Once you have hired your new assistant, your next challenge is to integrate that new hire into your team. That process will be much more effective if you have a strong “onboarding” strategy, or a plan for integrating your new assistant, says Sara Gilbert, founder of Strategist in Montreal.
“It’s about giving assistants the tools they need to help them get up to speed and make a difference,” Gilbert says.
The process of onboarding is, in essence, the process that helps new employees develop the basic skills and knowledge to be good team members.
While various onboarding models have been developed, Gilbert boils them down to some key tips that can be helpful when you bring on a new team member:
> Formalize a program
Not enough firms take the time to develop a comprehensive strategy to integrate and train newcomers, Gilbert says. This omission can often be caused by a gap in the transition process or, simply, organizational inertia.
Consult your firm’s human resources department to see if there is a firm-wide onboarding policy. If not, it might be worth spending some time to develop your own process manual for new hires at your practice.
This manual should answer some of the questions posed when a new recruit joins the team, such as: “How is the new hire going to be integrated into the business?” and “Who will be communicating with the new hire at each step?”
> Create a job description
One of the key ingredients in an onboarding process is a detailed job description.
The job description can serve as the guiding document to spell out all the responsibilities that your new assistant will carry.
“The advisor must identify what skills they need,” Gilbert says. For example, what role is the new assistant going to have within the team? Will he or she be processing client paperwork? We he or she be managing social media accounts?
In spelling out the responsibilities required of the job, the job description will also serve as an accountability mechanism that can be revisited later.
> Set goals
Another advantage to having a well-defined onboarding strategy is that it plans out a training schedule for your new assistant.
For example, you can list the goals you want your new assistant to have reached after 30 days, 60 days and 90 days on the job.
“It comes back to having some way to measure his or her progress,” says Gilbert. “In order to do that, it has to be detailed and clear.”
This is the first instalment in a two-part series on how to develop an onboarding strategy.
Tomorrow: Developing a structured onboarding process.
For more on finding the right assistant for your practice, please see our April special feature, “The right fit.”