A great onboarding process can boost productivity and employee retention by 70% and 82%, respectively. Unfortunately, 80% of companies don’t onboard well. This hinders an organization’s growth and productivity.
Among the challenges of onboarding include lack of role clarity, workers have a hard time absorbing tons of information on day one, and new workers are unfamiliar with the applications.
The good news is that there is always room for improvement. With the right strategy, hiring teams can improve the onboarding process. In return, your company will inspire new talents and create a healthy working environment.
Why Hiring Teams Should Focus on Proper Employee Onboarding
Employee onboarding is the process of welcoming workers to your organization and ensuring they are fully settled. The hiring team explains what the employees should expect from the organization and what is expected of them. It also features the completion of new hire paperwork.
Onboarding the right way comes with a range of benefits, including.
Sets Tone for Employee Experience
The way you welcome your new hires sets the tone for their experience in your organization. It will help if you focus on the employees’ development and business culture to give them an easier transition time.
Increases Employee Engagement
Proper onboarding makes your employees feel connected to your business, its goals, mission, and values. They feel that they are part of your success and will strive to help you achieve it.
Boost Worker Retention
By making your employees feel valued and appreciated, they are likely to choose your company over and over.
Proper onboarding creates a healthy working environment, and workers will love to be associated with such a company. You, therefore, don’t have to worry about losing your employees to competitors.
Check out these tips to improve the employee onboarding process.
1. Automate Where Possible
For many years, onboarding new talents have been a tedious task. It involved lots of time, people, and other resources to help employees settle in their new environment.
In the digital era, nearly every business task is automated, and onboarding is not an exception. Technological advances provide hiring teams with reliable resources to automate and speed up onboarding.
Perhaps, you feel that onboarding software is an expensive venture that you would rather do without. But if you look at things from a broader perspective, you will realize the numerous ways employee onboarding software can improve your organization.
For starters, the automation idea minimizes operational costs. You no longer have to spend on extensive employee training.
With reliable hr onboarding software like Workbright.com, you save on training time, not to forget that automation enhances easier employee management.
Manual onboarding can be overwhelming both to the hiring teams and new hires. The new hires have to prepare a ton of documents and credentials.
On the other hand, the hiring managers have to oversee the completion of all assigned tasks and file the filled forms.
Besides, there are numerous chances of making errors that could harm your brand.
Onboarding software ensures paperless systems and document tracking. You can forget about paper printing and storage.
Accuracy and accountability are guaranteed due to the easy monitoring processes.
2. Gift to Appreciate
As a business owner, you know that great talent is everything. Employees play a significant role in ensuring the success of your company. Therefore, you should appreciate and show them you are happy they chose to work in your organization.
Reports show that 69% of workers feel motivated to work harder if recognized. The same applies to new employees.
They will feel valued and are more likely to settle in your company faster when you show appreciation.
The gifting idea shows that it is not all about you. But their comfort matters too. They are a part of your company and should feel at home.
Make the gifting process unique. For instance, you can send them personalized gifts a week or few days before the official work starting day. It’s the thought that counts, and you, therefore, don’t have to go beyond your means to give them.
The aim is to show how excited you are to have the new employees on board. It also gives them a hint of your culture.
The ritual may seem small but goes a long way in boosting the employees’ confidence in your company. They are likely to onboard faster and seamlessly.
3. Engage With Workers Before Their Start Date
It would be best if you did not wait until the employees started working to begin the onboarding process. You want to show that you value them right from the first day. Note that the candidates receive numerous offers.
And just because a candidate agreed to work at your organization does not mean they are desperate to be there. If things don’t turn out as expected, they can still take opportunities elsewhere.
Engaging with the new hires from day one boosts team performance. It increases their morale, and the workers will be more willing to push your company to the success level.
Engagement promotes employee productivity. Engaged employees are efficient and are likely to do high-quality work. They are personally involved in their job and are aligned with your business goals.
Engaging with the new employees from the start promotes worker retention, and they will have more faith in your company reaching its objectives.
Engage with new talents before their start date and make them feel valued. For instance, you can send them welcome emails with important details such as what to wear to work, where to park, and where to pick their morning coffee.
Such minor details make their first day less overwhelming, making the onboarding process much easier for the workers and hiring managers.
4. Develop an Onboarding Plan
The first and most important tip to successful onboarding is to develop an onboarding plan for new talents. It will help if you put down the plan long before the reporting date.
Coming up with a strategy makes it easier for you to identify the things you want to do. Consequently, you are assured of consistency.
While at this, consider incorporating the four C frameworks. The purpose of the Four C’s is to outline everything hiring managers need to make the workers feel welcome and prepare them for their roles. What do the 4 C’s entail?
Compliance
Every organization features rules and policies that every employee must follow to ensure they are all on the same page. For instance, the new employees may be required to fill in working documents.
You, therefore, should prepare a manual on what is expected of them. Make it fun and interesting since no one wants to go through a long, boring contract. Break it down into something they can learn fast.
Clarification
As earlier mentioned, most workers have a hard time onboarding due to a lack of clarity. It is your responsibility to teach them your business mission and objectives. Make them understand their purpose, not to forget the company values.
Offering clarity boosts the employees’ morale. It helps them connect with your company and makes it easier for the new workers to relate with coworkers.
Connection
Help the new hires to connect with their coworkers. Create time for orientation and give the employees a chance to meet their teammates.
There is no better way to enhance connection than through a buddy system. Thanks to onboard software engineers, you have access to a range of connection systems.
The buddy systems allow you to pair the new hires with coworkers who can show them around the company. In return, they can quickly get comfortable around the old employees and workplace.
Buddy programs have been reviewed as a perfect way to increase hire proficiency. The best part is that the programs are fit when hiring remote teams. The new employees can connect with their buddies on online tools like Zoom without leaving the comfort of their homes.
Culture
Teach the workers your company history and values. Again, look for creative and fun ways to explain your values.
5. One-On-One Onboarding
Workers reveal that having a one-on-one onboarding experience with their managers improves their onboarding experience.
The sessions are a chance for the managers to make a positive first impression. Keep in mind that onboarding is not all about paperwork and explain the company culture. It’s about getting to know each other and informing the new hires who they will be reporting to.
Managers should set aside some time amid their busy schedules to interact with the employees and help them transition from new hires to team members.
Retain Quality Talent and Boost Productivity with Proper Onboarding
Onboarding the right way is the key to increase workers’ morale, thus productivity. It also helps you retain your best employees and allows you to build a strong relationship with your staff.
Hiring teams should strive to offer a smooth and speedy onboarding. With this, the new hires can embark on their roles sooner, thus maximizing productivity. Check out the tips above to help you improve onboarding.
Most importantly, invest in reliable onboarding workflow software to save time and eliminate human errors.
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