Considering the current demand, sourcing and successfully hiring SecOps professionals remains a difficult process. However, onboarding any new cybersecurity hire plays a critical role in their subsequent success with your organization. In fact, a well-considered onboarding process also helps your company retain their employees over the long haul.
In short, your business needs to take the right approach when you onboard your next cybersecurity hire. With that in mind, check out these current best practices for your HR team’s onboarding efforts. When it’s this difficult to find great SecOps talent, nothing less than a great process matters.
Take a Two-Tiered Approach For Successful Onboarding
Onboarding a new cybersecurity employee becomes more effective when a company uses a two-tiered approach. At a larger scale, expose the new hire to your organization, its culture, history, and the executive team. This tier also includes typical HR tasks, like signing up for company insurance, other benefits, and payroll.
Additionally, the new employee also needs introduced to his manager, coworkers, and the information specific to his job role. This includes access to the company technical infrastructure as well as SecOps standards and procedures. Also set a few achievable goals to make them productive as quickly as possible.
The Manager Must Take an Active Role in Onboarding Their Direct Reports
A recent study revealed more new hires felt their onboarding was exceptional when their manager took an active role. In fact, 3.4 times as many new employees feel this way. This survey data makes it critical to ensure managers remain involved throughout the onboarding process.
We already talked about setting a few short-term and longer-term goals. Managers also must ensure their new hires quickly make a connection with their coworkers. Engaging in a few social activities outside the office helps in this regard. Of course, becoming a contributing member of the organization’s cybersecurity also matters.
A Longer Onboarding Process is More Effective
Some companies only provide new hires an onboarding process of a few weeks. While quickly getting them productive remains an important goal, reaching their true potential likely takes one year. Keep this in mind when setting initial goals for the employee. Use both short-term and long-term targets to effectively frame their onboarding process. An annual review serves as a great milestone to track their performance since their first day.
Hiring?
If your company needs help building a great cybersecurity team, speak with the experts at Redbud Cyber. As one of the top SecOps staffing agencies in the country, we provide experienced candidates able to make a successful impact for you. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience.
