New construction worker onboarding is the first step for setting your workforce up for success. The better prepared your workers are, the more productive they’ll be on the job. But if your onboarding process is tedious, clunky and time consuming, your new workers won’t receive a great first impression of your company. Starting employees off on the wrong foot could mean they don’t stick around for very long. An easy onboarding process is the answer.
Onboarding Construction Employees Before Day One
The sooner your new hires can get to work, the better. But that doesn’t mean onboarding construction workers should be rushed – employers must collect several documents from new employees for legal and regulatory compliance. The answer is allowing new hires to start filling out their paperwork before the first day. Considering how much paperwork is involved (W4, W9, I-9, E-Verify, Employee Eligibility, State Tax Withholding and direct deposit forms) getting it out of the way early can save tons of time. Cloud-based construction HR software, like Arcoro’s, for onboarding makes it easy for new hires to access their onboarding program from home. New hires can fill out their paperwork and all documents can be stored on a secure server for easy access and virtual audit reference. And, when used alongside the Arcoro Applicant Tracking System (ATS), the process is even easier because new hire onboarding forms can be populated with information from the hire’s application – no need to re-enter data.
Being Clear About Communication
Clear, open communication is the cornerstone of easy construction onboarding. Your new hires need to know they’ll be able to get in touch with their manager and team members. It keeps them engaged and provides a warm welcome. Introduce the technology your team uses to communicate first day or prior to, whether it’s text or another chat technology. For example, some project management software solutions might have a chat feature. Make sure your new employees get the training needed to get started and feel comfortable using your systems.
And, since your new employee will be given a lot of information, consider using construction software for onboarding to keep them on course. A cloud-based system can help you break down information into smaller sections, so it is easier to communicate with your new hires. Construction HR software for onboarding also helps you track your new employees’ progress.
Get the Entire Team Involved
The more people involved in new construction workers onboarding, the better your new hires will understand their roles. Ask your team to help by sharing knowledge about daily work habits – where to park, what to do about lunch and other pertinent information. You can go a step further and make construction employee onboarding even easier by assigning hires a buddy or mentor. A work buddy can show new employees the ropes while being a resource on company policies and procedures.
Including Training in Construction Onboarding
Onboarding is made easy when you plan ahead to include training. Great construction onboarding software can help you plan out training, including the training that’s required, like sexual harassment training. Host a toolbox talk on your new hire’s first day. OSHA’s Safety Training and Education standard requires employers to instruct employees on how to recognize and avoid unsafe working conditions to control or eliminate hazards. A toolbox talk is an informal way to address the safety standards your new employees must adhere to for a safe jobsite.
Onboarding software for construction companies can also let you schedule ongoing training for months after the hire date. Not only do these tools make it easy but focusing on development may help you retain your new hires.
Using a Kiosk to Onboard Multiple Employees at Once
The easiest construction onboarding process is the one that allows you to use a central workstation to onboard groups of hire without requiring them to log into the system. Instead of emailing a link for new hires to start the onboarding process at home, Kiosk Mode allows new hires to onboard directly from the job site.
Foremen or managers in the field can use a template to create employee files with auto-populating fields, then hands the digital paperwork over to the employees to enter their own information. Kiosk mode is fast but also simple and secure, making onsite onboarding easy.
A cloud-based onboarding system, like Arcoro’s onboarding software, can be accessed from anywhere including a laptop, desktop, mobile device or kiosk. When a system is 100% paperless, it can streamline the entire process and eliminate any data input errors. It’s also less cumbersome for the employee and HR staff, allowing you to focus on the aspects of onboarding that help engage your newest member.
Download our construction onboarding checklist to learn how to easily get your employees off to the best start. 
