Onboarding. What does getting it right look like?

In recruitment mastering the onboarding process ensures happy candidates and even happier clients. It leads to higher retention and productivity and customer satisfaction, so why wouldn’t you want to master this important part of the process?

Onboarding can be a tedious and time consuming process if your team does not have clear procedures in place to get the essentials done in a timely and efficient manner. Traditionally, the candidates initial interaction can be an interview and then spent signing forms, submitting paperwork, credentials and making sure that all the T’s and I’s are dotted on the paperwork. However these essential but time consuming steps can result in an anti-climax to a very enthusiastic and bright new starter.

Recruitment is a high-pressure, high-stakes business. Employers need to place the right people with the right skills in job roles where they have the capability and personality to perform well. Jobseekers on the other hand are seeking roles that are stimulating, well renumerated with the right tools and resources to perform in the role. They are also looking to work with employers that are well regarded, organised and treat their employees well.

An article in HR Drive (2017) reveals that 28% of new employees quit their job in the first 90 days due to poor onboarding practices. This should be of huge concern to employers with a high staff turnover. The recruitment costs associated with hiring a new employee can add up and the loss of productivity during probation is an added cost to the company. Having to repeat this process every time an employee quits can be a nightmare for an employer.

So, why is onboarding so important?

Times have changed and attitudes have shifted. In years gone by a person was so grateful to be given a job opportunity they stayed at the company their whole working life. Other corporations like Mercedes Benz employed generations from the same family so the career path was mapped out from a young age. Now the world of work sees candidates and potential employees sizing up the employer and deciding if they want to work for them. The onus has shifted.

So we can see why employee onboarding is a crucial part of the recruitment process. Research by Brandhall Group found that organisations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% percent and productivity by over 70% percent. Reflecting this, it’s really crucial to set up new employees for success from day one.

We can see that ‘Onboarding’ is really the step before the employee begins on the job. Companies should not assume that the hiring process is officially over once a new candidate accepts, rather they should look at employee onboarding as an independent step in the recruitment process. The sooner new employees are made to feel welcomed and equipped to fulfil their role, the sooner your company will reap the rewards of their skills and experience.

That makes it critical to develop and invest in a carefully considered onboarding process.

Win employees by offering them a seamless onboarding process.

Implementing an efficient streamlined process gives off a good impression of the employer and the way things work, particularly in industries such as healthcare where credential management is another really important aspect of compliance. Introduce efficiencies by streamlining the essential steps: stick to the process, make it paperless as possible, make it as painless as possible, eliminate double handling.

There are clear signs of a weak vs strong onboarding process and unpacking these inefficiencies is a good start to start finding solutions.

With Onboarded software you can offer your clients the full onboarding package. Fill positions with quality employees, seamless onboarding process, good document management procedure, transparent recruitment process and central database to provide on-demand reporting.

If you are familiar with onboarding challenges, you are not alone. Is it time to start looking at a better solution?

Add that sparkle to your onboarding experience.

The step to creating a good onboarding experience is to have clearly defined steps. Keep the process simple and keep it running efficiently. For example, increasing the speed of which job offers are released, signed, returned will make employees confident that they have got all the paperwork out of the way and ready to start their first day.

Some tips: Embrace technology that enables routine functions to be automated, cut out the delays to secure your first-choice candidate faster, reduce onboarding time from weeks to minutes.

Advancement in technology.

At Onboarded we specialise in building HR tech to keep you compliant and efficient. Whether you place 10 or 1000 employees, we have solutions that reduce time-intensive tasks and help you focus on what matters: recruiting, retention, developing a strong company culture, beating your competition to the best talent.

We also feature key integration partners, such as JobAdder, Bullhorn, Fastrack 360, which helps accelerate and automate the hiring process. Together, these tools allow you to automate and accelerate the growth and development of your workforce. Contact our team now to book a demo.