First impressions count when it comes to onboarding a new employee. Think back to your first day of work. Did you have a computer? Were you able to access the necessary systems and complete required forms? These interactions set the tone for the employee’s journey, often determining how long they stay.
This makes the case for a solid employee onboarding program even stronger, ensuring all employees have access to everything they need, and are informed and supported, whether in the office or a remote location.
“Organisations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82 percent and productivity by over 70 percent.”
Brandon Hall Group
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Why is Employee Onboarding Important?
According to Gallup, employees who have had an exceptional onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace. An onboarding program that has been carefully designed and implemented will ensure a positive employee experience that makes a new employee feel comfortable and secure in their new role and surroundings, leading to greater wellbeing and productivity.
Unfortunately only 12% of employees strongly agreeing that their place of work does a great job onboarding new employees. Organisations facing high staff turnover and a marketplace that is scarce in talent can use a robust onboarding program to retain staff and leverage positive employee referrals.
What Are the Benefits of Onboarding Staff?
Better Employee Experience
Higher Engagement
Improved Productivity
Lower Turnover
Attract Top Talent
Enhanced Company Culture
What is Employee Onboarding?
Employee onboarding is the process of integrating new employees into an organisation. This can include anything from welcoming a new starter on the first day, taking them through the organisation’s structure, vision, mission, values, outlining the company culture, and providing them with the necessary tools and training to do their job.
An onboarding program can last anywhere from a couple of days to up to a year, but more successful onboarding programs will run for at least a couple of months and consist of regular employee communication. Research carried out by the Society for Human Resources Management, shows that an employee’s chance of success at a new company can be decided as early as their first two weeks of employment.
Key Elements of Employee Onboarding
Start with employee preboarding
Before an employee even joins an organisation, preboarding can begin with the collection of important employee information, team introductions and exposure to company culture. For example, many organisations to send a care package included branded merchandise (e.g. t-shirt, water bottle) and gifts to enhance an employee’s transition.
Carry out a comprehensive orientation
Orientation is an important stage for introducing employees to an organisation’s values, vision, mission, policies and more. This can be done face-to-face or virtually using live and pre-recorded videos. As there’s often a lot of information for the employee to absorb, it’s often best to stagger this over time. An employee handbook is a valuable resource, providing a consolidated guide to policies and expectations, minimising confusion and risk.
Buddy program and/or mentorship
Assigning new employees with a mentor or buddy, particularly someone who has been with the company for a while, can be an excellent way to provide guidance and advice.
Make training easily accessible
The role may have a unique set of requirements that requires additional training. This learning must be readily available to new employees, via a centralised hub like an intranet, to ensure role success and support ongoing development.
Scheduled check-ins
Regular meetings are not only an excellent way to check in with new employees to make sure they’re feeling comfortable and happy with their role, but also for the organisation to collect any feedback and make adjustments where necessary.
Onboarding and the Digital Workplace
Traditionally, onboarding has been characterised by lengthy induction meetings and reams of policies requiring physical signatures. Digitising and automating your onboarding program is an excellent way to ensure that important stages are not missed. Onboarding should be an integral part of the digital workplace. A centralised hub like an intranet can integrate with other systems to offer employees a comprehensive and cohesive experience.
Your intranet should be a place where employees receive regular, relevant company updates, access important documents, review and approve forms and policies, view a library of training videos and connect with other employees.
Injio SharePoint Intranet
Team your organisation’s onboarding program with an Injio SharePoint Intranet. Injio is a SharePoint intranet that delivers a feature-packed, fully customisable platform in weeks. Using the Microsoft Power Platform, a fully automated onboarding solution can be designed to meet the requirements of your organisation.
