Many businesses, instead of creating a nurturing atmosphere and providing instant validation, expect their new employees to become attack dogs within a few weeks. They provide little training, but have high expectations.
As the newest generation of workers will be in a constant state of flux (21% have changed jobs in the past year), providing a quality onboarding program is crucial for retaining high-quality employees.
Onboarding is a process that introduces your employees to your expectations, skills and knowledge. It can also be called organizational socialization.
Most people are a mix of nervousness and excitement when they move to a new company or role. The first interactions they have with their new team and manager can either inspire and motivate them or leave them feeling lost and uninspired.
Onboarding can help your new hire succeed, but the process is often poorly optimized and personalized. Just 12% of employees say that their company is doing a good job onboarding. There’s still plenty of room for improvement.
Today, onboarding new employees is much more than showing them where to hang their coats and how to get free coffee. Your employee onboarding can make the difference between employees who stay happy and those who leave before their probationary periods are over. Check out this step-by-step guide to better onboarding new employees.
What is Onboarding?
Onboarding is the process that an organization uses to get new employees up to speed. During the process of onboarding, employees are introduced to their roles, their co-workers, and the organization’s values. Onboarding allows new employees to access and learn about the tools that they will be using. The new employees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and get acclimated to the corporate culture.
Onboarding is a process that involves introducing new employees to the company’s systems, providing them with the right supplies and educating them on policy and procedures. During employee onboarding, new hires must complete HR documents, get to know their coworkers and take training courses. They also learn about expectations. Onboarding is a great way to make new employees feel welcomed, help them settle in and teach them how to succeed at your business.
Companies can give their new employees all the tools, information and relationships they need to feel comfortable and confident to perform outstanding work by carefully planning their onboarding procedures.
It begins when candidates start to imagine themselves working for your business. The transformation accelerates when the candidate accepts an offer and becomes an employee. The employee’s first weeks and days on the job are crucial, when they hope to build strong relationships with their new colleagues.
Why is Onboarding Important?
In the first six months, 90% of employees make a decision on whether they will stay with a company or not. In the most competitive labor market of recent years, companies cannot afford to lose staff due to insufficient onboarding processes. To make the onboarding process a positive one, companies need to invest.
Employees who feel unsupported by their onboarding process are less motivated. The resources needed to achieve their goals will be lacking, which can lead to a demotivating experience.
You want to ensure that every new employee has access to the exact same information, so they can all be set up for success the same way. It’s especially important when working in remote environments, where we can’t just tap on someone’s shoulder and check in.
Onboarding is a more formal process, whereas orientation focuses on the tactical and practical aspects of the onboarding. This includes getting paid, setting up your benefits, getting a laptop and other equipment for work, learning to expense purchases and getting reimbursed and making sure you have the tools to do your job.
Onboarding ensures that you are able to navigate and use the tools.
Your new team member should be able to access the information they require on a regular basis after the onboarding process. They’ll ask questions, but can they help themselves?
Also, they’ll know what to work on, why that’s important and how this impacts the business. A disorganized onboarding procedure would make it impossible for even the most ambitious to find out all that information.
The Importance of Employee Onboarding Process
Onboarding is often the first few weeks and days of a new employee. This is the time when your employees get to learn about your company culture, meet their colleagues and managers, and form a first impression. Although it may not appear so, an effective onboarding procedure can tip the balance in your favor.
Employees who are not properly onboarded in a company experience confusion, uncertainty and find it hard to adapt to their new job.
Here are some challenges to employee onboarding:
How to Increase Employee Retention
Hiring new employees can be a long and costly process. You will want to retain top talent when you hire new employees. Statisticians have found that employees who go through a structured onboarding are 58% more likely than others to remain with the company longer than three years. Onboarding processes have been shown to retain up to 90 percent of employees within the first six months.
Your company will save time and money by retaining talented employees. Onboarding helps you and your managers build long-term relationships.
Enhancing Your Branding
Your company’s brand will be improved both directly and indirectly by a good onboarding procedure. Why is employee onboarding important? Your employees will want to tell others about their experiences when they are happy with their new job and workplace. Encourage your employees to talk about their first days of work.
How to Increase Employee Satisfaction
Your employees will be more productive if they understand their job and have the right skills. They will be more prepared to face challenges with the help of mentoring and guidance. Positive word-of mouth will be generated by your employees when they are proud to work for your company. This in turn promotes the brand. You should implement a good employee onboarding procedure.
Enhancing Employee Performance
Your employees will feel motivated and valued when they are onboarded. Onboarding empowers employees to want to contribute. Your employees will share the same goals if they understand your company’s values and core beliefs from the beginning. The quality of their work will increase as a result. It is also a great opportunity for HR managers, to find out more about their staff and their skills.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Customer Onboarding
The onboarding process of a company depends on its internal capabilities, the services it offers, and its clients. Here are some step-by-step instructions for creating your onboarding process.
Step 1. The Signup Procedure
First, you need to get the customer to sign the contract. You should not begin any work until the customer has signed off on it. You risk wasting money on a project that is not necessary if you don’t understand this.
Signup should be as intuitive and simple as possible. Signup is the first time you interact with a consumer. It is important to make a great first impression, as it will affect the future of your relationship.
Here are some tips for best practices:
- Sign-up should be fast. Ask only for the information necessary to get your customers started. You can ask for more information later in the onboarding process.
- Validate the user’s inputs. This will reduce the number of failed registrations and confusion when entering data. It is also annoying to reach the end of a document and realize that you have misfiled sections.
- Sign up using a third-party platform, such as Google. It saves time for customers and allows them log in with a trusted platform or app.
Step 2: Welcome Email for Onboarding
You should send a welcome message to someone who has registered with your service or product. This email is important for two reasons:
- You can build a relationship after a customer has signed up. This is the time to greet your customer and get them started using the product.
- This immediately establishes the legitimacy of your business and builds trust.
Here are some tips for effective welcome emails.
- Show your appreciation to them! Let them know that you appreciate them for signing up to your products.
- Start-up materials are available. Include a product tour video or help center articles.
- Return to your product. Your welcome email should encourage customers to log in and click through to your product. This should be the most prominent link in your email.
- Keep your welcome emails short and simple.
Step 3: Customer Onboarding Questionnaire
Be sure you have the necessary information before you start working with a customer. In this regard, onboarding questionnaires are important.
Imagine, for example, that you are doing the accounting of a client. Before you begin work, you’ll need to gather receipts and payment records.
Include the following questions in your series of customer onboarding questions.
- What is the name of your business?
- Who will be your primary contact?
- What factors could contribute to a project’s success?
- Have you worked in a similar business before?
- Please provide your software login and password.
Consider adding a request for a referral at the end of the form. You might find that your new client knows someone who would benefit from the services you offer.
Step 4. Customer’s First App/Website Interaction
Your onboarding process, product or service must be able to provide a great first-time experience. The first login is crucial to the success of the onboarding phase. If a customer is upset, they might never come back.
Here are some tips on how to make it more effective:
- Your website or app should be easy to use. Show your customers how to use the product or service.
- You can do this by giving them an instant win that demonstrates the capabilities of your product. It could be setting up their first project, or inviting a colleague.
- Offer templates that are already filled in. Offer pre-filled templates.
Step 4. Customer’s First App/Website Interaction
Your onboarding process, product or service must be able to provide a great first-time experience. The first login is crucial to the success of the onboarding phase. If a customer is upset, they might never come back.
Here are some tips on how to make it more effective:
- Your website or app should be easy to use. Show your customers how to use the product or service.
- You can do this by giving them an instant win that demonstrates the capabilities of your product. It could be setting up their first project, or inviting a colleague.
- Offer templates that are already filled in. Offer pre-filled templates.
Step 6 – Follow Up
To be successful in business, you must maintain the interest of your customers. The onboarding process must continue after the initial login.
Send your customers a follow-up email after the welcome one, encouraging them log in and giving advice on how to use your product.
The following are some best practices to follow up with emails:
- Provide tips and resources. You need to link it to your support centre, product updates, or feature advice. Each email that you send to a client should add value and help them achieve their goals.
- Don’t give much, but give often. Keep customers interested in your product or service by sending short, frequent follow-up messages. Instead of trying to cover several topics, you can focus on a single functionality or situation. This will not confuse your customers.
- Customer feedback isn’t just for marketing. Share third-party confirmation. In your follow-up email, include links to case studies or quotes from customers. This will remind your customers of why they chose to purchase your product.
Step 7 – Process Improvement and Refinement
After the onboarding process, plan another meeting with all parties to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Consider some questions you can ask, like:
- Is there anything unclear in the onboarding?
- Are they unsure of the project timeline or with whom they will work?
- You still require anything from your customer?
A platform can be used to obtain a NPS survey from the customer. This will allow you to gain valuable insights and a better understanding of the customer’s feelings.
Setting Onboarding Process Objectives
It is crucial to have clear goals when you are setting up your onboarding procedure. This will help you to know what to focus your efforts on. Here are some key objectives to consider throughout the onboarding phase:
- Teach new employees the internal policies of your company (the norms and roles, legal, safety, etc.). ).
- Explain to the employee what their role is and how they will perform it. Also, let them know which tools are needed.
- Share the philosophy of the company and integrate new employees into the team.
- Explain the position of the employee on the organizational chart.
These goals will help you create an onboarding program that helps new hires succeed.
The Onboarding Process: Four Key Steps
Onboarding can take anywhere between 45 days and one year depending on the nature of the position and the abilities of the new employee. It is important to establish a positive working relationship with the company and employee in the first few weeks, days and months.
Consider these key points at each stage of the onboarding procedure.
Before the New Employee’s Start Date
Pre-onboarding, or “preboarding”, occurs before a new hire starts their first day at work. You must first determine the onboarding documents that you will need to sign and prepare before they arrive. You may need to prepare and sign legal documents, documents pertaining to the position of the new hire, payroll documents and company-specific documentation.
Keep in touch with your new hires and answer their questions before they start. Working hours, dress code, vacation days, etc. Help them to feel part of the team and supported from the start.
The new employee should know the following:
- What are their co-workers and bosses?
- They will be performing their duties
- What are the responsibilities of a job?
- The work means
- The company culture and habits
Plan your Onboarding Activities
Plan the first week of a new employee’s employment. Make sure your colleagues are informed of the start date for a new hire and that their desk is set up. Search for creative ideas to onboard new employees. You can arrange ice-breaker activities or lunches with the team. So, new employees can feel at ease immediately.
Make New Employees Feel at Home from Day One
It’s important that new employees are welcomed warmly on their first day. Give employees a tour and introduce them to other employees and coworkers. It is great to have a buddy program, such as Factorial HR, to make employees feel more connected and closer to their colleagues in other departments.
Check in on New Team Members
The onboarding process does not end after the first week! Newly hired employees need time to become comfortable in their new position. Check in periodically to ensure that the training is going well, and that employees are feeling adapted and adjusted. Team-building events are a good way to help new employees feel included. This can make a huge difference to retention efforts.
Best Practices for Developing an Onboarding Process
Here are some tips for developing an onboarding procedure:
Prepare your Colleagues for the New Employee
You can welcome your new employee by email or in person. The announcement should include the employee’s job description, work history, and what they plan to do in the company. It is also important to remind the other employees of their responsibility to welcome and assist them in adjusting to the new workplace.
Introductions
Schedule a meeting for the employee on their first day. It will give them a good overview of the entire office, including how things work. They will be able to better understand their roles in the company, and how they can contact certain people. An introduction for the key people will help them track the person, and become comfortable with the new change.
Orientation
Make sure your employee receives enough training to become familiar with their role. The employee should be trained in the first few days. The employee will need time to learn the new processes if they have experience in the previous company. It is important to include orientation. It also gives the employee the chance to learn about the company’s culture. It also gives employees a chance for them to get to know the company.
It is possible to assign an employee a mentor who will help them get used to working in the company. This will help them to get their questions quickly and easily answered.
Plan an Office Lunch
Planning a team meal is another important best practice to help with the onboarding of new employees. It can take place in the office or out of the office. It will help break the ice, and allow the new employee the opportunity to meet their new colleagues in an informal setting. This can happen even in the cafeteria of the office where employees can gather to get to know each other. When an employee feels valued by their team, they will be more loyal.
Engagement
Continue to engage with your new employee after the first week. This can save them valuable time. They will likely have many questions or run into issues. It is also important to keep in touch and check up on the employee to build a relationship and ensure that they are comfortable with their job.
Follow-Up
A regular follow-up for feedback is an important part of onboarding. You should have a system to follow up every 30, 60 and 90 days. It is important to communicate with the employee and learn about their situation and problems, even if they are doing well. You will learn how to improve your onboarding processes. You can ask them to tell you what they liked or disliked about the onboarding process.
An effective onboarding process demonstrates the effort and time that has been put into it. It’s therefore important to put in the effort. This will set the tone of the future business, and the relationship between the employee and the people.
Benefits of a Good Onboarding Process
Below are some benefits.
Organizations can Benefit from Onboarding
Here are some of the benefits that come from a structured employee onboarding:
- Retention of Talent: Organizations can retain highly qualified employees when they begin with an excellent onboarding.
- Productivity Increases: Employees who feel part of the company and have clear objectives are more focused, and perform better.
- Positive Impression: A worker who feels comfortable in the company right from the start tends to form a positive opinion of it.
- Reduction in Hiring Costs: Economic investments are reduced because the Company will not experience a high rate of turnover.
Benefits of Employee Onboarding
- Feel welcome: The company culture is embraced by new employees.
- Better informed: Employees better understand their roles and responsibilities within the company.
- Employees feel more motivated and invested in the company.
- Higher engagement: The new staff report higher job satisfaction and employee engagement.
Digital Onboarding Benefits for Remote Teams
- You can focus more on the new hire by saving time on administrative tasks.
- Reduce the chance of forgetting a document. If a worker is discharged after an accident.
- Hire remote workers more easily. Digital tools make it easy to integrate remote workers.
- Content is always current. The latest information is available to new employees, including changes to onboarding.
- All parties are involved in the sharing and integration of information. It is easy for employees (i.e. This allows employees to access their documents (i.e.
- Information is available at any time and can be delivered in stages, rather than all together. They can also consult the information on onboarding at any time.
The Right Digital Onboarding Tool
Digital tools can accelerate the integration process. Digital tools also improve the efficiency of the employee integration process.
Here are some of the different types of digital tools that every business should be aware of:
Checklists for Onboarding
Here are some of the most popular and easiest tools for keeping track of all your tasks. Excel is a great tool to create a checklist for new employees. A spreadsheet may not be the most appealing. You can create, assign and track tasks using alternative tools such as Trello. Below are some best practices in onboarding.
Specialized Tool
Talmundo is a good example of a tool that specializes in onboarding. The intuitive and structured onboarding process they use makes it a positive experience.
HRMS
HRMS software can enhance your digital onboarding. Systems like Factorial HR integrate many processes. From electronic signatures to applicant tracking, Factorial HR has it all! Factorial HR automates HR processes to save you time.
Electronic Signature
Electronic signatures allow you to automate the signing of employee legal documents. Signaturit is one program that offers this feature, but it is best to use a tool integrated with HRMS, such as the one mentioned above.
Machine Learning Systems
They are expensive and take a lot of time to implement. On the other hand, these employee onboarding tools are a huge help in training new employees. Cornerstone is a popular machine-learning tool. Cornerstone’s core is to promote social learning in order to improve communication and employee engagement.
Chatbots
These aren’t talking robots you can place on your desk all day to keep you company. Chatbots are similar to robots and allow employees to ask the questions that they would normally ask their manager. A chatbox is a tool where the company can ask a question and then the bot will respond.
Multimedia Tools for Free
Many free applications allow you to record video. Incorporate instructional videos to improve the new hire onboarding process. Share these videos with new employees so they can learn. To create basic videos, Loom is an excellent multimedia tool.
Conclusion
Your customer onboarding process is not just about helping customers use your product. Your onboarding process’ ultimate goal is to set up your customers from the start for success with your product.
The true test for a successful customer onboarding is if your clients come back to your product after a few days, weeks or even months.
Send a message of thanks to your customer after they purchase something. Or, use a survey to determine how well you are serving them. Never forget to send emails, newsletters or links to blog articles to your customers. Send them emails, newsletters, links to blog posts and other materials that relate to the service or product they purchased.
Employees who are onboarded well feel confident and motivated to explore their organization. When the onboarding is completed. It will make employees feel like they are part of the organization.