Onboarding new hires remains an important process for businesses in all industries, but it is especially relevant in the world of healthcare. Since patient care is your most important directive, getting new medical employees productive and contributing quickly is a must. Don’t expect to be able to accomplish this task without developing and executing a plan to get fresh workers up to speed.

With a successful onboarding process in mind, here are some ideas for creating a 30-day plan for new hires. Remember, this is something that goes beyond filling out insurance and payroll forms on their first day.

Speaking of Paperwork — Automate the Process

The more time spent dealing with new employee paperwork is less time spent meeting their new coworkers and learning your medical office’s processes and procedures. Consider sending out any insurance and payroll forms with your formal offer letter and ask the employee to fill them out before their first day. With the right technology, you are able to automate this process and handle things electronically.

The employee handbook and other portions of your company’s culture are also able to be delivered electronically, either through email or by providing the new hire access to the company Intranet. The same logic applies to any medical software manuals or other important information they’ll need to perform their job roles. Once again, accomplishing this before their start date leaves more time for hands-on training.

On the New Employee’s First Day

Inform everyone in your office about the new hire through email before their start date. On their first day, make it a point to have their supervisor introduce them to everyone, while ensuring their employment card and computer workstation — if relevant — is ready to go. They should also understand the chain of command at the office and who is available for answering questions.

Set 30-Day Goals and Follow-Up on their Progress

Create a set of 30-day goals for the new hire; 60 and 90-day goals are also a good idea depending on the level of planning at your office. This gives the new employee a sense of your expectations, which helps them feel comfortable and get up to speed more quickly. Encourage them to exceed those goals as they grow in confidence.

In addition to the ideas presented here, ensure your HR team and managers all have input to any orientation plan for new hires. Document the process while keeping the door open for improvements as things mature.

If your company needs help in building a winning team in the healthcare industry, talk to the experts at Pinnacle Workforce. As one of the country’s top medical staffing agencies, we offer great insight — and great candidates. Meet with us at your earliest convenience.