When it comes to integrating a new employee into an organization, the onboarding process plays an invaluable role. The employee onboarding process allows the new hires to break the ice & get familiarized with the company. It also allows companies to bring new employees up to speed and reach higher productivity levels.
The onboarding process for new hires is critical for an organization’s success. The process prepares the new workforce for tomorrow! It acclimates the new hire to the respective role, company offerings, and philosophies, respectively. Further, the onboarding process engages the new employees such that they are committed to the company’s success and aids them to become part of the family at work, and encourages team building.
In this post, we will talk about how you can engage & onboard the top talent, provide early comfort & confidence to the new colleague and integrate them with your company.
Why Is The Employee Onboarding Process Important?
Companies that don’t have proper onboarding procedures in place put themselves at a disadvantage. Not only do the companies miss out on winning the hearts and minds of new hires, but they also fail to make them feel excited. As a result, new hires take a longer time to adjust to the company’s culture and day-to-day routine. Hence, the company may experience a loss of productivity, high attrition rates, plus the turnover costs that come with it.
As per a report by BLS- Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 15 million people have quit their jobs in the US alone since early April this year. In a highly-competitive job market like today, a company has to make employees feel a part of the company. If onboarded right, a company can encourage employees to stay for at least three years!
Now that we’ve understood the importance of the employee onboarding process. Let’s move ahead and understand how to make their onboarding engaging and integrate them to become a pivotal part of the organization.
1. Emphasize On Pre-onboarding:
Pre-onboarding marks the first phase of your company’s onboarding process. It starts as soon as candidates accept your offer and lasts until the day they join the company. The pre-onboarding period is a critical time for the candidates because they are the most uncertain of what lies ahead as well as their career graph.
Not to forget the top talent has more than one offer most of the time. Hence, even a small misunderstanding or miscommunication can encourage the candidate to join another competitor organization. If managed well and updated regularly about the developments, companies can make candidates excited about their role as well as the decision to join.
2. Welcoming The New Hires On Day-1:
The next and one of the most important phases of the onboarding process is welcoming new hires to the organization. The step involves providing the new hires with a number of orientations to help them acclimate. Companies must recognize that the new hires don’t usually know anyone from inside the organization and they have no clue how teams operate on a daily basis. Hence, it’s pivotal to provide them with a clear picture of the organization during the orientation sessions.
Almost every orientation involves a presentation. Often new hires feel disconnected or bored if the orientation is dull. A report indicates employees who had an engaging onboarding experience are 29 times more likely to feel satisfied at work and relate to the organization’s mission and vision. To accomplish this, presenters can consider leveraging professional onboarding templates to help plan their first 30 60 90 days and allow the new hires to resonate with the company and associated values.
3. Role-Specific Discussion & Development:
Often employers think the onboarding process ends on day 1 of an employee! That’s entirely untrue. Providing role-specific information and training the employees is another vital part of the onboarding process. This is where it will be decided how successful employees may become at their jobs. When onboarding new staff, managers can schedule 1:1 meetings with the respective new hires and provide them with a roadmap.
Moreover, new hires are most eager to understand what are the key projects and technologies they will be working on. Upon one-to-one managerial discussions, companies can then encourage the new hires to undergo relevant training. Parallelly, provide them small yet meaningful tasks to get them up to speed. To ensure comprehensive knowledge transfer and comprehension, hiring managers can use compelling and professional-grade presentation templates from SlideModel and boost interaction manifolds.
4. Routine Check-Ins:
Any new employee onboarding process is incomplete without routine check-ins. Now, the new hires are coming up to speed and gaining the organization’s momentum. In turn, hiring managers must schedule one-to-one calls with the new hires, and provide guidance, assistance, and other company information if required. It is only then a company can encourage new hires to immerse themselves in the business, engage with their colleagues and accomplish business objectives.
It is typically by the third month that your new hire shouldn’t be that new anymore. By then new employees do get acclimated well to the company’s culture and overall working environment. However, that doesn’t mean managers shouldn’t continue to interact or check in with them. Companies are encouraged to organize internal social events and get-togethers where people from all departments can come aboard and feel welcomed.
The End Line:
Companies must design an onboarding process that aligns with the organization’s culture & customized to the employee’s function and role. In today’s hybrid working environment, engaging a new hire that too remote is a task in itself. A solid onboarding process can help you bridge the gap and strengthen the new hire’s relationship with the organization.
Doing the most to help the new hires in your company can significantly improve an organization’s company-wide performance. It will also cut back the attrition rates. Hence, a few solid months of employee onboarding can inspire years of whole-hearted efforts and foster a fruitful work environment.
