The first day of a new job always brings with it three things: nerves, excitement and of course the beginnings of the onboarding process. Many employers think that their hiring work is done when employees sign the dotted line – but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Employee onboarding is one of the most important stages of a team member’s time with a company —especially when your new starter is remote. Today, with 55% of the workforce now working remotely, it can make or break your hiring strategy. Why? Let’s find out.
What does good onboarding look like?
When bringing on a new employee, there are always administrative activities that need to be completed. While the process of collecting payroll details and ticking compliance and OH&S boxes is often referred to as onboarding, it’s actually a tiny part of the overall process. Onboarding is about really integrating a new hire into their team, company culture, and role. It includes training specific to their position, but crucially, also embeds the new team member into the values and mission of the company.
Why is employee onboarding so important?
We know that 90% of employees decide whether they will stay with a company in the first six months. Furthermore, 20% of employee turnover occurs in the first 45 days of work —costing companies precious time and money. While some companies may treat the onboarding stage as a litmus test for future compatibility, you can bet that new hires are doing the same. With cost per hire skyrocketing, getting this process wrong can be devastating to your business’ bottom line. So what makes a great onboarding process? How can you ensure that when you find your star hire, you can keep them past the first month?
1. Invest in your onboarding plan and keep it consistent
It all starts with a plan. Gone are the days where new starters can simply turn up to the office, and figure it out as they go. With many workplaces now shifting towards hybrid or remote working arrangements, there needs to be a clear plan in place to get new employees set up with onboarding activities swiftly on their first day.
Starting a new role can be challenging enough without the anxiety and uncertainty of starting at a new organisationorganization during a pandemic. It is more important than ever for organisationsorganizations to onboard new hires properly and make them feel supported, seen, and connected to their coworkers. You want to curb the negativity of the current situation, and maximisemaximize the ‘employee honeymoon’ phase.
PageUp, Hiring in the time of COVID-19
Prior to their start date, put some thought into the required activities and what you expect from your new hire. Ensure they’re set up with access to all the platforms they’ll need, and take time to book one on one meetings with key members of their team. Depending on the seniority of the role, you can even assign them a team mentor or ‘buddy’ for their first few weeks.
Using an onboarding software can help keep onboarding materials and activities accessible and consistent across remote and in-person onboarding experiences. Getting the onboarding structure right increases new hire productivity by 62% and improves new hire retention by more than 50%.
2. Lay the groundwork before their first day
Often, an employee might have signed their new contract many weeks before commencing their position. Stay in touch throughout the weeks leading up to their start date, answer any questions and provide an outline of their first day. Onboarding doesn’t have to start on day one: you can send new starters welcome packs, crucial information, compliance tasks and more to be ticked off before their first day.
With PageUp Onboarding, you can deploy new starter activities as soon as they accept their offer, so they’re ready to hit the ground running before day one.
For remote employees, try to sort out any technical issues prior to their first day. Make it a priority to make them feel connected to their new team. It’s never too early to take steps to make sure they feel comfortable, confident and ready to get started.
3. Put a focus on workplace culture
Culture is a primary driver of employee retention. With the rise of remote work, communicating and developing culture takes planning —no more impromptu gatherings around the water cooler. Onboarding is the perfect opportunity to show your new team members the company values, mission and beliefs. This is your time to really highlight your employer value proposition: show employees why your company is a great place to work. Include examples in your onboarding checklist, and put your best foot forward!
4. Make it easy to imagine a career with you
People leave “dead-end” jobs. Onboarding is the perfect time to capture valuable information about a new starter’s career aspirations, interests and skill sets, and link this to future development and internal mobility opportunities. Onboarding is the start of an employee’s learning journey, and it’s important to demonstrate how team members can grow and develop in your company. Beyond the onboarding ‘honeymoon’ phase, new team members need to be given an opportunity to visualisevisualize themselves as a part of the company long-term.
Onboarding doesn’t just stop after the first week. Employees moving into new roles within the company should still be properly onboarded. This allows them to be properly inducted into their new team, and familiarisesfamiliarizes them with the systems and processes they’ll be using.
5. Set clear, realistic goals, and work together on milestones
The first day, week or even the first few months in a new role can be an information overload. Make sure you set realistic expectations, and take the time to celebrate small goals and milestones. Feeling valued and appreciated goes a long way in building loyalty, trust and connection with an employer. Work with your new employees to establish achievable, manageable and relevant goals to complete in their first week, month, and even up to their first year with the company —and then support them to achieve them.
6. PrioritisePrioritize building relationships during onboarding
The first few weeks of a new employee’s time with your company should focus on building strong working relationships. Particularly with remote and hybrid working arrangements, building relationships and social culture requires a more dedicated effort. Assign your employees with a buddy —someone in their team they can turn to as a first point of contact for “newbie” questions. Be intentional. Set up dedicated meet and greets, virtual coffees and team building events to establish personal relationships with the team.
A great onboarding experience leads to lower staff turnover, and greater employee engagement. In this tight talent market, and with cost per hire soaring, you need to keep the new hires you’ve worked so hard to land! Consider how your onboarding strategy works in alignment with your talent acquisition strategy.
If you’re interested in learning more about how PageUp can amplify your onboarding process and give your employees an experience they’ll love, check out our onboarding software solutions.
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