What is onboarding?
Onboarding is the process of introducing a new employee to his or her organization. It is the strategic integration of new employees into an organization.
Why is onboarding so crucial?
When a new hire enters your organization, they will likely have several queries. Not simply about their function, but also about the organization, its processes, and possibly its culture. The purpose of onboarding is to address these queries, prepare the employee for their new position, and assist them in meeting and integrating with their co-workers.
What is the purpose of the onboarding process?
The goal of onboarding is to rapidly prepare employees as thoroughly as possible and facilitate their success at every stage. Therefore, the purpose of excellent onboarding is not just to orient new hires but also to help them form a strong affiliation with your organization.
To engage the best personnel in today’s candidate-driven market, businesses must do more than they’ve ever done. One of the best ways to improve your company’s reputation and attract better employees is to streamline the onboarding process. Make a good first impression and build the framework for a successful working relationship with your new employee. Your new employee should have a thorough awareness of the company’s culture and values at the end of onboarding.
It’s important to understand the different stages of onboarding in order to develop a strategy that will help you engage applicants, increase new-hire retention, and help employees adjust to your organizational norms.
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Onboarding begins with pre-onboarding
In the initial step of onboarding, known as pre-onboarding, the candidate accepts your offer and continues through their first day of employment. You need to make the most of this opportunity when your candidates are at their most vulnerable. Misunderstandings or misinterpretations can cause prospects to question whether or not they want to join your organization. Candidates, on the other hand, will be more enthusiastic about joining your company if they are well handled and kept informed of organizational advancements.
Assist new hires with the completion of the required paperwork throughout the pre-onboarding period. Give them plenty of time to complete their exit tasks from their prior company if necessary. Find out if they need help finding a new home if they are moving. If you’d like to offer them a better idea of what to expect on their first day, send them a video or document that explains how your company functions.
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Initial onboarding
In the second stage of the onboarding process, new employees are welcomed and given an orientation to help them get settled. Maintain an open mind about the fact that they may not know anyone in your organization or how teams work on a daily basis. Before they begin their work, it’s important to provide them with a clear understanding of your business. It’s best to limit this phase to less than a week because most new hires will be eager to get started.
It’s best to keep things simple on the first day. Help them understand your company’s culture and how your work practices are consistent with this culture throughout orientation. Inquire about such issues as paid time off and attendance as well as health insurance and wage policies. They can be directed to nearby parking spaces, cafeterias, or hospitals if necessary. Later, they can get to meet the rest of your new employees, coworkers, and stakeholders. During the end of the second phase, you might hold a quick meeting with your new hires to make sure they are comfortable and adjusting well.
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Role-specific training
New hires success in their new roles is closely linked to how well they are trained during the onboarding process. Your employees may not know what it takes to succeed if you don’t provide them with formal training. As a result, they may become dissatisfied, which could contribute to a high percentage of employee turnover. New hire training plans that are well-thought-out can make them feel more at ease since they show that the company values their growth.
As a first step to the training, help new employees acquaint themselves with your Learning Platform. If you have online courses, the application should not overwhelm them. Your new hires should be free to choose the learning method that works best for them, so consider experimenting with a variety of methods. There should be a central location for all onboarding training materials, where employees can readily access and reference them.
During this stage, new hires are also introduced to individual and team goals, and they begin collaborating with their colleagues and contributing to the team. Onboarding is all about helping new hires build trust and relationships with their coworkers. To put it another way, it’s about making them feel at ease. Especially if the new hires are working from home, this is critical.
Setting some initial goals for the new hires will help them get a feel for their new role and team, and it will also give them a chance to get to know their coworkers.
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Mentoring, monitoring & development
The next stage of employee onboarding involves increasing responsibilities and becoming more acquainted with the team and its strategy. During this phase, the new hire’s contributions will likely increase, and initial performance reviews will take place.
Additionally, the new hires may be assigned a mentor and will most likely have regular one-on-one meetings with their manager or a senior team member.
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Transitioning to their new position
Final onboarding stages are designed to help employees shift from new hires to full-fledged employee roles. During this phase, the new hire should understand their performance KPIs and the performance review process. They should also continue to attend one-on-one meetings and get feedback. This will help assure them that they are on track to meet their objectives and provide constructive feedback when necessary.
After the initial 3 months are completed, the new hire focuses primarily on ongoing learning and progress. As team members become more fully integrated into their functions, fewer structured onboarding aspects will be needed.
Conclusion
In order to help new employees get acclimated to your company’s culture, values, and work, it’s critical that you properly manage the onboarding process. Otherwise, the likelihood of high turnover among new employees will increase, and your recruitment efforts would be wasted.
Employee Onboarding Software from EMP Trust helps create memorable new hire onboarding experiences for remote & hybrid. Easily create and customize new hire forms with electronic signature capability. Automate onboarding tasks to employees to complete and improve new hire productivity from day one. Our onboarding tools help new hires get acquainted with the culture, getting them up-to-speed with policies.
The solution is completely paperless with the automation of internal tasks, a branded new hire portal, custom welcome messages, and video embed on an easy-to-use HRIS platform. We are also a DHS E-Verify agent, certified on every version, and are one of the largest providers of employment eligibility verification with the Department of Homeland Security.
