What is the best way to bring a new hire on board? Mentoring is an extremely effective way of onboarding a new hire. It helps them start out on the right foot and get up to speed quickly. It helps the new hire feel confident in his or her job quickly.

Top Secrets to Mentoring a New Hire

What are the best ways you can mentor a new hire?

1. Identify who is the best person or persons on your team to mentor the new hire. It may not be you. As a business owner or manager, you may not be the one who can provide the time and focus that mentoring the new hire may require. Plus, you may need more than one mentor to help the new hire with the organizational as well as operational transition.

2. Define and communicate the goals and objectives to both the new hire and the mentor. Just throwing two people together and telling one to mentor the other is not going to work.

3. Make the introduction at the start of the onboarding process. Most new hires are nervous and a bit anxious on their first day. They don’t know quite what to expect. Having a mentor to turn to with questions and concerns will give that person a boost of confidence and make the transition easier.

4. Build strong lines of communication between the mentor, new hire, and management. The new hire should know how to contact the mentor directly, and vice versa. Both should be able to bring concerns and questions to management.

5. Give the mentor the support he or she needs. Mentors, especially those new to the process, will likely need as much support as the new hire does. Set up times to talk directly with the mentor about the new hire and how the mentoring process is progressing. Welcome live stream feedback.

6. Give the new hire the support he or she needs. Even with the help of a mentor, the new hire may still have questions that only a manager or owner can answer. Giving him or her an opportunity to do so and to provide live stream feedback is invaluable.

If you are bringing a new hire on board, you should identify how you want to mentor that person before he or she arrives for the first day. A bit of pre-planning will give the new hire a smooth transition.