Ensuring Successful Onboarding: 4 Steps to Avoid Common Pitfalls

Onboarding a new employee is both exciting and challenging! You want them to thrive in their new role – but without the right structure and support, things can go off course quickly. To prevent common new employee issues and ensure all your new hires succeed, it's crucial to implement best practices from the very beginning. 

We thought it important to write this blog since we have seen clients lately forget to dedicate the right time to this crucial onboarding step... which results in them losing a good employee too soon.

Don't let this happen to you!

Here's 3 ways to help you create an onboarding process that sets up any employee for long-term success.

1. Provide a Complete and Accurate Job Description

One of the main reasons for confusion and unmet expectations with new hires is a lack of clarity around job responsibilities. To avoid this, make sure that every new hire is given a complete, detailed, and accurate job description. This helps set clear expectations about their role.

A particularly useful section to include on a job description can be "What Success Looks Like in 30, 60, 90 Days." This gives employees a clear understanding of how they can measure their progress and what success looks like at different milestones in their early months.

It's also a good practice to ask the employee to sign off on the job description to confirm they’ve read and understood it - and that they agree to perform those job duties! This simple step ensures alignment from the start and eliminates ambiguity regarding their duties and performance expectations. 

2. Follow a Structured Onboarding Process

A strong onboarding process is essential for helping new hires settle into their roles and start contributing effectively. I recommend using a structured resource, such as our Expedition HR “Onboarding for Excellence” to guide and direct your actions these crucial first weeks.

HR Subscribers have access to this resource as well as hundreds of other resources in the HR Subscription online resource bank – check out the HR Subscription and Book a Free Call here.

Onboarding isn’t just about showing employees where they can find the restroom and coffee maker… rather, it's about providing the tools, training, and support they need to thrive. A good onboarding process should include things like:

• An introduction to and regular discussions about company culture, values, and goals
• Reviewing of role milestones
• How to get access to necessary training and resources
• Regular “onboarding-focused” check-ins and 1:1 meetings to monitor progress and address any questions or concerns 

Investing time in a structured onboarding process always pays off by reducing early confusion and helping new employees gain confidence. This approach should be applied consistently across all new hires to ensure a positive and productive onboarding experience.

3. Track Weekly Performance and Progress

Keeping a record of how employees are performing during their initial months can be incredibly valuable. One easy way to do this is by creating a document that can be shared easily as needed, such as a Google Doc, to track weekly progress. In this document, note both the positive contributions the employee makes and any areas where they may need help or improvement.

Be sure to record the date and details of each instance—whether it’s something they did well or a situation where they required assistance. This will allow you to monitor their development over time, helping you identify strengths and areas for improvement before they become larger issues.

If performance concerns arise, this Google Doc document will serve as a detailed log, making it easier to identify patterns and make informed decisions. It also provides a quick way to share information with others if needed, allowing for more seamless collaboration and guidance on next steps.

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4. Create a Culture of Regular Feedback—Both Positive and Constructive

New employees (and any employee, for that matter) don’t like to be in the dark about how they are doing when it comes to their work performance. That’s why it’s essential to provide regular feedback—both positive and constructive—throughout their first few months. Weekly feedback sessions can make a world of a difference in helping new hires feel confident and aligned with your expectations.

Establishing a "culture of feedback" early on, where open and regular communication is the norm, helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures that employees can adjust their performance quickly when needed. When feedback is an expected part of the work environment, tougher conversations later on won’t be as daunting.

This feedback process should emphasize both recognition of achievements and constructive advice for areas of improvement. By doing so, employees will feel valued and supported, and they’ll know exactly where they stand, helping them stay engaged and motivated in their role.

Final Thoughts

Onboarding is a crucial process that can determine an employee’s long-term success. By providing a clear job description, implementing a structured onboarding program, tracking weekly performance, and offering regular feedback, you can set your new hires up for success from day one.

These best practices are applicable across all roles and industries, and they create a solid foundation for employee engagement and productivity. Implementing these strategies will help avoid common onboarding pitfalls and ensure that every new hire feels supported, confident, and prepared to make meaningful contributions to your organization!