So, you have new members joining your organization or association! How exciting! Do you have a process for onboarding new members? This is one of those crucial times where if you fail to onboard successfully, your members may lose the enthusiasm they had when originally joining your group. Thankfully, we have included everything you need to know to keep your members engaged and motivated to contribute to your group!
Mentor/Mentee Program
When someone joins a group, a workplace, or a chamber for the first time it can be a bit nerving. They don’t know anyone, and it can be hard for some to be as sociable as others. And they may even drop out if they don’t feel valued. To combat this I would recommend developing a mentor-mentee relationship with your older members and the new ones joining. This way each new member has someone there to show them the ropes and feel more at ease with getting involved. The mentor also gets some leadership or coaching experience.
Gifts
This one is a given, who doesn’t like gifts? Think of it as a goody bag with merch from your group that you give to each new member. The gifts can be anything really. In my experience, everyone loves a well-designed t-shirt, stickers, coffee tumblers, and pens to name a few. Not only will new members feel celebrated with a gift, but may even feel proud when they don their new swag.
Group Event/Mixer
I remember becoming a member of one of my first organizations in college. I was very nervous and very shy, a bit of an introvert if you will. The officers decided to host a mixer at the beginning of the semester to give new members and older members the chance to get to know each other and hang out. There were some fun icebreakers and games to play that quite literally broke the ice. And we new members felt much more comfortable and at ease with our new group.
Group Page or Chat
Having a place for discourse and updates within a community is a great thing to implement if you haven’t already. There can be a more formal page where you post events, updates, and important info. And an even more casual setting like a group messenger for a general chat amongst team members. This can help everyone be kept apprised of what is going on in the organization as well as an onboarding tool for new members. New members added to both the page and the group chat can feel more involved with the day-to-day happenings and discourse within their new team.
Opportunities to Provide Value
A great way to onboard new members is to allow them to showcase their skills by providing them with an opportunity to give value back to the team or by taking on a role in an upcoming project. This can be helpful for an organization that may need more hands-on a project. It also leads the new members to get more involved and excited about joining this group.
Email Campaign
Whoever said that email is dead must not have gotten the memo. In all honesty, email is still an amazing tool to utilize in any capacity, especially for onboarding! Some may assume that there is no need for something as “ancient” as email. But, that is where community lives in our digital age. You can have all your members new and old join you on Facebook or follow you on Instagram, but if you lose your page you lose access to your community because there is no ownership there. However, you do have ownership over your email list. And just like diamonds, it is forever.
Coupons
Similar to our gift-giving tip, everyone loves coupons! See if your organization has any local partnerships with businesses or restaurants in your area. Getting coupons from them to give to your new members while onboarding is a great way to give to your team as well as promote business for your partners.
Raffle
A raffle is a fun way to get team members excited and can be something to add to an event like a mixer or team meeting. One way to conduct this is to have members buy tickets, which part of those funds can go back to your organization, and you can even provide new members with extra tickets as a way to celebrate them for joining the group.
Anniversary Hallmark/Promotion
Onboarding can take up to six months depending on your organization, and to end your onboarding process with a bang why not celebrate the new team members for their hallmark? There are many ways you can celebrate and even take this time to build a new tradition within your team that members can look forward to. It can be monumental for new members to feel “promoted” to an official member of the team and you can even celebrate that with an award or pin to showcase that achievement.
Training or Shadowing Opportunities
Not to be confused with the mentor-mentee tip discussed earlier, a shadowing opportunity allows for new members to work under and observe someone in the organization who is more aligned with where said team members envision themselves to be in the future. This also provides value to new members and can also work as a networking opportunity.
Feedback Options
Allowing for feedback from new members about their onboarding experience can help you in the future by adjusting any areas of your process that appear to need the most work. This would also signify to your team members that their voice is heard which further adds trust in your organization.
Calendar of Events and Opportunities
A calendar of events and opportunities can tie into your group page or email list and works to keep your members up to date with what is going on in the group. By creating a calendar that can be sent out weekly, or at any frequency you wish, you continuously drive engagement with your group and even potential members.
Rewards for Interacting
When new members get involved in different opportunities during their onboarding, they can get rewarded! Rewarding employees fosters further engagement and appreciation for the organization. There are so many ways you can reward your team members, and you can even hold a vote for what your members would want the most of the options you provide. I would recommend continuously rewarding members even outside of the onboarding process.
Did these tips help you to onboard new members?
What do you think of these onboarding tips? If you think any of these would provide value to your organization and onboarding process, then please adopt them! And just as an extra tip, it would be beneficial to apply more than one or even all of the above tips to see how that makes a difference for your onboarding and team culture.