The onboarding procedure is one of your company’s first ways to build a connection with your new employees. A good employee onboarding process is critical for establishing a good and lasting foundation for that employee-company relationship.

In this article, we’ll detail the following:

What is employee onboarding?

7 Tips for a successful employee onboarding process

Employee onboarding, as a concept, has a simple goal: to welcome new employees and to make them fit into your organization.

Many companies frequently use onboarding programs to integrate new employees into the company. An employee onboarding program comprises activities that assist new hirelings in completing an initial orientation process and learning about the company’s goals, structure, values, and culture. Onboarding may be viewed as the next step of recruiting.

How long should onboarding last? It all depends on the company and how it wants to manage the new employees. The process can vary. Big corporations might have a long onboarding process that takes a few days to a few weeks. On the other hand, small firms may have an employee onboarding process that takes a few hours.

Why is a new hire onboarding process important?
The onboarding process is a systematic introduction of a newly recruited employee to their employment in a business that involves setting up the workstation, familiarizing the employee with work and team processes, and introducing them to team members and management. The onboarding process is meant to give new employees all they need to succeed in their new workplace as soon as possible.

What are the advantages of an employee onboarding process?

Good employee experience

A smooth onboarding procedure establishes the tone for the whole employee experience.
When you emphasize business culture, employee development, and regular follow-up visits, you demonstrate to new workers that you are concerned about their experience at your firm.

By focusing on these areas beyond onboarding, you can deliver an excellent experience for your workers from hiring until retirement.

Retention

It is crucial to keep your new employees’ experience and skills in your company for as long as possible.

Keeping your new employees’ experience and skills in your company begins on day one. Almost 1 in 3 employees leave their job after six months. A lousy onboarding procedure is undoubtedly one of the reasons behind their departure. New employees are more likely to remain in your company if you set clear expectations for them and provide them with the tools they need to thrive in their new position.

Companies with excellent employee onboarding programs have boosted new employee retention by more than 80%, according to Galup.

Productivity

A successful onboarding process assists new employees in adapting to the organization and stimulates the development of employee relationships. This also includes goal setting, periodic management checks, and employee development to ensure that employees understand what is expected of them.

It is common for newly recruited staff to take more than a year to attain their peak productivity. Adapting to a new role takes time due to becoming familiar with the organization and creating relationships to form cross-functional teams.

The correct employee onboarding process may accelerate this process and boost productivity by more than 70%.

The Four C’s of employee onboarding

7 Tips for a successful employee onboarding process

Dr. Tayla Bauer from SHRM Foundation states that a successful employee onboarding program should proactively involve covering the Four C’s.
The Four C’s are the essential elements of successful onboarding.
The extent to which each organization employs these four building elements affects its overall onboarding approach, with most businesses falling into one of three categories (passive, high potential, and proactive).

  • Compliance
  • Clarification
  • Culture
  • Connection

Compliance is the lowest level and involves knowing the organization’s basic rules and procedures and completing all required documents and paperwork.

Clarification ensures that new employees understand their duties and responsibilities. It may be beneficial to explain upcoming initiatives they will be involved in and how they can participate.

The norms of the organization are explained through the culture. This can be done by showing them the facilities, explaining how things work, and pointing out how they fit into and affect the overall organization.

Connection is the final stage, during which a new employee establishes relationships with other members of the organization and begins to feel like a team member. Introducing the new employees to as many of your coworkers as possible is something to bear in mind.

Encourage team members to define their duties and involve the new employee in official and casual occasions, such as a group lunch. Assigning a colleague-mentor who can answer questions and bridge the gap between the new employee and their peers is one of the best practices for employee onboarding. This will help the new colleague establish good connections with his team.

A lousy employee onboarding process has negative effects

The absence of a procedure can have various adverse effects for both the individual and the firm. According to this study made by CareerBuilder, 16% of HR executives claimed it diminishes their company’s productivity, 14% said it raises inefficiencies, and 12% said it increases employee turnover.

Other negative repercussions of an inadequate onboarding program include the following:

  • Decreased employee morale
  • Reduced employee engagement
  • Lower employee trust
  • A lack of confidence within the firm
  • Missed revenue objectives

Companies that prioritize onboarding keep half as many new employees as those that do not. Additionally, standardizing onboarding boosts efficiency by 50%. According to the case study by CareerBuilder, 69% of employees who had a positive onboarding experience were more likely to stay with the firm for three years.

Onboarding greatly influences the company’s performance. Maximum productivity takes an employee eight months to achieve. One-third of new employees search for a new job before six months with the organization, and 25% depart before the year ends. As a result, they have little to no time to be productive.

Companies spend around 20% of an employee’s salary on replacing them, which adds to the expense of high turnover. The entire cost of turnover ranges from 100 to 300% of the employee’s salary.

Tips for a successful employee onboarding process

7 Tips for a successful employee onboarding process

There isn’t a magic formula to create the best employee onboarding process. But, by following our tips, you’ll surely provide a fantastic experience for your new employees which will help them build a strong and healthy relationship with your company and their colleagues.

The purpose of onboarding is to create a connection. The human factor – getting to know individuals, forming social relationships, and learning from coworkers – has been the most beneficial aspect of many employees’ recent onboarding experience.

Make it a procedure

Make a list of the actions, set a target, and then apply that strategy to each new employee. This strategy also guarantees that each new employee is treated fairly and that each new team member is provided with all they need to succeed at work.

The onboarding process should be pleasurable and memorable for your employees; having a clear strategy for each phase will keep you on track. If you merely throw together some papers, send the new employee to someone else, or wing it, you will miss out on many possibilities to engage your new team member.

Explain his role thoroughly

Before making a hiring choice, ensure that your new team member understands what they are getting into, what they can expect from the work, and what they must do to be successful. If the work tasks or possibilities are inadequate, a new employee with excessive or overly high expectations may be dissatisfied.

Overstating the role might lead to issues throughout the hiring process or the first several months. As a result, you are less likely to lose a bright employee dissatisfied with the company or the work.

Initial evaluation

7 Tips for a successful employee onboarding process

Companies would benefit from saving money while ensuring the success of their onboarding programs. The most effective approach is to assess new workers’ previous knowledge and abilities.

It is critical to evaluate your new staff members from the beginning. Knowing what skill level or experience they started is essential to both their development and your company’s performance. Try to evaluate your new employee by conducting brief exams. What are his strengths? What are the areas in which he should improve?

Determine what your new employee already knows so you can teach them what they need to know. Use assessment tests to evaluate prior knowledge and discover the strengths and shortcomings of a new employee in his following probation period.

Entrust a mentor

New employees frequently have queries during training and onboarding that they believe are too minor or foolish to ask their supervisor. However, knowledge gaps make it difficult for staff to catch up. A mentor at the same level assists the employee in getting up to speed and answering questions as they occur.

Shadowing

Employees can shadow the same mentor to understand what they will be doing regularly firsthand. Rather than being tossed in at the deep end, the new employee is gradually exposed to the new work and is encouraged to raise questions as they arise.

Feedback is king

Your new employees may be a wealth of information; you may have planned an onboarding procedure, but they went through it. Collecting their comments, views of the experience, and things they wish they had known will help you enhance your onboarding process.
Keeping track of comments and outcomes over time may also help you discover which onboarding tactics or procedures are most effective and which aspects of the process need to be improved.

By viewing onboarding as a dynamic, developing process, you can guarantee that you continually adapt and improve and that your efforts yield the most significant outcomes possible.

Connection

 

First impression matters. The first objective of your team when a new employee joins them should be to connect with him. Have his mentor show him around the company. All the team should have lunch together and start steadily building a good and healthy relationship.
New employees want to feel encouraged, involved, and respected in their connections. They value open and straightforward communication, particularly from leaders and managers. They want to meet new people, ask questions and be mentored by colleagues who care about them.

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