The Importance of Structured Onboarding Shara Irene Staine Colorado State University
THE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURED ONBOARDING!2 In current practice, most organizations allow an employee approximately 90 to 180 days to determine their fit within the workforce on a technical and cultural level (Bauer, 2010). During this introductory (or probationary) period, 22% of staff will turnover within the first 45 days of employment (Wynhurst Group, 2007). Furthermore, within the first two years of employment, approximately 46% of entry level employees will leave the organization within the first four months of hire (Krauss, 2010) and almost 50% of executives are unsuccessful in their new roles (Smart, 1999). What causes this high rate of turnover for new employees? Research has hinted that employee onboarding, or lack thereof, may be to blame. Employee onboarding refers to an employees cultural and technical integration into the workforce. The purpose of a well-planned onboarding program is to provide employees with access to information that promotes assimilation into the organizational culture quickly and effectively. Employee onboarding is the first glimpse into an organization and a is a predictor of whether or not the new-hire will be successful. Maurer (2015) indicated that some form of employee onboarding or orientation is utilized by up to 93% of organizations, yet research indicates that employees still fail to succeed in their current roles or will voluntarily seek employment elsewhere. This suggests that a quality onboarding program is much more complex than filling out legally required paperwork and choosing a benefits package. Employee onboarding should be structured, include follow-up, and promote employees to fully invest in the organization. The effort in creating a structured onboarding program has proven successful in many organizations, with a report from the
THE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURED ONBOARDING!3 Wynhurst Group (2007) stating that 58% of new hires who participated in a structured onboarding program were more likely to be with the same company three years after their hire date. Since the early 2010's, the candidate market has begun to change drastically as the Baby-Boomer generation, who make up a majority of the executive workforce, are at or nearing retirement. The effect seen as a result of this generational shift in the workforce is an abundance of open positions to be filled by younger generations entering the job market (Sorenson & Garman, 2013). This means that the new workforce will be young, inexperienced, and have many opportunities within a job market that is quickly losing senior employees. If organizations want to rebuild the seniority of their workforce, keeping new-hires engaged is the first step to success. As the new Training Coordinator for the City of Carlsbad, CA, it is my recommendation that an employee onboarding system be put into place by the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year. According to Cheri Abbott, Human Resources Manager City of Carlsbad, the 2014-15 fiscal year was the single highest year for full time (FT) hires since the 2005-2006 fiscal year. During the 2014-15 fiscal year, the city hired or promoted a total of 151 FT and 243 part time (PT) employees, yet the city still lacks a structured employee onboarding program. The effects of this gap are already showing, as the city has lost roughly 20% of employees hired within the last 1.5 years, which consistent with past research. By structuring the city's onboarding program, Human Resources (HR) will be increasing the likelihood of retaining the highly qualified applicants that accept jobs within the
THE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURED ONBOARDING!4 organization. This supports recent efforts of the City Council, who has placed high priority on restructuring the performance management program for several employment groups, in hopes of creating a fair and sustainable pay scale. This new pay scale was created under the assumption that new hires will be tenured with the city in five to ten years, yet without structured onboarding, tenured employees may be few and far between. Furthermore, a short survey of both part and full time employees has indicated a need to bring back a structured program to the city, as they feel that they have been placed in a "sink or swim" situation from their time of hire. Employees have also indicated a lack of consistency in the distribution of information perceived as necessary for their success within the organization. As a result, the Learning and Development team has decided to design an onboarding program that will support the needs of our new hires and secure the retention of talent within the city. In turn, the City of Carlsbad s workforce will be competitive with top quality candidates in neighboring markets, and the staff will be able to better promote the overall Mission, Vision, and Values of the city. Bauer (2010) indicates that the key to successful onboarding is to create a curriculum that is not initially overwhelming, but also not spread apart so far that employees are left without resources vital to their success. In keeping with this model, the Learning and Development team recommends and onboarding program that consists of multiple sessions over the course of 90 days. Each course will represent a vital area of organizational socialization or performance, and will be presented by various departments with subject matter experts in the topic at hand.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF STRUCTURED ONBOARDING!6 References Abbott, C. (2015, September 4). L D / Onboarding Review Sessions [Personal interview]. Bauer, T. (2010). Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success. Retrieved September 2, 2015, from http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/pages/onboardingepg.aspx Krauss, A. D. (2010). Onboarding the hourly workforce. Poster presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), Atlanta, GA. Maurer, R. (2015, April 16). Onboarding Key to Retaining, Engaging Talent. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Smart, B. (1999). Topgrading: How leading companies win by hiring, coaching, and keeping the best people. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. The Wynhurst Group. (2007, April 1). SHRM Presentation. Lecture.