A healthy employment relationship acts as a robust foundation for any organization. An effective onboarding not only comprises a great first day at work, or a warm welcome letter but also a 90-day-long process of knowing and assisting the recruit in adapting to the new work culture.
Benefits of a healthy employee onboarding broadcast feature like:
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- Maximizes retention and loyalty: An effective and strategic employee onboarding software helps organizations improve their employee retention rate. This happens because new employees will not only get to know their teammates better from day one but also allow them to start performing well as soon as possible. This offers instant gratification.
- Strengthening company culture: Provides a clear idea of the company’s vision, goals, and values, which in turn boosts the employee’s expected behavior and attitude towards the company resulting in a healthy Company culture.
- Nurture belonging and inclusion: A sense of belongingness boosts organizational performance. And hence, to achieve that, good onboarding is a necessity as it reduces stress and anxiety in recruits, providing them with a sense of comfort and belongingness in the new environment.
- Reinforces productivity and minimizes business risk: A boost in productivity can be witnessed by encouraging effective onboarding. Payroll forms, Company policies, and procedures serve as protection for both employees and the organization.
- Reducing turnover: A successful onboarding program reduces turnover, resulting in long-term employee engagement.
The process of recruitment and onboarding has changed over time because of the COVID-19 scenario. The now-applicable option of hybrid work though comfortable for the employees becomes hectic for the HR organization as they have to adapt to different ways of onboarding to make the entire process more engaging and work-friendly.
Here are a few suggested onboarding practices that are applicable irrespective of remote or in-person work culture:
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- Clear purpose: HR should possess a clear idea about the importance of a good onboarding and a mind map of what exactly she wants a recruit to experience.
- Minimize surprises: Informing a new hire about the dress code or what expectations are set for an employee working in a particular organization will help reduce the stress and anxiety of a new environment.
- Be prepared: Preparing a new hire checklist, scheduling meetings as well as training sessions in advance, and also prepping their workstation, and other team members to help them feel at home on their first day at work are one of the many features of a good onboarding.
- Exercise patience: When a new hire joins a firm, it takes some time for them to get accustomed to the work style. In such cases, patience is the key. Walk them through the process once or twice as they will eventually get used to the work.
- Set a reasonable pace: Set small chunks of achievable goals and introduce the recruits to the bigger goals and vast information gradually to prevent skipping out on some important but minute detail.
- Provide resources: Introduction of policy manuals and employee handbooks to the recruit will provide them with an assurance that they can rely upon in case they feel bewildered by the company lingo.
Some HR onboarding tips for remote work:
- Keep the process human: Better introductions are possible in face-to-face conversations. So, it is compulsory to arrange official video conferences and calls.
- Usage of snail mail: If your company has a culture of gifting a new hire with a t-shirt, mug, etc. with the company’s name tag on it, consider doing the same for the remote recruit too, as it gives them a sense of belongingness.
- Stay in touch: Engage in conversations with your new hire in any possible or effective mode of communication. Be it using emails, instant messages, phone calls, video calls, etc.
Conclusion: Considering different methods of onboarding might seem a bit hectic but it is compulsory for reinforcing the company’s long-term work culture, vision, and goals.
