Supervisor's Guide to Onboarding: A Process for Retaining the Best Talent
On-boarding is a major tool in successful talent management and is critical for successful employee integration. On-boarding creates an understanding of the organizational culture that helps the newly hired employee feel better connected to the organizationʼ s business strategy and creates a sense of belonging. Implementing a well-managed on-boarding process can have a significant and measurable impact on employee productivity, retention, employment brand, services, workplace safety, and future hiring.
Supervisors play an important role in onboarding -- the checklist ensures you cover all bases.
ODU uses Onboard for all new hire paperwork and documentation to be completed electronically.
Refer to the New Employee Welcome (N.E.W.) page as a resource for becoming oriented to being a Monarch.
What is Onboarding?
On-boarding refers to the process of welcoming new employees and helping them adjust to the expectations and climate of their new job. It also accomplishes requirements that supervisors have to inform employees about key policies.
Research reveals that when onboarding is done well, outcomes include higher job satisfaction, commitment to the agency, lower turnover, higher performance levels, career effectiveness and lower stress! The ultimate goal of onboarding is afully engaged and productive employee.
Key Onboarding Components
The Onboarding Process
Pre-Boarding begins when the job offer is extended & accepted.
- Begins as soon as the candidate is offered and accepts the position.
- The new hire connects with human resources & supervisor as primary points of contact.
- The supervisor makes arrangements for the employeeʼs work station and basic equipment and supplies and assigns the work buddy/mentor.
- Human Resources contacts the employee to notify him/her of information and documents needed for the first day and to see if he/she has any questions about the job or benefits.
New Employee Packet:
A new on-campus employee that is hired through a recruitment may receive the following from HR:
- Welcome Letter
- Temporary Parking Decal
- Health Benefits Rate Sheet
- Webb Center Map
Orientation is only one part of the On-boarding process.
- Brief period usually limited to one or two days
- Provides basic employment information
- New Employee Orientation(NEO) online module is on the COVLC (Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center)
- Completion ofnew hire paperwork
Onboarding continues until the employee is fully functioning & productive, and may last up to 12 months.
- Comprehensive, broad, and ongoing employee integration
- Begins when job offer is extended and accepted
- Extends over several months
- Introduction to organizationʼs structure, mission, vision, values, and business strategies
- Socialization process to understand organizational culture and etiquette
Results of Successful Onboarding
- Positive experience for the new employee
- Ongoing, clear, and concise channels of communication provided
- Learning objectives provided at every organizational level
- New employee aligns with key business strategies
- Sets milestone measures to determine new employee success and the time-to-productivity
- Reinforces the business employment brand
First Year Review and Evaluation
- The supervisor should conduct a thorough assessment, ensure all necessary information has been shared, and address the employeeʼ s questions and concerns.
- The supervisor should prepare for the annualperformance evaluation.
Off-boarding occurs when the employee leaves the organization.
Please seeLeaving the 91Ƶfor more information about the employee offboarding process.
Pre-Boarding begins when the job offer is extended & accepted.
- Begins as soon as the candidate is offered and accepts the position.
- The new hire connects with human resources & supervisor as primary points of contact.
- The supervisor makes arrangements for the employeeʼs work station and basic equipment and supplies and assigns the work buddy/mentor.
- Human Resources contacts the employee to notify him/her of information and documents needed for the first day and to see if he/she has any questions about the job or benefits.
New Employee Packet:
A new on-campus employee that is hired through a recruitment may receive the following from HR:
- Welcome Letter
- Temporary Parking Decal
- Health Benefits Rate Sheet
- Webb Center Map
Orientation is only one part of the On-boarding process.
- Brief period usually limited to one or two days
- Provides basic employment information
- New Employee Orientation(NEO) online module is on the COVLC (Commonwealth of Virginia Learning Center)
- Completion ofnew hire paperwork
Onboarding continues until the employee is fully functioning & productive, and may last up to 12 months.
- Comprehensive, broad, and ongoing employee integration
- Begins when job offer is extended and accepted
- Extends over several months
- Introduction to organizationʼs structure, mission, vision, values, and business strategies
- Socialization process to understand organizational culture and etiquette
Results of Successful Onboarding
- Positive experience for the new employee
- Ongoing, clear, and concise channels of communication provided
- Learning objectives provided at every organizational level
- New employee aligns with key business strategies
- Sets milestone measures to determine new employee success and the time-to-productivity
- Reinforces the business employment brand
First Year Review and Evaluation
- The supervisor should conduct a thorough assessment, ensure all necessary information has been shared, and address the employeeʼ s questions and concerns.
- The supervisor should prepare for the annualperformance evaluation.
Off-boarding occurs when the employee leaves the organization.
Please seeLeaving the 91Ƶfor more information about the employee offboarding process.
Supervisor Onboarding Responsibilities
One of the most important relationships the new employee will have is the relation with the supervisor. Research shows that most employee turnover is ultimately caused by the relationship the employee has with his or her supervisor. Therefore, the supervisor should be proactive and engaged in facilitating the employeeʼs integration into the organization. This makes the ability to assimilate new employees a core competency of supervisors.
An employeeʼs immediate supervisor ultimately controls his or her project assignments, educational opportunities and career progression. Therefore, the supervisor who takes time to provide information, discuss issues, and show concern over the employeeʼs assimilation, and who knows what the employee can do and wants to do, will make wiser decisions and build loyalty over time.
Supervisor Checklist
- If you did not make the offer, please contact the new employee to congratulate and welcome them to the ODU community and Monarch Family via phone or in person.
- Inform the employee of the importance of reading the hire letter and notifications sent them via email.
- Direct employees to the New Employee Welcome webpage for information and resources.
- Ask if they have any questions at this time. Give your contact information to them to reach you for questions.
- Clean the office or workspace for the new employee. Be sure to include a welcome card from the team or "swag" item to make the new employee feel welcome as a new Monarch.
- Ensure basic tools (paper, pens, etc.) are available for the new employee.
- Make an announcement to the team and department of the new employee (email or Teams is fine). Provide a brief background (such as experience, education, etc.) and their start date.
- Be sure to include others outside the department whom the employee will likely work closely with.
- Verify the employee has setup their MIDAS account. If not, be sure to imform the employee the MIDAS account must be setup in order to access their new hire documentation (online in Onboard).
- Ask if employee has any questions regarding MIDAS setup and provide assistance as needed.
- Complete the computer account request for new employee:
- Go to
- Login using your MIDAS ID
- Select "Account Request"
- Complete required fields and submit.
If applicable for their position, submit a key request for employee:
- Physical key requests (Facilities Management & Construction)
- Electronic (prox) key requests to ITS via dooraccess@odu.edu.
- The employee's 91Ƶ ID Card serves as their prox key.
If the position allows for business cards, supervisors are responsible for ordering them.
- Be sure to contact the employee to verify the information and style of business card they would like.
- Complete business card order form for employee (if applicable for their position).
These checklists include all required - and recommended - topics for supervisors of different employee types. Supervisors should discuss each item on the checklist with the new employee and check the space beside the topic as discussed. Employee and supervisor should provide electronic signature indicating that the topics were covered. Supervisor should retain a copy in the supervisor's file and complete onboarding within one week of the employee's attendance at New Employee Orientation (NEO). Be sure during this time to provide walkthroughs of processes and procedures such as Web Time Entry (WTE) as well.
Importance of Onboarding
Employee Engagement
- Keeps the new employee engaged and excited about the organization and his/her choice to accept the position
- Decreases the time it takes the employee to get to the desired level of productivity
- Builds loyalty
Employee Productivity
- Ensures that the employee feels welcomed, a valuable part of the organization, and comfortable with the work environment as quickly as possible, all vital to the employeeʼs success
Employee Retention
- Can be based on how the employee is treated the first 30-90 days of employment
- Can be affected by the support the employee receives in developing and progressing in his/her career
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