Did you know that if you have a strong onboarding program, your employees are 69% more likely to remain with your company for up to three years? Studies have proven again and again that onboarding is good for retention and employee satisfaction. And when you think about it, it’s not surprising. For example, consider your average new hire, Joe:
Joe’s First Day on the Job
Joe’s manager greets him, shows him his desk, and takes him to HR. He signs stacks of paperwork, says hello to his team members, and attends orientation. At the end of the day, his head is spinning with information overload.
Joe’s First Week on the Job
Joe attends one or two more orientation sessions and completes some online training. His coworkers wave as he passes in the hall. He jumps into a project, but he doesn’t know much about the company’s process, so he spends a lot of time figuring out what to do and who he should talk to for the information he needs.
Joe’s First Month on the Job
Joe’s manager checks in a few times and his coworkers are friendly, but he doesn’t know anyone very well and feels awkward asking questions. Shouldn’t he know this stuff by now? He is still not functioning at full capacity, mostly because he spends a lot of the day spinning his wheels as he tries to get up to speed on current projects and clients. He is frustrated and doesn’t quite feel like a member of the team yet, but because he’s been here a few weeks everyone thinks he knows what he’s doing. Just out of interest, he starts browsing job openings on LinkedIn. There was that position at his buddy’s company last week…
Bye, Joe.
Joe isn’t really hypothetical. He works at thousands of companies across the country. Maybe he even works for you.
But what if you could connect with Joe and engage him before he’s ready to fly the coop?
That’s the power of strategic onboarding.
Not only does onboarding impact your retention and turnover, but it can also build or destroy your employer brand. It’s your first opportunity to interact with new employees and showcase your culture. If onboarding is a flop, many new hires will start looking elsewhere.
So what can you do to keep employees engaged from Day One?
SHRM recommends four building blocks:
At each step, a smaller and smaller percentage of companies report active, intentional measures designed to achieve those goals. Just about everyone has compliance down pat, but only about 20% have a formal process that includes all four C’s.
Onboarding should do more than provide information. It should also foster engagement and connection. And that’s the key to boosting engagement, retention, and productivity.
If you’re ready to build an onboarding process that gets results, start with a close look at your human capital management software. Outdated software can throw wrenches in the works faster than you can say “Welcome aboard.” If your software isn’t up to snuff or if you aren’t using it to its full potential, then consider some of the tools you could benefit from:
Strategic onboarding helps new employees feel not only wanted but also welcomed. It helps them find their footing in a new environment so they can reach full capacity as quickly as possible. And it helps them make personal connections with the team, which is an important contributor to engagement.
Your HR technology puts tools in your hands to foster those vital connections and facilitate communication. If you’re not using them to their full potential, you could be losing employees like Joe and the benefits they bring to your team.
