Mastering Your Yes-To-Desk (Onboarding) Strategy

While Justin Bieber had a hit singing about one less lonely girl, this blog will give you insights into being one less lonely firm by bulletproofing your onboarding (yes-to-desk) experience, so that prospective candidates and new employees feel warm and welcome and your administrative burden is eased.

First, I want to clarify the difference between onboarding and orientation.

Orientation is short-term focused and occurs during a new hire’s first week. It includes:

• Completing hiring paperwork (W-4s, I-9s, etc.)
• Selecting benefit and payroll deposit preferences
• Setting up technology
• Providing an overview of internal processes

Onboarding spans a longer period. It starts from the moment a candidate gives you a verbal or written yes to work at your firm and continues through their first few months on the job (or longer). Onboarding includes:

• Assigning peer guides, development coaches, and/or mentors
• Giving more in-depth training on internal processes and technical topics
• Managing performance (e.g., role clarity, expectations, and goal setting)

Job candidates want to feel respected, valued, and invested in—not only throughout the interviewing period but also once they start at your firm. For internal team members, a new person interviewing or starting means a lot of coordination, and administrative tasks sometimes have to be executed quickly.

To make your yes-to-desk process desirable for your prospective and current team members, consider the following:

1. Templatize, templatize, templatize! For the team who handles scheduling interviews, coordinating meetings and trainings, setting up computer equipment, etc., make templates or checklists to standardize your process. Make a list of who candidates need to interview with (not necessarily specific names, but positions; e.g., one associate, one manager, one partner, etc.). Create template emails that need only a few specific details altered each time, such as the candidate’s name, the position they are interviewing for, and the day/time of their interview.

Create a checklist of steps for once a candidate accepts your offer, including:

• Notifying the firm (or specific team/department) that the candidate has accepted your offer
• Coordinating with IT to ensure all equipment will be ready for the new hire on their start date
• Getting the new employee set up in any internal systems and programs (payroll, benefits, tax/audit software programs, etc.)
• Creating an agenda for their first day(s) (I recommend having a template for this as well)
• Sending the agenda to the new hire and anyone who has a scheduled meeting with them during their first day(s) the week before their start date

2. Don’t ghost candidates. Firms should be cautious about letting candidates be in the dark too long throughout their interviewing process or after they have accepted your offer. Some firms think nothing about having a candidate interview for a position and then waiting for weeks before letting them know they are moving on in the interview process, are being offered a job, or—worse yet—that the firm won’t be moving forward with their application. Firms who wait too long to present an offer to a candidate may find that the individual has accepted another offer in the meantime.

I’m not suggesting you cut corners in the interview process, but make sure that you’re being efficient and have someone in charge of keeping in touch regularly with a candidate. That point of contact should be transparent about internal decision-making timelines and offer to answer any other questions the candidate may have about the position or firm.

3. Avoid overwhelming your new hires. Starting a new job, whether it’s your first one out of college or you’re a seasoned manager starting at your third firm, can be nerve-wracking and stressful. Many aspects are foreign, from coworkers to processes and procedures to software, making it crucial for firms to be cognizant of not overwhelming new hires with too much information too fast. Doing so creates more stress and can lead to reduced performance by the employee if they feel like they need more time to digest the mountain of information being thrown their way. While keeping the employee busy is important, I wouldn’t suggest jampacking their schedule every day during their first few weeks. Give them the necessary introductory meetings and training, but also allow them time and space to process what they are learning and how they will apply it when their workload starts ramping up.

4. Assign a peer buddy and mentor to every new hire. The last thing any new hire wants is to be sitting at their desk on their first day (or any day for that matter!) not knowing who they can go to ask a question. This question could be as simple as where the restroom is or as deep as how they can improve their self-reviewing skills. Assigning a peer buddy and mentor to new hires fosters a culture of collaboration and belonging. Ideally, a peer buddy is someone in a similar position as the new hire (e.g., a new associate would have an experienced associate as a peer buddy), whereas a mentor is an individual more senior who can serve as a professional sounding board (e.g., a new associate would have a manager as a mentor). On the new hire’s first day, they should meet with both their peer buddy and their mentor to get to know them and learn those individuals’ roles in supporting them.

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Creating an outstanding yes-to-desk experience is about more than ticking boxes on a checklist, though; it’s about fostering a culture of inclusivity, support, and seamless integration. By templatizing processes, firms can ensure new team members are welcomed consistently and efficiently. I can’t overstate the importance of communication—avoiding the common discourtesy of ghosting candidates sets the tone for a respectful and transparent relationship.

The balance between providing essential information and avoiding information overload is just as important. Recognizing that the initial days can be overwhelming, an onboarding program should tailor the flow of information to ensure that new hires absorb and apply knowledge effectively.

Assigning each new hire a peer buddy and mentor is another piece of the puzzle. This not only accelerates their integration into the team but also provides them with invaluable insights and support. The peer buddy offers a friendly face, while the mentor serves as a guide, helping navigate the organizational landscape.

Ultimately, an exceptional yes-to-desk experience extends beyond the first few days. It lays the foundation for a strong, motivated, and engaged workforce. By investing time and effort into these key aspects, your firm can create a workplace environment where every new hire feels valued, empowered, and ready to contribute their best to the team’s collective success.