Onboarding is one of the most crucial tasks for HR leaders. According to a study by the Brandon Hall Group, more employers are realizing this, with 61% saying they plan to invest heavily in improving their onboarding this year. Stay competitive and retain top talent by learning and implementing best practices for welcoming new employees to your organization.
The Importance of a Comprehensive Onboarding Process
When you welcome a new employee, the goal is for them to become productive team members quickly and remain with your organization for a long time. If you can accomplish these two things, you’ll get a good return on your investment and help your company grow. Fortunately, these two goals are closely related.
According to Qualtric’s Employee Experience Trends Report, based on a survey of over 35,000 employees, an individual’s intent to stay is 21% lower if they started within the past six months than if they have been there for over this period. A key reason for newer employees leaving more often is a poor onboarding experience. If someone comes into your organization and feels overwhelmed or unwelcome, they will naturally be more inclined to leave. This is especially true for younger employees (18 to 24 years), who have a 15% lower intent to stay than other age groups.
Preboarding: Setting the Stage for Success
Before you start the new employee onboarding process on their first day, there are a few things you can do to help ease the transition. For example, you can send out a welcome email in advance, which provides them with any necessary information or access to resources and tools. Try personalizing each message to help the new hire feel welcome.
Another useful method is assigning the new employee an onboarding buddy or mentor. Choose a staff member from within your organization, preferably someone the new employee will be working with, to guide them through the onboarding process. This onboarding buddy can make themselves available for questions and give the new hire someone they already know when they show up for their first day.
Creating a Welcoming First-Day Experience
An employee’s first day is a significant component of any onboarding process. This is the day when they’ll form the majority of their first impressions, which will have a lasting impact on how they view their job, coworkers, management and the organization. Therefore, you should put a lot of thought into how they’ll spend their first day.
We recommend creating a comprehensive orientation schedule to guide the employee through their new role throughout the day. Consider organizing a team welcome or lunch where the new hire can meet their team members in a more casual setting and get some first day at work tips. Ensure the employee’s workspace is ready to go, perhaps with a warm new hire welcome message, and has everything they need.
Implementing a Structured Onboarding Program
Most onboarding programs extend beyond the first day. You should develop a structured onboarding program to help your new hire smoothly transition into their role over the next few months. This should contain clear timelines and objectives for the new hire, along with scheduled check-ins for status updates.
Your structured onboarding program should outline all the necessary training and when your new employee will receive it. Overloading your new hire with a ton of information and introductions on the first day is a great way to ensure they will forget everything. Map out a schedule over the next few months that allows them to learn what they need to know as they need to know it.
Fostering Inclusion and Diversity in Onboarding
As you welcome the new employee, it’s important to incorporate strategies addressing diversity and inclusion. A majority of workers feel that focusing on diversity and inclusion initiatives at work is a good thing. There are some simple strategies you can use to ensure your new hires feel welcome, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation, including:
- Connecting new hires with employee resource groups or affinity networks
- Ensuring all onboarding materials are culturally sensitive and accessible
- Encouraging open dialogue regarding diversity and inclusion
- Providing existing employees with diversity training and resources
Leveraging Technology in the Onboarding Process
Technology can help improve your onboarding process by simplifying complicated tasks and providing a better employee experience. One common way to implement technology is through a digital onboarding platform, where new employees can complete paperwork, watch training videos and get answers to common questions. Some organizations also use virtual or augmented reality technologies to give new hires immersive training experiences. As you look for ways to improve your onboarding process, explore how new technologies can assist you in reaching your goals.
Measuring Onboarding Success and Continuous Improvement
Improving your onboarding process isn’t a one-time task. You should have an attitude of continuous improvement. How employees want their employer to treat them will change, new technologies will emerge and your organization will grow and change over time. All these elements will require adjustments to your onboarding process if you want it to remain effective.
Set up a way to measure your onboarding initiatives, and track the changes over time. For example, you may collect data on your organization’s average turnover rate, or use employee feedback surveys to learn about their satisfaction levels with onboarding. Then, after you make some changes, you can compare your new results and see if the changes had a positive impact.
Investing in Onboarding for Long-Term Success
When you invest in proper onboarding for your new hires, you create a foundation for long-term success. Organizations with staff members who can start doing their jobs quickly and want to stay over a long period will be more productive and spend less time and resources on hiring new employees. Start analyzing your current onboarding process, and look for ways to improve it. This way, you’ll see happier, more productive employees and a lower turnover rate.
To start finding new employees to onboard, post your job online today.
Key Takeaways:
- The onboarding process can start before the employee’s first day to help with the transition.
- A structured onboarding process contains a well-thought-out schedule.
- New technologies can assist with onboarding and improve the candidate experience.
- Diversity and inclusion measures ensure new hires feel welcome.
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