Why it is more important than ever to streamline your onboarding
Why is streamlining your onboarding process as a part of your human capital management (HCM) strategy so vital to your business right now? The short answer is “the Great Resignation.” The longer answer goes into a bit more detail about the challenges companies are having with hiring and retention, and how a robust, streamlined onboarding plan using HR software can help you overcome those challenges.
The workforce crisis
Industries of all stripes, from manufacturing to transportation to small business to retail to hospitality and more, report that this hiring market is the toughest and most competitive in recent memory. It is being fueled by the fact that so many workers have quit their jobs since April 2021, economists even have a name for the phenomenon. The Great Resignation. According to the Department of Labor, almost 12 million people voluntarily left the workforce from April to July, 2021. Those staggering numbers are unprecedented, and it shows no signs of slowing down. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls it a workforce crisis that is a “national economic emergency,” citing there are half as many available workers for every open job, the lowest it has been in 20 years. The ratio continues to fall.
Great onboarding = high retention
It’s easy to see how those labor statistics have caused the hiring wars to heat up, but what about retention? That’s the other side of this coin. Because hiring has turned into the HR Hunger Games, retention is more important than ever. It starts with great onboarding. It might surprise you to know that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if the onboarding process was robust and meaningful. Glassdoor puts that number higher, at 82%.
What makes great onboarding?
Many companies get it wrong, focusing more on paperwork and less on training, acclimation, getting comfortable with the new role, meeting people and becoming part of the culture. Here are a few tips to get it right.
Start onboarding before their start date. Make sure your new hire feels like part of the team before Day One. Ask the boss and the new hire’s immediate co-workers (and anyone else who wants to) to send messages of welcome on LinkedIn or other social media.
Set up their desk before they arrive. That means computers, ID cards if you use them, yellow pads or any other office supplies you use. Ask IT to set up their email account. It’s also nice to add a personal touch, like a plant, some company swag like a coffee mug or any other small welcome gifts.
Automate and streamline what you can with HR software. We’ve all had the first-day-on-the-job experience of filling out endless paperwork. Not only is it ponderous, but it’s counterproductive to a great onboarding experience. Using HR software (like Benetech, if we may say so) allows your new hire to complete all of those forms online, at their desk, in any downtime they may have during their first few days. This is especially crucial to a great onboarding experience. The best onboarding is about welcoming the new employee, getting them acclimated to their new job and your company culture, starting training, and giving them the tools to succeed. It does not mean endless paperwork.
Create a full schedule for your new hire. Office tour and meet-and-greet the staff to start the day, meetings with all departments if practical so your new hire can see how every department contributes to the company success, and training. The key here is to not leave your newbie twiddling their thumbs at their desk wondering what to do. It also shows you’re organized and ready to equip them for success.
Organize, and pay for, lunches with colleagues the entire first week. Create a cross-departmental onboarding team that can give your new hire the skinny on what the company manual doesn’t say. They can also act as informal mentors and friends.
Begin training. Start with the basics like your company email and internet, any proprietary systems you may have, and then move on to the job itself, assigning experienced colleagues to mentor and train.
Customize all of this for remote onboarding. If your new hire is a remote worker, all of this is going to have to be done online, with the exception of the lunches. It’s more important than ever to have a robust, all-in-one HR software to help manage this task.
At Benetech, we’ve been helping employers simplify their HR and benefits administration since 1985. If you have questions about how our comprehensive suite of payroll, HCM, and benefits services and technology can help you create great onboarding, and beyond, please get in touch today.
