Having a strong onboarding process for new sales team members is essential for any business that wants to succeed in the competitive world of sales. It ensures that each person has the knowledge and skills required to hit the ground running, so they can contribute effectively from day one. Plus, a great onboarding experience ensures 69% of employees stick with a company for three years.
However, creating an effective onboarding plan takes more than just setting up a few meetings and providing some training materials. There are several key steps that need to be taken in order for it to be successful. In this article, we’ll outline the vital steps you need to take when onboarding new sales team members so they can quickly become productive contributors to your organization.
What Exactly Is Onboarding?
Onboarding is an important process for any business, no matter the size of the company. It provides a framework to smoothly integrate new employees into their roles and the organization as a whole. Although people think onboarding is simply providing an employee with their job duties, it actually goes deeper than that.
Onboarding looks at establishing an environment where they can both learn and understand workplace culture, as well as build relationships with co-workers and senior leaders within the organization. By taking the right steps during onboarding, businesses create happy, productive employees who will help increase productivity and success.
The Benefits Of Effective Onboarding
Onboarding new team members to a company is an important step, but too often, it does not garner the attention it deserves. An effective onboarding process can have a range of advantages for both the employer and the employee. Here are a few of the most significant benefits:
Sets Expectations
A thorough onboarding process can help set expectations for both the employer and the employee. It gives the new hire an idea of what is expected from them, as well as how their performance will be evaluated. Onboarding sessions can also offer insight into the goals of the organization, helping new hires understand the big picture and become more engaged with their job.
Reduces Turnover
Onboarding establishes a strong foundation for new hires, making them feel welcomed and valued from the start of their employment. This can help to reduce turnover rates, as employees are more likely to stay with an organization they feel connected to.
Improved Productivity
When done correctly, onboarding can equip sales team members with the tools and knowledge they need to hit the ground running. This helps improve productivity and ensures that sales objectives are reached quickly.
Creates A Positive Work Environment
Effective onboarding creates a positive work environment by allowing employees to settle into their roles quickly rather than taking months or even years trying out different approaches just to get results which then diminishes productivity overall due to the lack of any specific direction being provided earlier in their tenure at a company.
Step 1: Preparing for a New Hire
Now that we’ve looked at the benefits of an effective onboarding process let’s look at the steps necessary to set one up.
Identifying the role and responsibilities
First, it’s important to identify what the new hire will be responsible for and create an outline of their duties. This should include tasks, expectations, KPIs, and anything else necessary for them to understand what is expected of them.
Creating systems to streamline onboarding processes
It’s also essential to create systems and processes that will help streamline onboarding. This includes setting up a communication system, organizing training materials, creating checklists, and anything else that can make the process more efficient. For example, maybe you create a series of videos that new hires can watch in order to quickly understand their job duties.
Developing job descriptions
Next, create job descriptions that provide an overview of the role and responsibilities. This will help new hires understand their duties, as well as how they fit into the organization as a whole. For example, it could include a brief overview of the company, team structure, and goals.
Setting expectations for the new hire
Lastly, set expectations for the new hire. This includes expectations around attendance, deadlines, communication, and anything else that may be pertinent to their role. By having an understanding of what is expected, the employee can be held accountable for meeting those expectations.
Step 2: Becoming Familiar with the Company’s Culture and Procedures
Once the new hire has an understanding of their role and responsibilities, it’s important to become familiar with the company culture. This includes:
Ensuring compliance with legal requirements and policies
Depending on the size of the organization, there may be specific legal requirements or policies that must be followed. It’s important to ensure that new hires understand and comply with these. For example, in the US, new hires must be provided with an Employment Eligibility Verification form (Form I-9) to complete.
Introducing the new hire to colleagues and stakeholders
It’s also important to introduce the new hire to colleagues and stakeholders. This can help them understand how their role fits into the overall structure of the organization, as well as learn from those who have been there before them. For example, if you have a morning meeting, it’s important to invite the new hire so they can become familiar with the team and their roles.
Explaining the company’s values and objectives
Lastly, explain the company’s values and objectives. It’s important that new hires understand what is expected of them and how they can contribute to achieving organizational goals. Additionally, they should have a clear understanding of the company culture and how it affects their role.
Step 3: Training on Job Roles and Responsibilities
Once the new hire has become familiar with the organizational structure, it’s important to create a plan for training and development to ensure that they are able to perform their duties effectively. This includes:
Providing training materials such as user manuals or handbooks
Providing training materials, such as user manuals and handbooks, is an essential part of the onboarding process that can equip team members with all the information they need to perform their duties.
With these documents, new hires have access to guidelines about job roles and responsibilities, an understanding of the office culture and structure of the team, compliance with legal requirements and policies, as well as an overview of relevant tools that are necessary for success in their role. By making sure new staff receive such materials during onboarding, companies can ensure smoother transitions while helping personnel quickly acclimatize into the organization’s environment.
Offering an orientation tour of the premises
Offering an orientation tour of the premises is a great way to introduce new team members to their environment. This is because it will help them develop a better understanding of their workplace. A tour of the office can provide new hires with an overview of the physical layout. This will allow them to navigate the space more easily and quickly become familiar with necessary areas like departments, restrooms, and other locations.
It also allows personnel to gain a deeper insight into how things in the organization work. As they are introduced to other colleagues, it can foster collaboration between departments. As part of the orientation process, offering an onsite tour helps employees feel more comfortable in their new surroundings and encourages them to start contributing faster than if they had been left to figure out everything by themselves.
Arranging on-the-job training sessions
Arranging on-the-job training sessions is an important aspect of the onboarding process. It can help new hires quickly get up to speed and become productive members of the team. Onsite training offers employees an opportunity to watch their colleagues in action. They’ll learn the day-to-day tasks involved in their job roles and can ask any questions they may have.
Through these sessions, your staff will gain valuable experience as well as insights into the organization’s policies and processes that can’t be learned from manuals or handbooks alone. With on-the-job coaching, personnel can make faster progress with tasks that are assigned to them and better adjust to the company’s culture so they can contribute more effectively from day one.
Scheduling regular check-ins with new employees throughout their first year of employment
It is also important to schedule regular check-ins with new employees throughout their first year of employment. These meetings are an ideal opportunity to provide feedback and guidance while giving the new hire a chance to ask questions, highlight any issues they may have, and discuss how they can continue to add value in their role.
Regular check-ins allow team leaders to nurture relationships with their personnel. Plus, it provides support while helping them identify any weaknesses or areas for improvement in terms of skills and development. In addition, these meetings can also be used as a tool to measure the employee’s progress and see whether they are meeting goals in line with expectations. If not, this is an easy way to create an action plan to help the employee perform as needed.
Is An Onboarding Process Necessary?
While it might seem like a ton of work, having an effective onboarding process in place is essential for any organization that wants to ensure the success of its new hires. Not only does it help with smoother transitions, but it also creates a positive impression on personnel and allows them to become productive from day one.
Plus, with the right onboarding program in place, organizations can reduce staff turnover. Proper onboarding will encourage team members to stay with the company for longer. Ultimately, having an effective onboarding process makes it easier for personnel to adjust to their new surroundings. This, in turn, helps them to become better contributors to their teams.
Wrapping It Up
When done correctly, onboarding new sales team members can be a great way to set them up for success. It’s important to ensure you have a process in place that covers all the necessary steps. This includes preparing for the new hire, becoming familiar with the company’s culture and procedures, and training on job roles and responsibilities. By taking the time to properly onboard your new sales team members, you’ll be setting them up for success. Plus, you’ll be creating a great experience from day one.
If you’re interested in a high-paying sales job or need new talent for your sales team, become a client with Sales Recruiters Dallas, or contact us today to learn more about how we can help you find the top sales talent in Dallas. We specialize in helping companies find, recruit and onboard the best sales and marketing professionals in Texas.