Congratulations on the hire of your new employee! As a supervisor or manager, you play an important role in guiding new employees through fulfilling careers at UC Davis and UC Davis Health.
Designed for Supervisors and Managers, this toolkit prepares you to welcome and engage your new employees through the dynamic process of onboarding. Onboarding enables you to bring newly hired employees up to speed with the details of their new role and responsibilities, policies, processes, expectations, culture and day-to-day work of your department.
One of the most important things you can do as a supervisor or manager is to lay a foundation for learning and growing into your employee’s new role. This is achieved through creating a structured experience for the new hire. Research shows that providing a well-organized onboarding experience greatly increases productivity, commitment and, ultimately, retention.
Why is Onboarding Important?
A comprehensive onboarding process fosters positive working relationships and a sense of belonging that help new employees gain confidence and become productive quickly. It integrates your new employee into the organizational culture and equips them with the knowledge and resources necessary for success in their roles.
Onboarding produces the greatest return on investment when it is intentional, collaborative and managed. Effective onboarding:
- Facilitates understanding of job expectations and performance management
- Communicates the missions and visions of the University of California, UC Davis, UC Davis Health and your unit/department
- Helps new employees see how their roles fit into the larger organization and contribute to its success
- Encourages teamwork and instills pride
- Ensures consistency in meeting legal requirements and compliance standards
- Promotes awareness of tools and resources for career management and work-life effectiveness
- Reduces employee turnover
- Increases long-term engagement and retention
"Employees who strongly agree their onboarding process was exceptional are
nearly three times as likely to say they have the best possible job."
– Gallup, Perspective on Creating an Exceptional Onboarding Journey for New Employees
Best Practices for Professional Development and Performance Management
The Onboarding Toolkit is primarily focused on preparing and planning key onboarding activities, from offer acceptance through the first 90 days. In addition to suggested activities, you’ll find templates, resources and best practices used in the onboarding journey.
Onboarding Best Practices:
- View onboarding as a partnership between you and your new employee
- Begin at the acceptance of the job offer and continue through the first year of employment
- Focus on clear, open communication, effective training, feedback and ongoing support
- Provide a variety of opportunities that foster belonging and integration with their peers and people from other areas that frequently connect with their position
- Match your new employee with an experienced colleague (an “onboarding buddy” or mentor) for guidance in understanding and navigating the department and university
- Encourage exploration of and participation in campus activities and community groups
Resource Articles
- Gallup: Create an Exceptional Onboarding Journey for Your New Employees
- Gallup: How to Improve the Employee Experience
- Gartner: Retain New Hires Through an Engaging Onboarding Experience
- Forbes: Why Effective Onboarding Is Critical To Employee Retention
- UCnet: Onboarding and integration