Onboarding is not just about getting a new employee settled in their job’s roles and responsibilities. It is also about creating a welcoming environment that helps employees adjust to the new culture. Onboarding is an ongoing process that employers and HR professionals should plan across at least the first year of employment. Of course, being remote or hybrid can make onboarding even more challenging. We are here to help!
Benefits of a robust onboarding process
Onboarding can be overwhelming for everyone involved. A new hire may feel overwhelmed by their new responsibilities. An employer wants to minimize time to productivity. These two factors can create problems where employees perform work without adequate preparation or training, and things may not go as smoothly as everyone would like.
How do you fix this issue? First, organizations need to know the long-term benefits of having a solid onboarding process in place. A competitive compensation and benefits package is great, but a seamless and useful onboarding process in place that extends well beyond day one sets the right tone and can help convince new hires to stay longer.
Don’t rush the process
This brings us to the second point: time. It’s understandable that companies want to move quickly to get new employees contributing, but speed and onboarding mix like oil and water . First impressions are important, and new employees want more than just a quick office tour and to know where the coffee is. In today’s remote workplace, there are only so many video meet-and-greet sessions an employee can handle before they stop retaining new information.
If you think the onboarding process should take just a day, a week, or even a month to complete, think again. According to a Booz Allen Hamilton study, the most appropriate onboarding time is one year—yes, 12 whole months.
A recent CareerBuilder survey stated 25 percent of employers said their company’s onboarding process took a day or less. Another 26 percent said it was a week, while 21 percent said the process was spread out over the course of one month. Only 10 percent of employers said they had at least three months set aside for onboarding.
A weak or rushed onboarding process has ripple effects through an organization—lower productivity, great inefficiencies, lower employee morale, and lack of trust to name just a few. But the biggest effect on organizations in employee turnover. The first few weeks in a new job are a frenzied time for new employees; they may be asking themselves, “Did I make the right choice?”
You can’t afford to make a bad first impression
Forbes reported that 86 percent of new hires decide to stay or go in the first six months of their job , so first impressions matter. New employees need to feel supported, and that you’re investing in them right from the get-go. Each employee is different, so perhaps work out a timeframe they feel most comfortable with during the onboarding process.
Time to productivity is one method an organization can use to determine the best timeframe for new hires to become proficient at their job. While you’ll need to dust off your math skills, as this exercise is a bit more data-driven, it can help organizations optimize their onboarding process and determine what sort of changes or adjustments to make moving forward.
Collaboration with the new hire goes a long way, builds trust, and demonstrates your organization cares about their success. Glossing over this stage can set the wrong message and may undo all the hard work your organization did getting to this point during the hiring process.
If your company has a well-structured onboarding process in place, one that doesn’t simply run through a straightforward checklist, and allows the new hire to feel the company truly cares about their success, then you’re on the right track. All aboard!
If your onboarding process needs a little optimization, no worries, we can help. Start by reviewing our six-episode animated training series Mastering Remote HR Management, which teaches you what it takes to create the perfect ‘welcome mat’ as you open your doors to greet your new top talent.
With HRdownloads’ training membership, you get UNLIMITED access to training modules on communication, leadership development, problem-solving, and much more! Contact us today to find the right HR solution and support for you.
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