An organization’s true picture is represented by how happy its employees are.
Its work culture is defined by the employees working at that organization. When new employees join in, the task of aligning them to the business goals, introducing them to their roles and engaging them well becomes a daunting task altogether. A smooth employee onboarding process allows a new employee to start contributing from the word “go”. If you’ve been an HR or have assisted a hiring manager, you will understand just how critical these steps are.
An employee’s first day, in most organizations, is spent running around various departments, ensuring that the onboarding process is fulfilled. This is not a nice experience and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
This article will iterate the 5reasons of why employee onboarding is critical to any business and how you can do it right:
Retention
Employee retention takes place when proper information is shared with them. Research suggests that employees who go through smooth onboarding process are likely to stay more than three years in an organization. In fact, it’s a strategic process to make the new hires more productive and help them understand their job roles which in turn will lead them to understand their profile well, grow interest and hence will lead them not to leave your organization. In case, he’s unclear about the job profile he’s working in, then chances are high that he’ll be dissatisfied and leave you.
Growth
Each new hire who joins your organization, has only one goal, i.e., “Growth”. This is an irrefutable fact. His/her primary goal is to ensure their growth which would further lead to the overall growth of the organization. A good onboarding process is your first strategic step to make new hires believe that they are as important as the old ones, which again will help in company’s overall strategic growth. It has been observed that 20% of the employee turnover happens in the first 45 days. Now you know why it’s important to follow a strategic onboarding process. Right?
Work culture
The culture of an organization comprises shared assumptions, values and traditions. It is a personality of an institution and is visible in the way people interact with each other. This culture evolves as new employees are added to the organization regularly.
The interpretation of the culture is defined with the prior experiences the new hires have, when they join an organization. Orientation, being a part of the onboarding process plays a major role in sustaining a good work culture and delivering the same to the new employees. This also includes providing the employees with correct documents of their appointment letters along with their KRAs. This will further help in eradication of miscommunication and employees will be clear about their roles.
Brand Reputation
A brand is not only impacted with the product or the customer experience you deliver. It’s a cumulative effort of the product you sell, customer experience you give and most importantly how well informed do you keep your employees. If your employees are happy, they’ll work well and if they work well, your brand reputation will automatically go up.
Sounds like an interesting take?
Let me give you an example. Imagine a situation wherein 3 new sales persons join your organization and they haven’t been briefed about their tasks and have no idea about their immediate managers. Also, they are running around the corners to complete their boring documentation.
What do you think would be impacted? The reputation of the company.
Remember! When an employee joins an organization, his initial days are crucial and can create word-of-mouth for the other employees who might join you later.
New people who join you, should feel comfortable and cherish the new opportunity. As a result, it’s your responsibility to make their onboarding process a smooth one, enhancing the overall experience.
Innovation
When a new brain joins a workplace, fresh ideas and creative experiences make a lot of difference. But for that it is important for you to provide him with the best employee experience. You need to make him comfortable and help him believe that he’s a part of the organization. He should be able to pitch in ideas and share it with other members (without any hesitation). But who will help him do that? You!
The onboarding process doesn’t end only with the orientation part, but with proper communication. You should help him know who all can he speak with if he has queries or ideas to be implemented. Therefore, engaging them right should also be a part of your strategic onboarding process.
Saketa Onboarding is an onboarding manager for SharePoint and Office 365, that makes employee onboarding easy, manageable and simple. Our goal is to limit the amount of paper work, and make the onboarding process simple and hassle free.
Also, now that you know that the onboarding process is much more than just a process and can contribute to a lot of factors, what do you think should be your next onboarding strategy? Please let us know in the comment section below.
