Starting the Stanford Journey
Set an inclusive, efficient and welcoming tone during your new hire's first 90 days
NOTICE: Due to the shelter-in-place regulations to reduce the risk of COVID-19, the Welcome Center is currently not operating. Please review the temporary onboarding steps on the Welcome Center website for guidance if you are hiring during this time period.
Onboarding is a critical phase in the employee life cycle
Welcoming new Stanford employees is a process that can take many months to ensure new community members feel informed, understand the expectations of their new role, and feel a sense of belonging within their new school, unit, and group. The Welcome Center, attended on the first day of employment, provides an effective foundation and accomplishes key set-up and compliance tasks. Starting on the second day (the first day on the job), managers take the lead on facilitating this key phase of the employee life cycle.
It takes a village to effectively bring a new employee on board. While you may lead the effort, there will undoubtedly be many others, such as your school/unit human resources manager, a lab manager, a department administrator, a formal “buddy” within your group, or your new hire’s teammates who will share in the tasks to help get your new hire oriented. Your local HR manager is your key resource along the way and can help to clarify local practices, and to collaborate with you to establish an effective work relationship and working environment for your new hire. Review our onboarding frequently asked questions for more information.
Studies show that a carefully planned and executed onboarding process leads to increased retention, productivity and performance.
Planning and executing the new hire's onboarding experience includes key elements to manage.
Throughout the 90-day onboarding process, your attention and oversight can lead to a very positive start to your new hire's Stanford journey!
View the infographic in a text-only format.
Share your feedback!
All those using these onboarding resources are encouraged to share your input and feedback; feel free to let us know what's helpful, what's missing, or anything else you want to share about onboarding tools by emailing careers@stanford.edu.
NOTE: Managers of employees represented by either SEIU or SDSA should consult their respective collective bargaining agreements.
