A well-run employee onboarding process will help your new hires settle in their roles, become productive quickly and contribute to your company’s bottom line. Conversely, a poor onboarding process can usher your employees out the door before you’ve recouped the costs of hiring and training.
Onboarding is particularly important for remote workers. Make sure your new employees are familiar with the communication tools they will be using, like team messaging and video conferencing.
1. Be Prepared
Considering all the time and money spent on recruiting top talent, it’s critical to have an effective employee onboarding process in place. Whether they stay for six months or two years, the new hire’s onboarding experience sets the tone for their future tenure with your company.
In addition to compliance and clarifying job expectations, onboarding is about helping new employees forge connections within the organization and become familiar with its culture and values. This includes introducing them to their peers and managers early on.
Hiring managers should be encouraged to greet and meet with their new hires and set up video check-ins throughout their first month. Using this feedback loop can help reduce the burden on HR and enable them to focus on other tasks.
2. Be Flexible
It costs $4,000 to hire and train a new employee, so it’s crucial to get it right. Studies show that employees quit within the first 6 months if they are not happy with their onboarding experience, so you need to invest in improving it.
With the boring documentation signing, company policy learning, payroll info, and account logins out of the way, your team can focus on delighting your new hires. Start by introducing them to their team members.
Whether they work remotely or in-office, www.microsoft.com/link employees want to know they are valued and supported. Frequent check-ins with managers and HR can help with this. Then, you can provide one-on-one coaching and feedback as needed. This helps your new hire feel supported and on track with their goals.
3. Be Positive
You spent time and money hiring new team members, so you want to make sure that they stay. Yet research shows that a staggering 25% of new hires quit their jobs within the first three months, costing companies money on recruiting and training expenses.
Developing an effective onboarding process can help you reduce employee turnover. When you give employees the support they need to acclimate to their new roles, understand the company culture, and build beneficial relationships, it will motivate them to do great work.
By providing regular one-on-one coaching and feedback sessions, HR can provide a positive experience that will set the stage for future success. After all, people who are passionate about their jobs drive customer satisfaction and productivity. And when you have a smooth employee onboarding process, your business will thrive.
4. Be Involved
Just like a romantic relationship, building a healthy employment one requires more than just a welcoming letter and a great first day orientation program. Employees are most likely to stick around if they feel they belong to their new company, which is why effective onboarding is so important.
Employees want to know their employers are invested in them and that they genuinely care. After all, nearly 90 percent of employees decide whether to stay or go within their first six months, and it’s often the case that the only way to make them happy is to show they belong there.
During onboarding, managers and coworkers should regularly check in with new hires to see how they’re getting on and offer routine feedback. This shows that you care and that you’re a transparent employer that seeks to improve your processes.
5. Be Organized
New hires need time to settle into their role and learn the nuances of your business. However, a disorganized or unprepared company will send them right back out the door (often within their first 90 days).
To improve employee onboarding, make sure all of your processes are organized and that you have all the necessary information in place for the new hires to quickly assimilate into the job. For example, if you have an online portal for forms, video training, and policy education, it makes things easier on everyone involved.
Additionally, a well-organized onboarding process can help reduce the workload of other team members as it provides the new hires with all of the tools and resources they need to start their job. A great onboarding process will also show new employees that their company cares about them and their success.