August 19, 2016
After spending a great deal of time and resources to bring in quality new hires, many employers are making a major mistake by not prioritizing onboarding.
Despite the fact that effective onboarding improves employee performance and increases employee engagement and retention, according to a report by the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton, a study of 500 U.S. companies of varying sizes shows that the average amount spent on onboarding per new hire is just $ 67—and a third of these companies spend no money at all.
Effective onboarding doesn’t have to be expensive, but the figures above are still alarming.
No matter what the final tally is on your own company’s onboarding efforts, there are certain things you want to get right to make the process effective. Of course, all necessary paperwork must be completed quickly and efficiently. But you also want to get new hires established in their jobs and connected with your culture, so that you can get them up to speed as quickly as possible. After all, it typically takes about eight months to get new employees fully productive, but getting them comfortable as quickly as possible helps minimize that time period. On the other hand, failing to provide a reasonable orientation can leave new employees “confused and disoriented,”which is far from conducive for high performance and engagement.
Smart companies are recognizing the importance of onboarding, with the most successful companies connecting it with employee performance. And more and more are recognizing that it’s a good idea to begin the onboarding process even before a new hire’s first day. According to Aberdeen’s “An Employee-Centric Digital Workplace”report, best-in-class companies are 53% more likely than others to begin the onboarding process before day one (this is also known as pre-boarding). Additionally, best-in-class companies are 39% more likely than others to measure employee engagement with onboarding to ensure new hires understand what’s expected of them.
So if you’re looking to get better performance from your new hires, consider seeing if you can improve the onboarding you provide.
How Modern Talent Acquisition Software Can Help
Software allows you to automate crucial aspects of the onboarding process. For example, you ensure that all necessary documents have been filled out correctly, saving time and preventing problems. You also can manage and track the other tasks that need to be completed after someone is hired (email setup, ID photo, parking pass, etc.) As a result, you can put your focus on higher-value onboarding priorities—such as making sure the new employees you just hired have the proper attention to get off on the right foot, which improves performance, engagement and retention levels.
To learn other important steps for improving your hiring results, read our new article – “4 Key Steps to Successful Talent Acquisition.”
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