What is Onboarding?
Employee onboarding refers to the series of activities and procedures that an organization implements to integrate and welcome a new hire into the company. It is designed strategically to help new candidates and make them familiar with the colleague, organization’s culture, policies, processes, and roles and responsibilities.
The onboarding process typically begins after the new hires have accepted the job offer and continue for a defined period, usually extending from the first day of employment to a few months. Before implementing the right onboarding process, employers should overview some key questions as an onboarding checklist and need to solve them properly.
That includes
▸ How long will the onboarding last?
▸ How do you plan for a strategy in settling down employees?
▸ What role will HR play in the onboarding program?
▸ What goals do you wish to achieve with the recruit?
▸ How do you introduce the new employee handbook?
Introducing Onboarding Software
Numerous human resource management software with onboarding features help employers to streamline the entire onboarding process. With the help of the software, employers ensure instant onboard methods and set up full-time employees or independent contractors across the world.
Before arranging the specific software for employee onboarding, it is essential to review the local laws or complicated tax systems. Automated workflow introduces an organization with a structured database that collects employee and contractor data securely and generates quick and smooth onboarding from one central platform. It creates job training and discusses the entire process, company vision, and mission in detail.
FAQs
1. What is the importance of the employee onboarding process?
➔ Accelerates Time
An effective onboarding process helps new employees become more informed about their responsibility, and work culture which leads to productivity more quickly.
With a seamless smooth onboarding process, employees get the necessary institutional knowledge, human resources, and support to understand their roles and responsibilities, learn about company processes and systems, and navigate the organizational culture.
This reduces the time it takes for new hires to contribute meaningfully to their work and make a positive impact. A short and quick but proper onboarding process directly reflects on employee retention, company outgrowth, and more.
➔ Improves Employee Engagement
Who doesn’t like a seamless smooth onboarding process? Any employee must love it and it ensures increased employee engagement by fostering a sense of belonging and connection to the organization.
It helps new employees understand the company’s mission, values, and goals, and provides clarity on how their roles contribute to the overall success of the organization. Engaged employees are more motivated, committed, and likely to stay with the company long-term.
Moreover, the organization can be renounced by an employee referral process. And you can get more talent easily.
➔ Enhances Job Satisfaction
Job Satisfaction is one of the most essential parts of employee engagement and maintaining employee retention.
A positive onboarding experience contributes to higher levels of job satisfaction. When new employees feel supported, welcomed, and prepared for their roles, they are more likely to be satisfied with their work environment and the organization as a whole. It can lead to higher retention rates and a positive employer brand.
➔ Reduces Turnover
An effective onboarding process plays a critical role in reducing employee turnover. A proper onboarding process creates a strategized onboarding program that ensures employee retention and reduces turnover. As employees like to stay with the organization more for the professional, structured work environment.
By providing the necessary support, resources, and information, onboarding helps new hires feel valued, supported, and connected to the organization, reducing the likelihood of early attrition.
➔ Builds Relationships and Networks
Once the organization shares the entire office compliances in detail at the time of onboarding. It facilitates relationship-building and networking processes for new employees. They prepare mentally to accept the policies and agree to attain the responsibility.
It introduces them to colleagues, managers, and key stakeholders, fostering connections that can lead to collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a supportive work environment.
Building relationships and understanding new roles early on contribute to a positive employee experience and can provide avenues for ongoing support, learning, and growth.
➔ Supports Cultural Assimilation
Organizations have their unique cultures, norms, and values. The onboarding process helps new employees understand and assimilate into the organizational culture. It provides insights into expected behaviors, communication styles, and organizational dynamics, enabling new hires to align their behavior and work effectively within the organization.
➔ Mitigates Compliance and Legal Risks
Onboarding ensures that new employees receive necessary compliance training and understand legal obligations. This includes training on safety protocols, harassment prevention, data privacy, and other regulatory requirements. Proper onboarding helps the organization fulfill its legal obligations and reduces the risk of compliance-related issues.
2. What is the purpose of onboarding?
A quick introduction or haphazard onboarding process builds confusion in employees’ minds. Additionally, it is not an effective way for achieving employee competence and satisfaction.
Companies understand the purpose of investing in an onboarding program that helps new employees:
- Understanding the aspect of their positions
- Performing their responsibilities well
- Making feel valued
- Feel adequate job satisfaction
In this section, we are sharing the purpose of the swift onboarding process.
➔ New Employee Orientation
The right onboarding process ensures that fresh employees become familiar with the new work culture, understand their responsibilities, know the company term and policies, the company’s mission and vision, etc.
It gives a scope to employees’ learning of the company’s mission, vision, and values, and helps them understand how their roles fit into the larger organizational context.
➔ Relationship Building
Onboarding facilitates relationship-building between new employees and their colleagues, managers, and other key stakeholders. It helps employees make a smooth transition and blend in with the new work environment.
It creates opportunities for introductions, networking, and collaboration, which can lead to stronger working relationships and a sense of belonging within the organization.
➔ Work Clarity
The onboarding process helps new employees understand their roles and responsibilities within the organization at the time of joining.
It provides clarity on job expectations, performance standards, and goals, ensuring that employees have a clear understanding of what is expected from them in their positions.
➔ Skill and Knowledge Development
Onboarding offers opportunities for new employees to develop the skills and knowledge necessary for their roles. It may include training sessions, workshops, or job-shadowing experiences that help employees acquire the specific competencies needed to perform their new role or job more effectively.
➔ Cultural Assimilation
The onboarding process supports new employees in assimilating into the organization’s culture. It introduces them to the organization’s values, norms, and behavioral expectations, helping them understand and align with the company’s culture and work environment.
➔ Employee Engagement
Effective onboarding fosters employee engagement by creating a positive initial experience for new employees. It helps them feel valued, supported, and connected to the organization, which can lead to higher job satisfaction, motivation, and commitment.
➔ Retention and Productivity
The onboarding process plays a critical role in employee retention. It helps new employees feel welcomed, supported, and prepared for their roles, increasing the likelihood of their continued commitment to the organization.
Additionally, a well-executed onboarding process can accelerate the time it takes for new employees to become productive, contributing to the organization’s success.
➔ Compliance and Legal Requirements
Onboarding ensures that new employees receive necessary compliance training, understand company policies, and are aware of legal obligations.
It helps the organization fulfill its legal and regulatory responsibilities and reduces the risk of compliance-related issues.
3. Steps on the successful Onboarding process
Whether a new hire is on a panel and you are thinking about the quick way to onboarded employees. You can follow the steps for swift onboarding. It is also applicable for remote onboarding as well.
- Preonboarding
- Orientation
- Training
- Integration
➔ Pre-onboarding
The first step is Pre-onboarding. It begins just after the job acceptance of the candidate and ends on their first day of work. New hires may have questions or concerns before starting to introduce the office employee.
Pre-onboarding provides a platform for organizations to address those inquiries, ensuring that new employees feel supported and well-informed.
▸ Some common activities in pre-onboarding may include:
- Sending a welcome email or letter, expressing excitement and providing an overview of the onboarding process.
- Providing access to online platforms or portals with pre-employment forms or documents.
- Sharing an onboarding schedule or timeline, outlining what will occur leading up to the first day.
- Communicating logistical information such as dress code, parking arrangements, or directions to the office.
- Assigning a pre-boarding buddy or mentor to help answer questions or provide guidance.
- Offering opportunities for new hires to connect with future colleagues through informal meetings or virtual introductions.
➔ Orientation
Orientation is taken place when the employee gets to know about the company’s term and policy and the work-related government rules and regulation if there is any.
In the case of in-person onboarding, HR provides them with office tours for introducing them to colleagues and managers.
▸ Some common activities in Orientation may include:
- Introduction to Company Policies and Procedures, discussing the policy, and providing some time for employees to read and understand them.
- Providing training or information about workplace health and safety protocols, emergency procedures, and any specific safety measures relevant to their roles.
- Arranging training sessions or guidance on using the organization’s technology systems, software, communication tools, and any other IT-related resources.
- Providing opportunities for new employees to meet their colleagues, team member, and other key stakeholders.
➔ Training
Training is one of the most important phases in employee onboarding. Proper training makes the employees knowledgeable about the company products, their responsibilities, monthly target, etc. A new team member can balance the new job and work environment smoothly.
▸ Some common activities in Orientation may include:
- Proper orientation to Company Systems and Tools
- Providing instruction on standard operating procedures, best practices, specific methodologies, or techniques required to fulfill the job requirements.
- Introducing company culture policies, compliance requirements, safety protocols, customer service skills, or specific technical skills
- Providing training activities that involve numerous case studies of past real-life scenarios to provide better knowledge to employees.
➔ Integration
Integrating the employee through the employee onboarding process is the last phase of employee onboarding. Integration activities are designed to help new employees become fully integrated into the organization, its culture, and the broader team.
▸ Some common activities in Orientation may include:
- Arranging tech support for the new employee and opening employee ID and new mail ID to the new hire.
- Providing opportunities to grab knowledge by observing the experienced colleague’s action.
- Letting them experience cross-functional exposure that allows them a broader understanding of the organization, builds relationships, and fosters a sense of collaboration across teams.
- Inviting new team members to team meetings, departmental gatherings, and other company-wide events to foster a sense of inclusion and belonging.
4. Is Onboarding helpful – from an employee perspective?
Onboarding helps new employees navigate the transition into a new organization and role more smoothly. It provides them with the necessary information, resources, and support to understand their job expectations, company culture, and organizational dynamics.
It allows the employee to understand their team nature and job responsibility quickly. The necessary training process ensures proper support and resources the employees get properly. It leads to job satisfaction and employee retention.
Besides, with a proper onboarding process employees maintain a relationship building with colleagues, managers, and other key stakeholders within the organization. New hires get insights into the organization’s values, norms, and culture. It helps new employees understand the company’s mission, vision, and core beliefs.
Additionally, employees can build up their professional careers with positivity and enthusiasm. Access to professional development opportunities supports career advancement and long-term success within the organization.
