Finding and recruiting new employees can be a tedious task, which costs time and money. As a business owner, it is likely that you will have to jump through a few hoops to find the right employees for your organization. However, after finding the right employees, you have to onboard them. Onboarding is an essential procedure that needs to be administered once the employees have been recruited into the company. Onboarding your new employees properly will make them adjust faster to the new atmosphere, become more productive, and stay motivated.
Employee onboarding can be described as equipping new hires with the tools they need to successfully integrate into the organization, the work culture propagated by that organization, and the new role that has just been assigned. According to HR experts, onboarding new hires at an organization should be a planned process and it should last at least a year. It’s important to make the most of this chance to welcome new workers and prepare them for success. This step is crucial for retaining and attracting top talent. High retention depends on how employers handle the initial few days and months of a new employee’s experience.
What Is Onboarding?
Onboarding is the procedure when the newly hired employee is introduced into the organization. During the onboarding procedure, the employee is made aware of the requirements and made to understand the new position that they are taking on. Onboarding is an important aspect of recruitment as it will help employees blend into the organization without trouble. There are several steps that are included in the onboarding procedure. After an employee gets recruited, they are introduced to the organization, and then they will undergo training procedures. Onboarding is usually done for the first few weeks or over a year.
Onboarding is usually thought to be the same as orientation. However, that is not the case. Orientation is a crucial step for completing paperwork and other everyday activities. But onboarding is about immersing the employee into the atmosphere and the work culture propagated by the organization. Every new employee will be onboarded into all organizations. Although, how they are onboarded makes a difference. In the majority of cases, the new employee is handed a file of documents that they need to fill up or read. However, this might prove to impact the employees negatively.
While onboarding, it is important that the employee is made to feel welcome in the organization. When onboarding is done well, it creates a basis for both the employee’s and the employer’s long-term success. It can increase the engagement of the employees, make the employees more loyal to the organization, boost output, and support staff members’ early career success in the new company.
Why Is Employee Onboarding Important?
Onboarding is one of the most important aspects of an employee’s career. A proper and successful onboarding will make sure that the employee is comfortable and eases into the work environment. The purpose of onboarding is to orient new hires to their position, along with making them understand the values propagated by the company and the benefits it offers. In addition to this, it motivates workers to be dedicated to the success of the business and aids in the retention of new hires by making them feel like a part of the team.
There is research that suggests that the onboarding should be done for at least a year. By stretching the onboarding period, it will prove more effective and the employees will have enough time to mentally adjust to their new surroundings. Proper onboarding will also aid in reducing attrition and boosting employee engagement. When employee engagement increases it will have a direct impact on customer satisfaction.
In the majority of the cases, the employer, supervisor, or HR representative, performs onboarding. In certain situations, all of the above-mentioned individuals assist with onboarding. They aid in introducing the new employee to various elements of the business. This can be accomplished efficiently by sharing the company’s vision, goal, and core values with the new employees. Oftentimes, the employee’s beliefs and values will align with the values of the company. This will increase the productivity of the employee as well as the company.
How To Properly Onboard Employees
As an organization, you must have a proper onboarding procedure in place for all the new employees being recruited. The onboarding will reflect on the performance of the employees. If an organization doesn’t have a thorough onboarding strategy with objectives for gauging performance or if the companies are chaotic, unprepared, and unwelcoming toward the new employees, it can cause new workers to leave quickly. In such instances, employees are seen to leave, often within the first 90 days of employment. The best trick to successfully onboard employees is to make them feel welcome and comfortable from the first day.
It is necessary that the onboarding procedure every new hire goes through should be uniform. However, it’s also crucial to discover ways to make each new employee’s experience special. After the onboarding procedures have been done, it is seen that most employees complain about it. They are seen to express their concerns about the fact that the onboarding was mostly focused on filling forms and paperwork. Sometimes, when new employees join, the workspace and supplies will not be ready, and they will have fewer opportunities to network and socialize with the other employees and build rapport with them. While onboarding your employees make sure that they have the basic office amenities that they need to fit in in the organization. It would be better to make them feel like they are already part of the team.
What approach your organization wants to take while onboarding depends on the work culture and environment propagated by the company. However, they are certain aspects that should not be skipped while onboarding. It is vital that the new hires are given training on technical skill development, mandatory compliance training, processes, procedures, business practices training, etc. It is also important that the new employees should be provided proper training in the work environment. While giving compliance training, it is necessary to include fire and safety training, and sexual harassment training. Sexual harassment training is extremely important, your employees should always know that it’s a safe space for them to work in. employees tend to leave soon if they are subjected to harassment or abuse in the workplace. It would be best to onboard them by assuring their safety in the hospital.
A common practice seen in onboarding in the majority of companies is that the onboarding is over within the first few weeks. This will negatively impact employee retention. There is research that suggests that employees need to be onboarded for at least a year. Improper onboarding will result in lower employee retention and high employee turnover. Having a higher rate of employee turnover will lead to the company losing valuable time and money. It is observed that replacing old employees are more difficult. So, it is best not to ignore the employee’s needs once they have been onboarded. Successfully onboarding the employees will lead to high employee retention, which is beneficial for the company.
FAQ
- What is onboarding?
Onboarding is the procedure when the newly hired employee is introduced into the organization. During the onboarding procedure, the employee is made aware of the requirements and made to understand the new position that they are taking on.
- Why is employee onboarding important?
The purpose of onboarding is to orient new hires to their position, along with making them understand the values propagated by the company and the benefits it offers. In addition to this, it motivates workers to be dedicated to the success of the business and aids in the retention of new hires by making them feel like a part of the team.
- What happens when employees are not properly onboarded?
If an organization doesn’t have a thorough onboarding strategy with objectives for gauging performance or if the companies are chaotic, unprepared, and unwelcoming toward the new employees, it can cause new workers to leave quickly. In such instances, employees are seen to leave, often within the first 90 days of employment.
- What are the benefits of proper onboarding?
The employees will be comfortable and this will increase their productivity. When the onboarding is done properly it is seen to increase employee retention, which will ultimately prove beneficial to the organization.
