting of being “ghosted” by a new hire. A no-show is costly — the average U.S. employer spends about $4,000 to hire a new worker.

Be it onsite or remote, new employees might have some lingering doubts, or nerves. A lack of communication during the “pre-boarding” period — that critical time between signing the offer and first day on the job — can derail the excitement. In fact, 28% of new hires quit within the first three months. And it can largely be traced to a lack of emotional investment in their new employer.

Your company has made its own investment in the recruiting process. A dedicated pre-boarding program is crucial to safeguarding that investment, and ensuring that the new employee feels welcomed, and integrated into the company culture.

These best practices for pre-boarding will ensure a great experience for both sides of the employment contract:

Send out the welcome wagon

It sounds obvious, but simply sending out congratulatory and welcoming emails, along with introductions to key staff and team members can go a long way to easing the new hire’s nerves.  Ask employees to connect with them on LinkedIn.  Ensure they feel like a valued team member.

Five Tech Tools to Start Up Your Small Immigration Firm

Learn how they'll help you get your immigration firm up and running.

Keep the lines of communication open throughout the pre-boarding period, continuing to make them feel welcome and engaged, even before their first day.

Ergonomics — Be precise or pay the price

The remote work explosion has forced HR professionals to broaden their workplace safety policies to account for employees working in a home office. Unhealthy workstations — especially at home — can result in costly issues for both employer and employee. According to OSHA, there are major costs involved in work-related musculoskeletal injuries:

It is estimated that employers spend as much as $20 billion a year on direct costs for MSD-related workers’ compensation, and up to five times that much for indirect costs, such as those associated with hiring and training replacement workers. 

Is that kitchen table ergonomically correct for sitting at the computer? How about the living room couch? Make sure the remote worker has the necessary information and equipment to set up their workspace for proper ergonomic habits.

This has the additional benefit of establishing your company as one that cares about its employees.

Invest in a best-in-class pre-boarding software tool

With remote hires being very much the new normal, a pre-boarding software tool is crucial for streamlining the new hire process and saving immeasurable time when onboarding actually begins.

From preloaded form templates to e-signatures to tailored welcome messages and videos, automating the process can easily be done from and to anywhere in the world.

This type of software not only increases efficiency for HR, but also showcases your company branding, while making the new hire feel engaged, welcome, and prepared — a true part of the team.

I-9 documentation — fully signed and verified

Any good pre-boarding program will feature effective I-9 compliance software, so that all 1,200+ I-9 rules and regulations are followed seamlessly, and without error. Failure to E-Verify within 3 business days of the employee’s first day of work can result in heavy fines or even jail time.   And with ICE I-9 audits surging by almost 400% in the last two years, this is more critical than ever before.

Optimizing employee engagement is vital to the pre-boarding process, and the key to ensuring your new hire’s journey with the company is a long and successful one.

[bctt tweet=”Failure to E-Verify within 3 business days of the employee’s first day of work can result in heavy fines or even jail time.” via=”yes”]

Learn more about our proven, industry-leading I-9 and Immigration Management solutions.