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“The first impression is the best impression almost everywhere” — and that goes for the workplace as well.

Creating a good employment relationship is somewhat like building a good relationship with your significant other. A good employee-employer relationship begins with an effective onboarding process at the workplace. Employee onboarding is a crucial part of the newly hired experience; this sets the stage for your relationship with the new employee.

In a study conducted by Gallup, around 12% of employees strongly agree that their organization does a great job in onboarding new employees. Around 88% of responding organizations believe onboarding isn't being done well. Building an employee onboarding process can bring inherent benefits to your organization, from increased employee engagement and productivity to reduced turnover rates and work-related errors. Research by the Brandon Hall Group found that companies with an effective onboarding process saw an increase in employee retention of 82% and productivity of over 70%. Thus, employee onboarding is essential.

Why Does Your Organization Need To Upgrade Its Onboarding Process?

An organization that employs effective employee onboarding knows that the process of integrating a new hire into the culture and the company goes far beyond just a welcome letter and a great first day at work.

• Boost retention and loyalty Click Boarding, an employee onboarding software company states that almost 70% of employees will be more likely to stay with their company for at least three years if they receive a good onboarding experience.
  
  
• Enhance company culture A successful onboarding process will enable new employees to understand the company's vision, mission, and values. It will also reinforce the expected behaviours and attitudes that together shape the company culture.
  
  
• Embrace belonging and inclusion Deloitte's study found that 93% of employees believe a sense of belonging drives organizational performance. A smooth and robust onboarding process can reduce anxiety, stress and improve the sense of belonging a new employee feels to their team.
  
  
• Boost employee productivity A study conducted by Glassdoor showed that an effective onboarding process could enhance productivity by more than 70% since it explains job expectations, reduces errors, and saves time and frustration for all parties.
  
  
• Reduce business risk It is necessary to sign employment contracts, finish payroll forms, review company policies, and complete company forms. Many of these things are done to protect both the organization and the employees.
  
  
• Reduce employee turnover costs According to SHRM’s Report, the average cost of hiring a new employee was $4,129 in the United States, and it took 42 days to fill a position on average. An effective onboarding process leads to long-term employee engagement.
  
  

Top Tips to Enhance Your Employee Onboarding Process

As per the statistics of Business News Daily, a poor and outdated onboarding process can cost an organization up to 300% of the employee's salary as it negatively impacts employees' overall experience and productivity. Today, the onboarding process should not be restricted to office-based employees. Due to the ongoing pandemic, many organizations across the globe have already announced a permanent or long-term remote work policy. According to the Robert Half Salary Guide, 78% of employers are willing to hire candidates outside their geographic region. An effective remote onboarding process is crucial for the success of every new hire. Therefore, such companies should be conducting a streamlined remote onboarding process.

Take a look at these tips for onboarding employees successfully and ensuring they get quick wins.

1. Pre-employment training begins before the employee starts work Employers should not wait until the moment a new hire walks through the door on their first day to begin the onboarding process. An employer can start onboarding and building engagement with a new team member from the very beginning of the relationship. Employers can start engaging new hires by sending welcome emails, publishing content that demonstrates their values, answering questions, preparing a welcome package for them. Taking the time to do the following steps can help ease the mind of a new hire, so they feel more confident the moment they walk through the door on their first day.
   
   
2. Ensure proper orientation Onboarding and orientation are often treated as one and the same, but that's not true. In the onboarding process, orientation should be specifically designed to ensure that employees are properly oriented. An orientation program should introduce employees to the company's work culture, provide technical support such as laptops, email addresses, apps, and a phone. This will include a tour of the facilities, such as restrooms, parking spaces, the kitchen, conference rooms, and breaks and discussing the company's mission, vision, and goals. A significant portion of the onboarding process should not be devoted to orientation - including administrative tasks such as completing new hire paperwork. Make sure your remote employees are also included in the process. Give them a virtual office tour and more using screen sharing software.
   
   
3. Personalized employee training Each employee has unique qualities. This is why onboarding should be personalized to each new employee's strengths, challenges, and preferences. The onboarding process should begin by providing each new team member with materials specific to their particular job and location. In order to provide a personalized experience, employers should also use surveys to learn more about the new hire's time management, task management, training, and communication preferences. Employers can improve job satisfaction and productivity among new hires by customizing the onboarding experience to match each employee's unique preferences and needs.
   
   
4. Engage in one-on-one communication often. It is crucial for new employees to engage in frequent, intentional communication throughout their onboarding phase in order to feel connected to the team and the overall company and make sure they have access to the tools and information they need to succeed. New hires can be connected to you in a variety of ways, both formally and informally. Make sure managers block out time for employees to check in each week - a virtual "open door" policy. Encourage employees to use video during meetings to make meetings more personal and foster team bonding. Provide weekly one-on-ones with new hires to check in and offer assistance. HR managers should follow up with new hires frequently. Since remote work limits organic interactions in an office, it may be necessary to check in more frequently than in your normal onboarding process. Read More:  What is the best way to maintain effective communication with remote teams?
   
   
5. Gather new hire’s feedback Another way to enhance employee onboarding is to collect feedback and then optimize the company's process in response. Being open to new employees' input can give valuable insights that can improve the onboarding process down the road. You can get feedback on the onboarding process by sending out anonymous employee surveys. You can ask questions such as: What were the highlights of the onboarding process? Did any areas need improvement? How do you rate the onboarding process? As a result, you will get a better understanding of your company's onboarding process and ensure that all new hires feel heard and involved.
   
   

Conclusion: Automate Your Employee Onboarding Process

It is a no-brainer that the employee onboarding process should be employee-focused and experience-oriented. Earlier, onboarding was a cumbersome process that HR managers had to take care of. It is common for new employees to be confused and doubtful about their tasks and operations. If new employees did not receive personalized support to help them adjust to the organization's work culture and fully understand their roles, they would have difficulty adjusting. Automating employee onboarding streamlines the employee's adaptation and does not have to put many resources into it.