Day One Provisioning and Acculturation Onboarding

Employee satisfaction is a vital aspect of acculturation onboarding. Here at Emerald Software, we believe a user-friendly system that makes it easy to fill out all the required forms can deliver that first spark of happiness. Zipping through the transactional process at record speed also leaves the new hire with plenty of time to start becoming socialized on the first day. Making introductions is an important step, but the rubber really meets the road when your new hire sits down at his/her workstation for the first time.

Giving New Hires What They Need

You only get one opportunity to wow employees with your organization's ability to plan/provide effectively for their first day of work. Every time new hires have to sit and wait while you scramble to locate or set up something that should have been ready and waiting, they become more anxious. Here are some of the thoughts that may be running through their heads:

• I really want to get to work and start making a good impression on my new boss. Will I be able to do anything productive or is this day a total waste?
  
• Gee, I'm putting this person to a lot of trouble and inconvenience - was there something I should have done to prepare better?
  
• These guys don't seem very organized - is every day going to be this hectic? I hope not.
  
• They can't even find a trash can for me - and IT said they can't set up my phone until Wednesday. Did I make a mistake in taking this job?
  
• Why don't they have safety equipment in stock for all their new employees? Does this company just not care?
  

Mistakes happen and sometimes people drop the ball. However, if there is a pattern of unpreparedness this is something that has to be addressed on a structural level. You need an actual business process in place for provisioning new hires. Do you have requisitioning software that makes it easy to plan ahead and hold each department accountable for doing their part?

The AllegroHR Staff Service Request (SSR) system does just that. It's not limited to tangible items - managers can requisition anything and everything a new hire might possibly need. You can even add fun stuff that's designed to acculturate employees and make them feel at home. Do you have water bottles or ball caps with your company logo? Make sure these items are included in your standard SSR for every new hire to welcome them to your team.