What is Onboarding?

What is Onboarding?

Onboarding is the process of moving a new employee from the point where they are hired to the point where they reach full job competency. Businesses develop onboarding programs to achieve:

1. COMPLIANCE. Basic compliance with regulations and policies.

2. CLARITY. Training on safety, work procedures, and expectations.

3. CULTURE. Communicate your farm’s procedures, values, traditions and norms.

4. CONNECTION. Help employees forge relationships at work and find their place to engage and thrive.

A robust employee onboarding program helps new hires adjust to the social and performance aspects of their jobs so they quickly become productive, contributing members of the organization.

The key to effective onboarding is having an onboarding plan. Planning is especially critical for seasonal farmworkers because they often arrive as a group just as the season is getting underway. Planning gets the farm into compliance with a checklist approach and assigned responsibility for completing. Helps ensure that new employees get all the safety and production training they need. Most of all it gives managers the space to put a strong focus on the new employee where it belongs, helping them to connect and engage.

Look at the Onboarding Managers Job Aid below to learn more about onboarding.