Your 2024 preboarding checklist for frontline teams
Finding top talent for your frontline team is immensely tough, especially in 2024. Once you’ve found the perfect new hire the challenge doesn’t end there. You then face that uncertain period which sits between the time after they accept your offer and their first start day. This period of time can be a matter of days, a few weeks or even a few months. If you don’t utilise this time to preboard and fully engage with your new employee then you face various risks which can lead you to lose them. The risks of not preboarding your employees are as follows;
The gap between interview and start date is too long - Your new hire loses interest in your company over the course of the days, weeks or months.
They accept other job offers - If your new hire loses interest it can make them more susceptible to accept any other offers that come there way.
They start believing negative thoughts - Your new hire may hear or read something online about your company which puts them off. If you are not communicating with them by preboarding them correctly then all they have is a negative image or thought left in their mind. This could result in them not showing up on their first day.
They are anxious about the unknown - Your potential new employee may feel fearful about the unknown, if you are not plugging those gaps with helpful resources and support then your new hire may start looking elsewhere.
If you are unsure of what to include in your preboarding strategy, fear not. At Ocasta we specialise in preboarding and onboarding so we are going to share with you the ultimate preboarding checklist. Discover everything you need to make sure your new hires stay engaged from the moment they accept your job offer 💪.
Your ultimate preboarding guidance
The following checklist is guidance on what we think you should include. We recommend sending no more than two communications per week. This is because you want to send just enough that you are keeping your new starter engaged, but not so much that they feel overwhelmed or find you annoying.
Videos
Use your preboarding platform to send videos to your new hire.
Send videos of the team your new hire will be working with.
A video of where your new hire will be working is crucial as a lot of feedback has highlighted to us that new starters feel anxious about going into the unknown.
Film a typical day in their role and what they can expect to be doing.
Send a video of a welcome message from your CEO.
You don’t need to send all of the videos mentioned above in your preboarding strategy, but it’s good to chose the ones which you think will be most beneficial for your new hire.
Checklists
Digital checklists are a fantastic way to help your new hire stay on track with what they should have covered. This helps eliminate fear which is led by uncertainty. Checklists which our clients use in their preboarding strategy are as follows;
Uniform checklist for their first day. What do they need to wear and have prepared?
Learning checklist - what learning modules should they have completed before they start. For example your customer service candidates should read your selling best practice guide or FAQ’s document before they start.
Equipment checklist - is there anything they need to bring with them for their first day? Tools, lunch, passes etc.
Daily checklist - it is a nice idea to write a checklist of all the requirements you expect to be done in the day. This is so your new hire knows exactly what is expected from them. It can really help to ease nerves and create a feeling of confidence for them. For example this may include; what time they should clock in, where they should clock in, who they need to report to, what they need to have done by what time, how many sales they need to make, where to have lunch, what time to have lunch etc.
Documents checklist - Let your new starter know exactly what identification documents you need them to bring. Enrollment form, passport, driving license, health insurance, direct deposit form.
“50% of workers worry that they will be late for their first day.”
— Forward Role
Notifications
Most preboarding platforms have notification features built in which can click through to the relevant content you want to guide your new starters to. This makes it effortless for you stay in touch with your new hire and keep them updated. You can use these pop up notifications to allow you to stay at the forefront of your employee’s mind.
Use them to build excitement with your new hire. Create a countdown for them in the lead up to their first day. E.g. Four weeks befo®re their first day send one which says “Four weeks to go Helen, have you read all your starter guides?”. One week before you could say “Just one more week to go we can’t wait to welcome you onboard Sarah.”
Send notifications to encourage your new starter to watch the videos which you have sent.
Use them to ask questions and show your new hire think that you care about them.
Notifications can be used to remind them of what they need to bring or do before their first day.
Use them to send encouraging words of wisdom or quotes to make your new employee feel inspired and motivated to start.
Use alerts to highlight any important pieces of news or changes to the company which you want them to know. E.g. if you have now extended shop hours, or there have been changes to uniform requirements.
Knowledge hub
Use a preboarding app platform to make it super easy for your new starter to access all the information they need. Empower them to learn about your company at their own pace by giving them knowledge at their fingertips.
Your knowledge hub should include;
Policies and procedures
Product knowledge guides
‘How To’ articles
Health and safety information
Travel instructions
Support information
FAQ’s
Where they can find things e.g. till receipt paper, returned stock, keys and cleaning equipment etc.
Key dates - payday, weekly meetings, weekly forecasts, annual parties, development plans, one to ones.
“81% of new hires want to hear details about their new role in the preboarding stage.”
— Tydy
Tracked articles
Having a knowledge hub is perfect to empower your new hires to learn at their own pace. However, there are some articles which are crucial for your new starters to read before they start. Use tracked articles to ensure that staff read the information they need to when they need to.
Use them for health and safety articles which they need before they start work. E.g. do they need to read a manual handling article before they start work as a delivery driver.
Any disclaimers that you require them to read and have receipt that they have read and understood them.
Any policies which will affect them when they are working e.g. FCA regulations if they are beginning work as a sales advisor.
Training courses
An amazing way to build the confidence of your new employee is to help them learn so that they feel better equipped to hit the ground running when they start. Send them timely learning quizzes to help them be the best at their job when they start and give them the encouragement they need.
Help them learn about the best practice for their job.
Quiz them on their product knowledge.
Encourage them to learn about tricks and tips which will make them better at their job.
Do culture training. E.g. how should respond in certain situations.
Our learning courses allow your new hires to jump in and out. Being able to do this means they can complete the learning at times which suit them best.
Send them achievements
Show them that you appreciate them by sending them encouraging achievement kudos. These are what we use at Ocasta on the Engage app. However, if you don’t have a preboarding platform, you can send your new starter an email or a text message.
Congratulate them on completing all the learning playlists before their first day.
Send a sticker when they have ticked off all of their uniform checklists.
Reward them for acknowledging essential articles they need before their first day.
Make them feel appreciated if they engage with the app regularly.
“When asked what leaders could do more of to improve engagement, 58% of respondents replied “give recognition.”
— Psychometrics
Preboarding isn’t just a nice thing to have. It’s an essential strategy which ensures that you keep and engage the very best talent. Prepare your new starters effectively and give them the confidence they need to hit the ground running. One of our customers has saved £3,000 with each new hire by effectively preboarding and onboarding their new starters.
