White Paper Onboarding

Transcription

1 White Paper Onboarding Best Practices to Combat an Increasingly Expensive Turnover Rate

2 What Is Onboarding? Onboarding is the initial process of assimilating new hires into an organization. In addition to equipping new hires with the tools necessary to succeed in their new position, a successful onboarding Program provides new hires with the resources to become fully engaged and culturally aware members of a productive workforce.

3 When Does an Onboarding Program Begin and End? A well-managed onboarding program begins the moment an offer is extended and ends when the new hire is classified as a fully functioning employee. Employee retention and satisfaction are influenced before a new hire even walks into your building. Studies have shown that organizations that provide new hires with easy access to forms and employment information prior to the first day of work benefit from enhanced employee retention, productivity, and overall satisfaction. A well-managed onboarding program uses a comprehensive onboarding portal to provide new hires with online access to company information, tax forms and policies before they even start work. The length of an o~nboarding program varies from organization to organization and depends heavily on the complexity of the job responsibilities. A standard 0nboarding program is three to six months long; however, some organizations classify the first twelve months of a new hire s employment as the 0nboarding period. It is beneficial to view onboarding as the first step of a detail-oriented employee support and mentorship program. What is a Well-Managed Onboarding Program? A well-managed onboarding program is both well thought out and coordinated. It is often necessary for organizations to test several different approaches to onboarding before discovering the method that best matches their company s culture and employment objectives. Although onboarding programs vary greatly from organization to organization, there are several overarching characteristics present in all well-managed onboarding programs. Focus on the experience - onboarding is all about a positive new hire experience Provide ongoing, clear, concise and consistent channels of communication Allow for learning to occur at every organizational level Ensure that new hires are aligned to key business strategies Set milestones to gauge new hire success and time-to-productivity Present information in easily digestible amounts Reinforce employment brand

4 Why Is Onboarding So Important? Organizations of every size and from every industry are investing additional time and financial resources in ccoordinating an onboarding program, in order to retain their top talent and decrease new hire time to productivity. Onboarding has become increasingly important in the past decade as a consequence of a decreasing sense of employment loyalty in today s Generation Y-dominated workforce. Recruiting is expensive and organizations cannot afford to lose the employees that they have successfully recruited. A comprehensive onboarding program has emerged as the best way to combat an increasingly expensive turnover rate. Studies have shown that a well-managed onboarding program can lead to a 100% increase in retention rates and a 60% improvement in an employee s overall productivity.! Common Onboarding Mistakes Many organizations make the mistake of using the terms onboarding and orientation interchangeably. Onboarding is not orientation! onboarding is an ongoing process of assimilation and integration, not a one-time orientation event. One of the most common onboarding mistakes is taking a cookie-cutter approach. With o~nboarding, one size does not fit all; it is important for every organization to implement an onboarding program that is closely aligned with their culture and ongoing business objectives. Automated Onboarding Programs Some of the most successful organizations have automated their onboarding programs to further streamline their talent acquisition initiatives and increase their return on investment. The talent acquisition software used to automate onboarding programs helps to reduce preliminary recruiting costs while improving employee retention and productivity in the long run. An automated onboarding program also eliminates relying on paper documents and overloading new-hires with too much information, the majority of which they will not use for several months. Automated onboarding programs take advantage of an onboarding portal or intranet, a comprehensive and easily accessible location to store the documents necessary for the entire onboarding process. This gives new hires the opportunity to access information when they need it - placing critical documents at their fingertips even before their first day of work.

5 Onboarding Portals Below is a list that highlighs some of the most common information stored in an automated onboarding portal: Welcome message from the CEO and other key stakeholders ensuring new hires feel welcomed and thereby minimizing "buyer's remorse" Summary of company vision, values and mission statements Meet your co-workers Page Information on mentorship and leadership development programs Benefits enrollment, direct deposit, 401K and tax forms Candidate experience surveys Organizational policies, vacation calendar, expense and travel guidelines Internal and external training schedules How icims Can Help icims is recognized as a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) talent acquisition solutions in the industry and the leading Talent Platform in the mid-market. Through icims' Talent Platform, HR professionals can coordinate the logistics of a well-managed automated onboarding program, including a self-service onboarding portal for completion of post-hire iforms, scheduling of employee orientation, internal notification to key parties, and so much more. Learn how icims Talent Platform can streamline your end-to-end talent management initiatives and provide the necessary tools to facilitate a successful and cost-effective onboarding program. Contact an icims specialist at (800) and set up a live onboarding demo today.