Focus on Onboarding New Staff

• Provincial Opportunities:
  The Alberta Chambers network has partnered with industry partners and the Government of Alberta to better understand what talent your business needs to grow and succeed. Your participation will help inform critical government workforce strategies for the Alberta Talent Development Taskforce.

• The survey will take approximately 4 minutes to complete and is open until 5:00 P.M. on July 26, 2024.
• Share your perspective today! SURVEY LINK
• Are you struggling to get employees? There is a new provincial funded program lead by Alberta Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (AAISA) to match Ukrainian nationals with employers in rural Alberta. For full details click on the Ukrainian Rural Attraction Project website

Program Highlights:

As part of my ongoing highlight of programs that employers can access in the area, this month we look at Career Assistance Network. They offer many services to job seekers and have a variety of programs that employers might be able to access to find employees. One of their newest programs is highlighted below.

• Finance Fast Track – this provincially-funded 12-week, full-time training program assists individuals in entering a career within banking, investment or insurance industries. The program:
• Provides financial industry and employment readiness training
• Industry specific licensing and certifications
• Industry connections with weekly “Ask The Expert” sessions
• For the Red Deer and area (they will accept anyone willing to travel to Red Deer for training), this program is offered by Career Assistance Network (CAN). Access their website HERE for further information or contact Sydney Durcharme at sydney@rdcan.ca or 403-341-7811

Regional Events and Opportunities:

• Job Fairs on the Horizon
  • Lacombe & District Fall Job Fair – September 12^th 2:00pm to 6:00pm – Contact the Lacombe Employment Centre for details on how to register 780-786-0044

Central Alberta Job Fair – September 11^th

12:00 to 5:00pm - https://www.centralalbertajobfair.com/

Did you know?

• There are 18 Workforce Consultants (WFC) in communities across Alberta. WFCs provide employers with tools and resources to help them recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce.
• Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee into an organization and helping them become productive and engaged.
• Benefits of effective onboarding include attracting and retaining top talent, increasing employee satisfaction, improving productivity, enhancing team dynamics, and fostering communications and connections among employees.

What is Onboarding?

Onboarding is a process to provide new employees with the knowledge and confidence they need to be successful in the position you have hired them into, as well as to learn about your company and its culture. Effective onboarding can help you improve employee retention and engagement and reduce turnover.

Key Practices When Onboarding New Staff

Welcome the New Employee

Start with a positive impression by having a welcome package in the employee’s workspace (e.g. a card signed by the team, a company mug) or sending a welcome message or email. Consider pre-boarding the employee by giving them a package of important information in advance (e.g. company handbook, paperwork, office location and instructions for their first day).

Involve Team Members

Involve colleagues in addition to the hiring manager and HR. Consider assigning a buddy, coach, or mentor. Look for opportunities for the new employee to job shadow others to learn about their new role and other roles in the organization.

Set Clear Expectations

Make it clear for the new employee what their goals and targets are to be successful. Use concrete examples to demonstrate what it means to be successful in the employee’s position. Make sure the employee knows what to do if they have questions or something unexpected happens.

Introduce Work Gradually

Avoid overwhelming the new employee immediately with all the information and duties they will be responsible for. Assign new tasks and increase responsibility as the person successfully achieves previous ones. Check in regularly and offer consistent support. Ask the new employee for feedback, and be willing to be flexible. Consider reviewing and updating your processes as you receive feedback from new employees.

Considerations for Employers

• Have you updated your onboarding processes to account for flexible, remote, and virtual work arrangements?
• Are your onboarding processes inclusive of all new employees, including people with a disability, people whose first language is not English, people with different literacy levels, etc.?

Articles of Interest

14 Onboarding Best Practices (Forbes Advisor)

How to Onboard New Employees With Tips (Indeed)

Onboard New Hires (The Inclusive Workplace)