The riskiest period with a new hire is in those first few weeks after they start. It can make or break the relationship if it’s not done correctly.

According to Glassdoor, new hire retention can be improved by up to 82%, and productivity by over 70%, with a good onboarding process. We are all different, and different people like to be welcomed in different ways. Try giving an introvert a cuddle on their first day and see what happens! It’s a hard first impression to shift.

Here’s a new way to look at both your candidate/new hire’s profile and subsequently, how to onboard these eight different types.

Catalyst: dynamic, stimulating, driven and inciting. They excel at getting something going with energy. Often found starting new businesses, leading a new project or taking an existing project on to its next big step. Naturally innovative, they bring new ideas and creative approaches to any team.

Best onboarding approach: Discuss their creative problem-solving skills and recognise their achievements. Show them what they will learn in the first three months. Keep them creatively engaged by ensuring they have a steady flow of new projects to work on.

Champion: a trailblazer who shakes up the status quo and stirs people up to listen to the message they herald. Using their personal credibility, they shine a light on the cause they rally for and incite others to join them. They are vibrant and exciting. Excel at taking a proven idea and broadcasting its value to a wide audience.

Best onboarding approach: They will want a fuss made of them on day one. Show that enthusiasm before they come in through all correspondence. Introduce them to key people.

Coach: ignites the fire and passion of others to work together as a team focused on bring a central idea to life or supporting a product or service to shine. Coaches bring warmth, energy and inspiration, lighting the path for others so they may strive for personal excellence and team success. They get what their team really need to overcome challenges.

Best onboarding approach: Meet them before they start and arrange for someone to greet them upon their arrival. Show them who they’ll be working with, reporting to and who will be reporting in to them as soon as possible. Target them through teamwork and team activities. They tend not to want to work from home; they need to be around people to talk, listen and have water-cooler moments.

Connector: an excellent communicator who brings people, ideas and resources together. They have a special gift to unite the right people, at the right time and place.

Best onboarding approach: Introduce them to people in different departments who will have an impact on their work. Get paperwork in order well in advance and keep in touch throughout the month before their arrival. Schedule touch points with them. As a general rule, set up video calls with them rather than email. They won’t get on with woolly plans so make them realistic.

Custodian: excels at getting tasks done, maintains routines and honours commitments and deadlines, while ensuring that the right activity delivers tangible results.

Best onboarding approach: Give them some reading in advance to make things more familiar. Explain how the team fits together, where their part to play fits and what the customer journey looks like. Get the person who interviewed them to meet them on the first day. Custodians like the rhythm of repetition as they live by order and routine.

Cultivator: guides and shapes the growth of a team, project or enterprise through a subtle influence that seeks to adjust, refine and develop. Excels in managing complex projects and deliverables, while making sure that resources are carefully managed and risk is mitigated in a timely manner.

Best onboarding approach: Help them to establish a routine to their week by suggesting an action for the day/week ahead, especially their first week. Cultivators are great planners; if they have regular daily/weekly tasks, let them know in advance what those are. They want to be able to control final outcomes.

Conductor: a commanding, precise, alert and local individual that focuses energy and efficiency on directing individuals of the team or ‘orchestra’ into a unified and optimised collective.

Best onboarding approach: Before their start date, send them information around data, facts and figures relevant to their role. Point them in the direction of further research they can do in advance. They don’t need any ‘pomp and circumstance’ around their arrival; the less fuss, the better. They will want to be shown to their desk and get on with it.

Calibrator: the natural perfectionist for your team, relentless in the pursuit of continuous improvements and incremental refinement. Excelling when they can tinker with how a system works and experiment with new approaches to old problems.

Best onboarding approach: Before their start date, inform them about current systems and challenges. Encourage them to think about potential improvements they would like to make. Introduce them to someone senior to showcase your ‘genius in waiting’ who is being brought in to improve what in the organisation is ‘broken’.

This article is excerpted from the e-book How to successfully onboard a new team member without the risk of them quitting with permission of Graham Brown, managing director, Forces Recruitment Solutions Group.

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