Building a Winning Team – Part 4: The Importance of HR Onboarding

You’ve gone through all the right steps in finding the best person to hire – and it’s been an informative, enjoyable, and sometimes tiring process. You found someone who looks like they’ll be an excellent fit for the role. Your job is almost done. But before you can move on, there’s another important step, and that is HR onboarding. Your new hire needs to be brought into the firm and welcomed onto the team. It’s time for some tips for onboarding new employees.

Work with experts in recruitment and onboarding – from the human resources consultancy you can trust and depend upon. From first interview to first day on the job and beyond, the experienced consultants at Bramwell Partners will be your supportive partners. Get started by calling 07 3630 5695, emailing us at success@bramwellpartners.com.au, or by getting in touch online.

Why Is HR Onboarding Important?

Onboarding is more than filling out the necessary forms and supplying a new hire with an employee handbook and other information. Onboarding is the new hire’s first real impression of their new employment home. They will feel uncertainty mixed with hope – that they will be welcome, that they’ll fit in and move into a productive working relationship with all these people they’ve never seen before. Onboarding new employees is when the company wants to show its best qualities.

Onboarding Sets the Tone

The attitude and approach of HR during onboarding sets a tone for the new hire that can colour and inform their interactions with their new colleagues for some time to come. This is one of the top tips for onboarding new employees, and it’s not hard to do right. When HR is friendly and efficient and ready to solve problems, it sets positive expectations for the new hire that are the first steps to excellent outcomes. When asked how HR onboarding affects their impression of a new workplace, more than 70 percent of respondents said they would seriously consider quitting after a bad onboarding experience.

The Mechanics of HR Onboarding

It is very important that a new hire be properly documented with the company and enrolled in benefit programs. There are also the TFN declaration, Standard Choice Form, and Fair Work Information. There is important health and safety information to be understood and acknowledged. It may be necessary to request the new hire’s professional accreditation and permits, and to verify that the new hire can in fact work legally in Australia.

Recruitment and onboarding for each new employee represents an array of required onboarding paperwork and activity. The HR office must be well prepared with knowledge and resources to implement this and guide the new hire in what is needed from them, and what they should know.

For a New Business

In most situations, hiring staff happens in the context of an enterprise that is already up and running. However, in the case of a new business, there are important steps to be taken before staff can be hired. A new business should file for an Australian Business Number (ABN) as soon as it is established. All businesses must register with the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for Pay As You Go Withholding to be authorised to withhold tax from employee pay.

Onboarding & the New Employee

A new hire must first fill out the Tax File Number declaration. This determines how much tax they will pay and therefore how much will be withheld. A new employee will also need to complete a Standard Choice Form, selecting their superannuation fund. The Standard Choice Form may be completed online – the employee will need their employer’s ABN and their fund’s ID number. The Standard Choice Form must be completed within 28 days of the new employee’s first working day.

The Fair Work Information Statement must be given the new employees on their first day of work. It describes an employee’s entitlements and protections at work, including minimum pay and conditions for various industries and occupations, covering most employees in Australia. HR will also need to add the new employee to payroll, and report payroll information to the ATO.

The Rest of HR Onboarding

Legal and financial paperwork are the minimums necessary for onboarding. There will almost always be other aspects, from activating the new employee’s email account and setting up their access to apps that the company uses, to a tour of the premises. Everything a new hire needs is something HR will be involved with. We hope these tips for onboarding new employees are helpful.

It’s a Big Job – We’re Here to Help

Onboarding can be confusing and a bit intimidating, but it also brings out the best in HR that is well-organised and well-prepared. You can take your HR to a new level with the assistance of professionals experienced in recruitment and onboarding. Bramwell Partners are the leader in human resources Brisbane knows and trusts. We’re ready to partner with you to make your onboarding smooth and worry-free. Call us today on 07 3630 5695, email us at success@bramwellpartners.com.au, or reach out online.