Employee onboarding is an essential part of the new recruitment process. It is where you get to know your new employees when they report for the first day of work. On the reverse, it also is the act of them getting to know you more, your company, the workplace, and the tasks they have to accomplish based on their job description.
Essentially, it covers more than just the usual training of tasks that they must accomplish while on the job. It involves showing them the bigger picture of the company and letting them know the new work culture, benefits, and the organization. Business experts even consider this as a form of a marketing personalization strategy.
Here are the reasons why it is essential, and how you can create your own process:
Satisfy Your Pre-Employment Checklist.
Having a pre-employment checklist will help you know if they already have an idea of what they should be doing, and what they should expect.
Here are some aspects that you can include and should guide you on how to use personalization in your employee onboarding process:
- Assign them to a long-time existing employee for the first week or two. It is a recommendation for you to give a contact number of this partner employee as well so that they can get in touch with each other even before the first day of work.
- Enable access to the company’s phone directory of significant numbers and e-mail addresses.
- Prepare their office space beforehand with office supplies and equipment that are necessary for their job function.
- Prepare a booklet for them with pictures and names of employees in every organization, the vision and mission, benefits, company profile and even a company map.
- Set up their office e-mail address and send them a warm welcome.
Increased Chances of Employees Staying.
Business studies have shown that it is in the first six (6) months of the job that an employee decides whether or not they will stay in the same company. Out of all newly hired employees, more than 50% of them decide to stay in the company after undergoing an employee onboarding process concerning those who did not experience such.
The statistics underscore how crucial it is to have a good employee onboarding program. There is no doubt that hiring can be a tedious and expensive process, as HR managers will have to prepare job posting, sift through possible applicants and schedule numerous interviews.
Further, additional costs may be incurred like relocation packages, start-up bonuses, and the like. Hence, employee onboarding will help you keep the whole system of your company running better and smoothly, as employees tend to stay more and are more satisfied.
Gives Them A Warm Welcome.
It is imperative that on their first day, they feel welcomed, and that they are a part of a family that will help them head to success. Employee onboarding will help you achieve this, as your employee will feel less lost, afraid and confused.
Makes Your Employees More Productive.
Human Resource experts have found that those who underwent a robust employee onboarding process feel more productive to complete their job, even on their very first day. Why? Because it shows them the bigger picture, the goals of the company, the dreams, and vision of the company.
Hence, your employee feels that he is a part of something bigger and not just someone who will be confined to their cubicle finishing a daily task. This provides a strong motivational foundation for your worker to keep performing well and working hard.
Sample Employee Onboarding Process.
With these in mind, here is a sample employee onboarding process that you can follow, and even tweak a little bit to meet the specific needs of your company.
1. Hiring and Job Interview.
After the job interview of your prospective employees and found that they are qualified, it is advisable for you to immediately provide a company handbook for them to study, weeks before they start their employment.
Doing this will give them an overview of the company, what they should be expected to do, his salary, benefits, and common FAQs in the organizational structure.
2. One Week Before the First Day.
A week before the first day of work, be sure to do your part as the employer. Prepare their work requirements, work desk, ID, e-mail address, office, and supplies, etc.
So when your newly hired employees walks in, it will make them feel more welcomed when you have everything set up for them already, and all they need to do is to personalize their workspace.
3. First Day.
Introduce them around the whole department and give them a tour of the office premises. Show them where the pantry is, the comfort rooms, the clinic, the cafeteria, the photocopying section, etc.
4. One To Two Weeks After.
A week or two after their first report for work, They’re already settled in and are now expected to be able to perform their tasks effectively and efficiently with little to no supervision at all.
However, proper employee onboarding will recommend you to check up on them once in a while to answer their questions, make some corrections to their work this early on, and to further make them more comfortable with your working environment.
Conclusion.
Employee onboarding will keep you assured that they will stay with you for a long time; such fact is always a good thing, as hiring new employees can still be very costly for the company.
Experts have found that this process will lead to higher rates on job satisfaction of employees. Upon hiring and on their first day, they can already see that they are a part of the company as an organization and as a family with a united goal.
