Investing in a planned and comprehensive onboarding strategy can foster a sense of belonging, reduce the time it takes for new hires to become productive, and minimize the risk of errors.

Read on for onboarding best practices and advice for onboarding early career professionals and senior leaders, gathered from a variety of AFP FP&A roundtables and interviews, or jump to part one for a New Hire Onboarding Checklist for FP&A.

Onboarding Starts During Recruiting

At the recruiting stage, you’re already shaping the candidate’s understanding of your company’s culture, values and expectations. Being transparent and clear in your communication sets the stage for a smooth transition, ensuring the new hire feels aligned with the company from the start.

Advice from Finance Professionals

• For supervisors of early career professionals: “Have good interviewers doing the interviewing. Some applicants can fake good interviews. Look for leadership activities outside of class. If you are the interviewee, build rapport and be memorable.” — finance learning & development professional
• For supervisors: “Set the expectations of the role, now and in the future. Hire for skills 3-5 years ahead.” — finance learning & development professional in the telecommunications industry
• For supervisors: Be specific in your candidate profiles, defining core skills as well as alternate skills. “We hire for potential; we’re looking for leaders and learners.” — finance learning & development professional in the computer hardware industry

Choose Start Dates That Make Sense

A well-timed start date ensures that the support, resources and key people are available. This makes it possible for the new hire to integrate more easily into the team and start contributing without unnecessary confusion or delays.

If you must have someone start during a busy period, prepare in advance the information for the person to begin onboarding.

Advice from Finance Professionals

• For supervisors: “If possible, the timing of start dates should be considered when we pick start dates for new hires. I started in my new role the week of the board meeting, and my manager did not have time for me that week.” — Finance Business Partner in the education industry
• For supervisors: “Managers have to be willing to set up time blocks to get someone up to speed. You're setting your new hire up for failure if you don't have time for them.” — finance professional
• For supervisors: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so starting when the organization is ready to absorb you is key to success.” — finance professional

Be Prepared with a Structured Plan That Onboards the Hire Over Time

Without a clear roadmap, new hires may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about their role, causing confusion and frustration from the very start. They could miss out on important information or training that’s critical for their success, leading to mistakes or inefficiencies. Plus, a lack of structure can create a sense of disorganization, potentially leaving the new hire questioning the company’s commitment to their growth. This all equates to lower job satisfaction, decreased engagement — and even higher turnover rates.

With that said …

Focus on the People Aspect First

Trust that the new hire’s skills were vetted in the interview process. Boost the new hire’s confidence and engagement by helping them build strong relationships and develop a sense of belonging.

“I have found that people’s longevity in a company is tied to their relationships, and the early impressions they have stay with them,” said one finance professional.

Plan Out What They Need to Know

Thoughtful organization helps new hires focus on what’s most critical at each stage of their onboarding, gradually building their understanding without getting overloaded.

• Move them through a plan. “We have defined a structured plan that leads to long-term success and retention. New, early career hires work through a six-month curriculum and two-year rotation.” — finance learning & development professional in the computer hardware industry
• Consolidate resources. “I've set up a library that I share with new hires and the team, and it includes all the things that I think are useful: links to the regulatory categories, enterprise agreements, industrial relations, HR structure, cheat sheets for processes, systems, org charts, etc.” — finance professional
• Tailor the plan to the person. “The analyst is focused on how to get things done; more senior hires work through people and need to meet the company historians and know what landmines to avoid.” — CFO of a non-profit

Don’t Rush the Process

New hires need time to absorb key information, build relationships and fully understand their role. Rushing the onboarding process can overwhelm people, leading to mistakes, confusion and insecurity. Allowing enough time for a thorough introduction to the company, its culture and the new hire’s responsibilities sets the foundation for success.

Advice from Finance Professionals

• For supervisors: “You can’t rush the process. You may have a checklist that the new hire should complete, but don’t let it overwhelm them. If you are building for the long term, it is more than a week’s effort or a month’s effort.”  — Head of FP&A in the power utility industry
• For supervisors: “I always counsel new hires: It might take three to six months before you fully understand how it all works together as an organization — the business, organization and your role.” — Finance Business Partner in the education industry
• For supervisors: “We think about our curriculum in six-month semesters over the first two years. Each module builds on another.” — finance learning & development professional

Advice for Onboarding Early Career Professionals

When onboarding an early career professional, you need to take a more comprehensive approach than with experienced hires. This means providing increased guidance, extensive training on basic workplace skills, and a thorough introduction to the industry and company culture.

Below are various topics you need to cover, categorized into the three sections of the onboarding checklist.

Personal and Team Effectiveness

For a new hire in their first job, start by teaching them how to communicate and interact in a professional work environment. Make sure they know how to write a professional email, manage their inbox, send and accept calendar invites, and use video conferencing technology. Then assign tasks that get them to engage with others.

Before their first meeting, make sure they understand meeting etiquette and any norms the company may have, including:

• How to write a meeting agenda and how far in advance of the meeting to send it.
• How to take meeting notes.
• What information to include in the follow-up email after a meeting and when to send it.

There are certain soft skills early career professionals will need to develop, including:

• Personal: Problem-solving, critical thinking, time management, prioritization, growth mindset, curiosity, ownership of work, knowing when to ask for help and when to be independent
• Communication: Presentation, storytelling, influencing, negotiating
• Interpersonal: Conflict resolution, change management, being aware of unconscious bias, being assertive without being confrontational, building networks and relationships

Finance & Financial Processes

Finance and business training can be achieved through “apprenticeships” with different team members and departments. You can also find online courses to help supplement or develop skills.

You can help early career professionals explore different functions in finance and the business through shadowing, networking, projects outside of their normal scope of work, and site visits to understand the customer-facing side of the business.

Technology & Data

Some of the technical skills early career FP&A professionals may need to develop include Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUPs) and other Microsoft Office tools, PowerBI, PowerAPs, Power Query, CoPilot, SQL, Python and R.

Online classes can help early career professionals develop these skills; however, real-life applications are sometimes different from book learning, so it’s important to provide opportunities for them to apply the skills they learn in courses.

Advice for Onboarding a Senior Leader

When You Don’t Understand What Your New Boss Is Doing

Know that you may not understand everything the new boss does, as they may be privileged to future actions that are “above your paygrade.” Alternatively, they may have a mandate for change that you are not yet aware of. Be transparent and ask the boss: What is your mandate? A change-maker, an accelerator, a manager?

When You and Your New Boss Disagree

“You can say something negative/contrary one or two times, but not more than that. If they don’t want to hear it, you will do yourself a disservice rehashing it and may be seen as an obstructionist or a ‘rainy day’ person. I feel like once you've discussed and laid out the facts, if they still want to tell a different story, then there may not be much more you can do.” — Finance Director in the warehousing industry

“Make sure you know your own value, and that your value is not determined by whether they listen and act on your advice.” — Director of Finance in the biotechnology industry

When You Were Expecting the Promotion and Didn’t Get It

“We had a new senior leader come from outside the company for a job I thought I was in line for. I set out to make that person successful: What can I learn from this person? Why were they chosen?” — Group Finance Manager in the construction industry

Read part one for a New Hire Onboarding Checklist for FP&A.