Employers invest a lot of time and resources in recruiting top candidates. However, many forget that they also need to invest time and effort in keeping them.
We are experiencing a global talent shortage that has been growing for the past decade. The number of candidates with the hot skills that employers need is limited. This means you are chasing the same talent everyone else wants. So, once you recruit and hire top performers, you need to give them an incentive to stay with your company.
Establishing a strong employee onboarding program is the first step companies should take to improve retention. According to a recent study by the Brandon Hall Group, companies with a strong employee onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. In contrast, candidates lose confidence in organizations with weak onboarding programs and are more likely to leave during their first year.
Organizations have gotten the message and are looking for ways to optimize their employee onboarding and improve the overall employee experience. A 2021 study by Apps Run the World forecasted that the worldwide onboarding software market will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5% through 2026 and increase the total market value to around $1.7 billion.
Why Is Onboarding Important?
Employee onboarding refers to welcoming new hires and integrating them into your organization. It helps new employees get to know your company, understand its culture, and meet team members and key stakeholders.
Onboarding helps new employees “get up to speed” more quickly so they can start contributing to the team faster. We are often asked, “How would you describe the process of onboarding?” We explain that an employee onboarding process can last a day or two, several months, or a year and typically includes both structured and informal activities. A good onboarding program helps new employees feel welcome and supported, ensures they understand their responsibilities, and helps them learn company policies and procedures.
Do Remote Workers Need Onboarding Too?
Remote work has become the new normal. In the last 15 years, the number of employees who work from home has increased by 159%. Today, around 62% of employees are hybrid workers who split their time between home and the office. A growing number of companies are 100% remote, and industry experts say that by 2025, around 32.6 million Americans–about 22% of the total workforce—will be remote.
We are often asked if remote workers need employee onboarding programs. The answer is definitely YES! In fact, remote employees may need more attention and handholding during onboarding than onsite employees.
Since remote workers are not in the office, they do not have the same opportunities to form relationships with co-workers and stakeholders and become familiar with the company culture. Therefore, part of their onboarding program should require them to schedule online meetings or interviews with co-workers and stakeholders so they can start building strong working relationships with them.
What Is the Best Employee Onboarding Process?
There is no best employee onboarding process because every organization has its own needs. Generally speaking, a successful onboarding program should provide new hires with the information they need to be successful in their new job, help them understand the company culture and “how to get things done,” and not waste time reviewing information the employee already knows. This is where employee assessment solutions come in.
There are no perfect candidates. Most new employees have skills gaps that need to be addressed.
So, one of the first things you need to determine is what training a new hire needs to be successful in their new job and assimilate into your company.
You used skills assessments to screen applicants and hire the candidates you are onboarding. Now, you can use the same assessment results to define strengths and weaknesses and create customized onboarding and employee development programs that skip topics the new employee understands and focus training in areas where they need more help.
Why Are Hiring and Employee Onboarding So Challenging?
In a perfect world, every employee you hire would be successful in their new job, assimilate well into your company, and not look for other opportunities. Unfortunately, the world is not perfect, and hiring mistakes happen more often than most business and HR leaders would admit. Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, estimates that his own hiring mistakes have cost his company over $100 million.
People often ask, “Why do companies hire bad employees?” No company hires bad employees, but they frequently hire the wrong employees. A wrong employee could be someone who lacks the required skills and experience for a job or a candidate who is the wrong fit for a job or company culture. In either case, even a good training and employee onboarding program probably will not make a difference. So, the key is to minimize your chances of making bad hiring decisions.
One problem is that traditional hiring tools are not effective. HR teams have long relied on resumes, job applications, and interviews to screen candidates and make hiring decisions. However, over 85% of candidates admit to lying on their resumes and during job interviews. This means it is highly likely that their information is inaccurate. So, a candidate who sounds ideal could end up being your worst hiring nightmare.
Using an employee assessment solution minimizes the chance of bad hiring decisions because skills test results show which candidates really do have the right abilities, and behavioral assessments help you confirm they are a good fit for the job and your company culture.
Another problem is overt or unconscious bias, which can influence hiring teams and taint decision-making. An example of overt bias would be refusing to consider a candidate because of who they are or are not—like refusing to hire an African American woman to fill a CFO position simply because of her race and gender, even though she is the best-qualified candidate. Unconscious bias occurs when a hiring team favors a candidate because they share common experiences, such as attending the same university or sharing hobbies.
Employee assessment solutions reduce the likelihood that bias will influence hiring decisions. All applicants answer the same questions in the same order, and their answers are automatically scored. Video questions are on-demand, which means applicants listen to the question and upload their answers. They have no direct contact with hiring teams. Some companies even turn off the video so hiring team members cannot see applicants and can only listen to their answers.
HR professionals sometimes ask, “What’s the worst way to hire an employee?” We tell them that focusing on resumes and interviews and relying on impressions of candidates are the worst hiring practices to follow. The best way to hire is to implement an employee assessment solution and use skills tests. The results show you which candidates are best qualified while minimizing hiring bias.
How To Create a Good Employee Onboarding Program
Once you have extended an offer, your focus changes from hiring and evaluating to training and orientation. We recommend that organizations follow these steps to set up an employee onboarding program.
Before The New Hire Starts
Stay in contact with the new employee, especially if their start day is more than a week away. Once they have given notice at their current job, they may get counteroffers and might even get offers from other companies. Keeping in touch will prevent them from changing their mind and considering other offers. There are several things you can do to keep them engaged:
The New Hire’s First Day
A new hire’s first day normally involves completing and signing required paperwork, having photos taken and badges made, and issuing equipment, such as a computer and mobile phone. It may also include an orientation to review HR policies, administrative procedures, and basic safety information.
After you show the new hire their office or workstation, introduce them to co-workers and team members. You should also review their job description, what is expected of them, and what they can expect. This is the time to answer questions about work hours, rules when they can expect their first paycheck, and so on.
The New Hire’s First Week
Clarification is important during the new employee’s first week. Encourage the new hire to ask questions and reinforce any essential rules that all employees need to understand. Assigning the new hire a work buddy or mentor who can answer questions is also a good idea. You can begin assigning small tasks to help them get familiar with their job. You should also start with required training based on what their skills test results showed.
After The First Week
A large part of the employee onboarding process is about improving the employee experience, so you cannot forget about the employee after the first week! You should set milestones for 30, 60, 90, and 120 days and further if needed. It is always good to keep touching base and telling new hires how they are doing.
Around 68.06% of new hires leave within their first three months, and 90% of employees continue to explore new opportunities, even if they are not actively looking for a new job. U.S. businesses lose $1 trillion annually due to voluntary turnover, and replacing an employee costs around one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. So, it is important to safeguard your investment in the new employee.
Continuous Employee Onboarding
It takes time for a new employee to get to the top of the learning curve and reach their expected performance level. They also need time to understand and adapt to your company culture. So, it is important to consider employee onboarding as an ongoing activity.
Measuring a new employee’s progress at milestones is important. They need to learn new job-related skills and be given the opportunity to repeat them over and over until they master them.
You should use the new hire’s original assessment results as a baseline, retest them at 30 days, and compare the latest results to the initial assessment results. Repeating this process at each milestone creates a training and development roadmap custom-tailored to each employee’s needs, skills, and career goals and offers them advancement opportunities.
Continuous employee onboarding and training help you build a strong team because it gives team members an incentive to stay with your company instead of exploring other opportunities.
According to a study by the Society for Training and Human Resources Management (SHRM), 76% of employees say they are more likely to stay at a company that offers continuous training. Research also shows that 56% of companies that implemented employee education initiatives reported improved employee retention. In contrast, that number was only 21% in companies that treat employee training and development as an afterthought.
The following statistics compiled by Intellium show the benefits organizations see after implementing employee onboarding and continuous training and development programs.
Get Started with Employee Onboarding
Employee onboarding programs make hires feel welcome and help ease their transition into your company culture. They also encourage managers and employees to review and agree on performance expectations so there are no misunderstandings.
Are you interested in learning how establishing a good employee onboarding program can help you improve new hire experience and retention? Contact eSkill to request a demo.