Onboarding

The term onboarding refers to the process of integrating a new employee into a workplace. It is a phase in which the newly hired gets to understand more about his new company’s structure, culture and colleagues. Below, let’s have a closer look at:

• onboarding stages and activities;
• meaning of online and in-person onboarding.

Onboarding stages

As part of the onboarding process, it is also necessary to mention the phases of pre-onboarding and offboarding.

Pre-onboarding refers to the stage between a new hire’s acceptance of offer letter and their first day of work. During this period, the HR team provides the new employee with all the necessary information about his first day of work: how it will be managed, how to get to the company offices and how to behave properly.

Actual onboarding starts with the first day of work and continues for the first few months after employment. It is a crucial moment for the employee who generally realizes whether he has chosen the right company after the first 10 working days.

Instead, off-boarding is the reverse of onboarding. It concerns the activities that must be performed when the employee leaves the company, including, for example, the return of the smartphone, computer and company badge.

Meaning of online or in-person onboarding

The onboarding process can either take place virtually or in-person.

Normally, in case of an in-person onboarding, the new employee is welcomed into the office by his mentor/manager or the HR team, who will then provide him with an overview of the company, the work team and colleagues. If applicable, the new employee is given the necessary work equipment (badge, computer, company telephone and any other welcome gadgets) together with some useful information about the company structure, culture and policies. In particular, in the Atlantic Technologies example, a new employee on his first day of work also enjoys a lunch together with the HR team and colleagues from his BU, offered by the company.

Instead, an employee who is not physically at the company’s offices in his first days or months of work, either because he is unable to or because of contractual requirements, will receive an online onboarding. Many companies therefore choose to ship the work equipment to the new employee’s home and most of the planned in-person activities are generally converted into online activities. At Atlantic Technologies, for example, the HR team arranges online meetings for a coffee break or snack together with colleagues, so that an employee working remotely has the same opportunities of an employee working at Atlantic’s offices.

Whether it is an online or in-person onboarding, during this period, that normally lasts on average 2 to 6 months, it is a good idea to have periodic meetings between the HR team and the employee, to evaluate together how the new hire’s integration into the company is progressing.

Did you know that at Atlantic we are always looking for new colleagues for the consulting world?

If you would be interested in becoming an #atlanticpeople, please see our open positions or send a spontaneous application to: hiring@atlantic-technologies.com