According to a survey, businesses with efficient onboarding procedures boost productivity by 70% and enhance new hire retention by 82%. As someone who is in charge of onboarding, I am sure you are aware that first impressions are as crucial as the post joining experience.
Free doughnuts and branded mugs don’t guarantee that employees will stay in the company for the long run. For long-term retention, an onboarding process should include aspects that get the employees excited about joining the company with just enough information to give them the assurance that they made the right choice.
So if you’re interested in learning about effective employee onboarding, keep reading. I am sure you can take some tips on how you can make the onboarding experience enriching for the candidates by creating a stronger brand connection.
What is onboarding?
The initial phase of integrating new employees into a workplace is referred to as onboarding. Onboarding of employees starts as soon as the offer has been accepted by the ideal candidate – from filling in required documents, completing BGV, and pre-employment health check-up part process where the HR usually the recruiter or the onboarding team takes the employee through an introduction of the company – Vision, Mission.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Onboarding
In the corporate environment, we often hear about employees who leave their job within the first week or two. Have you ever wondered why? It is because the initial onboarding process is either too long, too tedious, or too uninspiring for them.
Therefore, we have made a list of dos and don’ts from our experience and hope that this can in some way help you elevate your Candidate Experience as well.
Do’s of Onboarding
- Clear objectives
Any process with no clear goals is set for disaster. It leads to misperception and ultimately impacts the brand of the organization. So, like any other process, onboarding should have a clear set of goals, outcomes, and a clear roadmap to follow in order to make the onboarding process smooth and efficient. Goals in an onboarding process range from the introduction of the company, clarification of offers and policies, introducing the new employee to the culture of the organisation, keeping the candidate warm and excited about the new role, and much more to ensure that as the new employees begin their journey with the organization, they are better aligned to the company.
2. Structured processes
Remember – less is more. Do not overwhelm your new hires with too many points of contact and documentation.
The overall process can be divided into milestones Pre-onboarding, Onboarding, and Post onboarding activities. This way it is not overwhelming for a new employee to complete all these tasks before they join your organisation.
Along with discovering new job duties, there is a completely new group of employees to get to know and build rapport with. Your process should include some touch points with the key stakeholders that the employee would be working with post joining.
3. Modernization
Living in today’s modern world means you can onboard new employees without having to fill in heaps of documentation. Simple onboarding software can be used to simplify the process and ensure all information from day one is in a single place.
Making the most of technology – Using platforms for collecting important details, gamification of the process, etc. can improve new hire onboarding and make the process interesting.
If you can demonstrate that your onboarding is entertaining and engaging, it sets the correct tone for the workplace. New hires will be motivated to join a company that has advanced technology.
And eventually, automation of different tasks and flow can help shorten the time and effort taken to onboard your candidates
4. Ease them into the company
Joining a new place is already an overwhelming task. Having the additional process of the documentation might become a tedious task.
Using a buddy system – someone who can help them ease into a new organisation can have a positive impact. Give them a mentor or a work buddy for the first few days and let them acclimate to the new work environment. They can be responsible for addressing their questions, introducing to the new team and office, and guiding them whenever necessary making the first week less stressful.
5. Involve the teammates
Being lonely and feeling like an outcast are the last things a new employee wants. Because of this, the primary goals of onboarding should be to include the team, share history, and set an example.
Make sure to step up and participate when planning corporate meetings or team-building exercises. Additionally, you can film vlogs in the workplace to demonstrate what a typical workday entails. Having a little fun and showcasing your personality can be a wonderful idea.
In this approach, onboarding involves more than simply the formal aspects.
Don’ts of Onboarding
- Don’t assume
Do not get too carried away by the process and miss out on the experience. Always set clear onboarding goals and make sure every person involved in the process follows the same set of objectives. Additionally, do not assume that the new joiner might know some things already, and ensure that you cover all points of the induction.
2. Don’t miss out on your schedule
As mentioned earlier, onboarding is a critical process that acts as the first experience that a new employee shares with a company. If senior leadership is involved in the onboarding process, make sure they do not miss out on meeting the new employee. Additionally, if you have allotted time to the employee, make sure you adhere to the time. New employees are often confused and have multiple questions when it comes to onboarding. Hence it is important to make check-in if they need assistance with any of the processes.
3. Don’t let your personal bias about the company show
Since you have been in the company for some time, it might be that you will have pleasant or unpleasant experiences. However, when conducting an onboarding it is important to keep your bias aside and lead the way by setting a good neutral image about the company.
4. Divulge unnecessary information
As it is the beginning of a candidate’s journey in a completely new environment, it is crucial to list down what are the important information they need to start their work. Policies, important links, login credentials, etc are some of them. There needs to be a clear bifurcation in the information that will help the employee in the first few months vs good to know details and details that the employee can be eased into at a later stage.
5. Miss out on feedback
Taking feedback from the new employees and joiners is as important as conducting a structured and informative onboarding session. Since they come from a completely unbiased place and have a first-hand experience of the process, their inputs can help in making the process more enjoyable and their experience of onboarding at other companies can also be a good insight into what the processes are in the industry.
6. Don’t miss out on talking about the end customer
Onboarding procedures are conducted to give the new joiner a 360° understanding of the company. So it is essential to not only explain to them what the company offers as a service or product but also who the end customer is. Be it B2B or B2C. This will help the employee get an understanding of what their focus area should be.
It is important to understand that onboarding is not just a process, it plays an important role in retaining your employees for years to come. Statistics suggest that employees are 69% more likely to stay with the organisation for at least three years if they participate in a structured onboarding and orientation program.
The purpose of onboarding is to orient new hires to their position, the company’s values, vision, mission, and the benefits it offers. Additionally, it motivates workers to be dedicated to the success of the business and aid in the retention of new recruits by making them feel like a part of the team.
Related article: 7 Actionable Ways to Retain Your Best Talent
Need more insight? BluElement is your best onboarding buddy. With our set of software support, you can never go wrong with your onboarding processes. Book a demo.
Take the next step
If you are searching for ways to improve your onboarding process and want to decrease your post-offer dropout rates, the team at BluElement can help! Reach out to us today to discuss how we can help you create an efficient onboarding process.