We’ve all heard of terrible onboarding experiences and might even be guilty of it as managers, or perhaps we’ve had bad experiences ourselves. To ensure your new employee has a great start and quickly becomes a valuable part of your team and organization, avoid these common mistakes:

1. Not Having an Onboarding Plan
   While the HR team and organization may provide an onboarding plan, it will likely focus on the organization’s policies, culture, and general systems. As a manager, you should develop an onboarding plan related to the employee’s role. For the first few weeks, create a detailed daily plan. As the employee becomes more comfortable in their role, you can reduce the level of detail.
2. Failing to Check In with the Employee
   It’s crucial to check in with your new employee multiple times a day during the first few weeks. Utilize messaging, daily kick-off meetings, end-of-day check-ins, and weekly goal reviews. Some interactions should be informal, while others should focus on answering questions, providing training, adjusting plans, and tracking progress.
3. Not Having Access and Technology Ready
   Few things are more frustrating than starting a new job and being unable to access essential applications or not having the necessary equipment. Ensure the start date is well beyond the IT team’s lead time to prepare systems and access and verify that all access requirements and systems are ready before the employee’s first day.
4. Induce Video Training Zombie Syndrome
   We can agree that watching 6 to 8 hours of video training in a day and 30+ hours in a week can cause fatigue and video-training-induced zombie syndrome. Instead, balance the training plan with shadowing, hands-on work, projects, practice, and meetings with other team members.
5. Not Setting Goals and Expectations
   Set clear goals and expectations with specific timelines to ensure successful onboarding. Make sure the employee understands what success looks like and how it will be measured.