The term “new hire onboarding” is defined differently from business to business. While the process is nearly identical, each onboarding program is distinct due to the time period and tasks involved.
While some HR managers appear to regard the employee onboarding process as nothing more than new hire paperwork, more knowledgeable and committed team members have a different take on the meaning of employee onboarding. As part of employee onboarding, they take the entire period from the time an offer is made to the time an employee becomes a productive contributor to the company.
Onboarding occurs between the moment you make an offer and the time the employee begins to perform well in their new position. Onboarding encompasses all processes that take place during that time period, including the orientation program, training plan, setting up performance metrics, and establishing a feedback loop.
What is the onboarding procedure for new employees?
Employee onboarding is the process of acclimating new workers to the environment and culture of a company. However, the time it takes to accomplish this may differ from one organization to the next. Some companies consider onboarding to be a one-day event, while others consider it to be an 18-month process. Employee onboarding, on the other hand, begins almost immediately after a potential employee receives an offer letter. Here’s a closer look at how the onboarding process works.
Why is it important to have a smooth employee onboarding process?
Following the long interview process, employee onboarding is the first interaction an employee has with the company.
- If the experience does not meet your employee’s expectations, he or she may come to regret accepting the job offer.
- A poor onboarding process may have a negative impact on their perceptions, lead to prejudiced views of the business, and ultimately cause them to leave early.
- A good employee onboarding process is essential for new hires to settle in, learn about the company, understand their job objectives, and form positive relationships with their coworkers.
- A positive onboarding experience not only makes employees feel welcome but also helps them integrate more quickly into the existing organizational family.
- HR managers already have a lot on their plates. Even the prospect of dealing with the massive amount of paperwork involved in the onboarding process gives me nightmares.
As a result, streamlining the onboarding process impresses new hires while also reducing the HR team’s workload.
Employee onboarding automation has a number of advantages.
- You’ll need a robust employee onboarding process to prevent last-minute misunderstandings and compliance problems. An effective employee onboarding software accomplishes the following:
- Provides you with a well-defined onboarding template.
- Reduces the amount of chaos caused by paperwork.
- Reduces the time it takes to onboard new employees.
- Reduces the need for manual intervention and eliminates human errors.
- Reduces the HR team’s workload.
- Ensures that all new hires have a consistent experience.
- Makes the process flow more transparent.
- Provides employees with a positive onboarding experience.
Here’s a guide to help you streamline your onboarding process.
- Offer Stage
Following the recruiting phase, the employee onboarding process begins. An HR manager sends a warm welcome email with a few important documents, such as the offer letter, links to fill out digital onboarding forms, and policy documents, once an employee has been selected. Maintaining transparency in the approach familiarises employees with the organization’s culture and informs them of what to expect.
- Checking on the new hire after offer acceptance
When an employee accepts an offer, the best companies will set up a quick call to go over the paperwork, benefits, and policies, as well as set expectations. Keeping new hires engaged will confirm their decision to accept the offer and help them form strong emotional bonds with the company. This is the ideal time to begin planning the employee orientation agenda.
- The time of waiting
Just because an employee accepted the offer doesn’t mean they’ll show up on the agreed-upon start date. During the waiting period, the employee may be open to other job offers from other companies. As a result, it is important to establish a positive working relationship with the employee. Let the employee know how much you appreciate them. When designing your employee onboarding process, it’s a good idea to include a waiting time.
- The day of your enrollment
Most new hires experience a range of feelings on their first day. At the same time, they are worried, cheerful, enthusiastic, and nervous. As a result, HR managers’ primary responsibility is to make new hires feel welcome and at ease. Instilling a sense of belonging in new hires would increase their commitment and help them focus on their job.
HR personnel would be less stressed if they have a handy employee onboarding checklist. Before you enter, there are a few things you should do:
- Keep a copy of the orientation schedule on hand.
- Assign IT resources (workstation, email access, etc.).
- Get all of the office supplies you’ll need (furniture, keys, access card, etc).
- Create a salary account.
- Assign a mentor or point-of-contact who can assist the employee in settling in.
- Working in collaboration with other departments
Coordination with key stakeholders (coworkers and managers) is critical, as is notifying them of the new hire’s start date. HR personnel may enlist the assistance of other employees to decorate the new employee’s cubicle, schedule one-on-one welcome meetings, and schedule an orientation session.
- Orientation and Training
Orientation sessions provide a new hire with an overview of the company’s culture as well as an understanding of the company’s goals. This phase provides new employees with information about the company’s teams, team procedures, and company policies. Setting role-based goals and objectives for the next 30/ 60/ 90 days is an excellent way to show new hires what they need to focus on.
Most organizations schedule the training program to bring their employees up to speed quickly because a large percentage of their employees need some essential training to get started. Employers may evaluate new hires’ expertise and abilities and develop a customized role-specific training plan that is tailored to their skill set by conducting a skills assessment.
- New Hire’s First Quarter
The main goal of this time is to review and ensure that the organization’s and employee’s expectations are in sync. This stage should be filled with active discussions about the new hire’s progress and efforts to become an integral part of the organization.
Here is an employee onboarding checklist of tasks that HR staff and managers must complete in order to keep new hires onboard for a long time:
- Review employee’s experience and make sure it meets their expectations.
- Evaluate their performance and provide constructive criticism.
- Ask the employee if he or she has any concerns or issues.
- Discuss career planning and advancement.
- Gather feedback on the onboarding process as well as any suggestions.
- Determine whether they require additional training.
Employee onboarding has gone through innovation thanks to automation.
HR executives, regardless of the size of their organization, always have too much on their plates. They’ve already spent too much time looking for the right resources, and by the time onboarding begins, they’re completely exhausted. Rather than adding to their fatigue by requiring them to do things the old way, automating the process will significantly decrease their workload.
You can remove manual dependency in the employee onboarding process by ditching the onboarding checklist and forms with HR workflow automation software. The complicated approval process can be simplified and streamlined with an automated employee workflow. Furthermore, because the workflow would be mostly transparent, recovering status information or pinpointing problems would be a breeze.
You won’t have to chase new hires and managers around the office to complete the tasks assigned to them if you use an automated onboarding app. It’s taken care of by the system. The right people are automatically notified when there is a delay in the workflow. The only time you must interfere is when the system encounters a snag.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money on HR Management Software or rely on your IT team to develop sophisticated software to automate the workflow. The entire employee onboarding process can be automated using a simple workflow tool. Even HR staff with little to no technology experience may use the drag-and-drop interface to create an automated workflow from scratch or customize one of the predefined onboarding templates to meet their needs.
Final thoughts
A good onboarding tool can instill confidence in new hires, encouraging them to integrate into the new organizational territory without hesitation.
New hires will spend less time buried in paperwork and more time learning about the company’s values, exploring the workplace, and making new connections with an automated onboarding process.
EMP Trust all-in-one HR solution offers a highly configurable new hire onboarding software to help you make a great first impression. Choose EMP Trust to streamline your new hire onboarding process.
