Will your new employee stay?
An employee’s decision to stay with a company is usually made within the first few months on the job. It’s an emotional time, as he or she has just left the comfort of one situation and is entering another that can be fraught with uncertainty, potential selfdoubt and new challenges.
Since you’ve just gone through all the effort of identifying and presumably hiring the right person, don’t you want to do everything possible to ensure they stay?
This is why having a positive onboarding process is so crucial.
From an employee’s view, onboarding offers the chance to become an important and engaged member of the corporate community. From an employer’s perspective, it’s a chance to build a strong new relationship that can bring significant returns on investment.
To that end, here are five onboarding realities that should be taken into consideration:
• A lasting employee relationship starts before day one. For employees, onboarding should be a welcoming experience that immediately demonstrates their importance to the organization. It should offer multiple interactions before, during and after the employee walks in the door in order to foster engagement, manage expectations and establish connections. Early communication can alleviate new-hire stress, initiate an instantaneous sense of inclusion and enable early productivity.
• The employee sees things differently than you do. Put yourself in your employee’s shoes. Everything is new to him or her — where the pantry is, who’s on their team and what processes are utilized. Human interaction before and on the first day is important to help a new employee feel connected and part of the team right away. Onboarding should offer the opportunity to ask questions, learn more about new team members, and understand specifics about their new role.
• The process can be overwhelming for everyone. A company has too many moving parts for a new employee to learn all at once. A centralized on boarding process— designed with employee needs in mind—helps for a smooth transition and createsa positive, pain less and productive experience that
prioritizessocializationinto theworkenvironment.
• Loyal and productive employees add to your ROI. Companies that invest in their employees early are more likely to see a successful long-term employee-company relationship develop. Employees want to be recognized as a valued member of the corporate community, which directly impacts their desire to build their career with your company.
• Yourviewofonboardingcanmakeabig difference. New employeeswhohaveabetterunderstandingoftheirroleaswell asthecompanyculturewill leadtoincreasedemployee moraleandretention. Companiesshouldview onboardingasameansto developinglifelongemployeesratherthansimplyas aneffectivetooltoassistthe administrativeprocess.
Various technology solutions exist in today’s environment to help standardize, streamline, track and coordinate every step of the process. It’s a matter of finding the right tool to fit your custom needs.
It’salsoworthnotingthat employees, HR and hiring managers today want flexibility, technology, support and encouragement along the way. The right onboarding process can help meet these needs by providing a single centralized system that spans company functions, enables socialization and unites technology with a human connection. And it can pay off in keeping the right employees after you’ve hired them.