Onboarding. A name that has gained momentum for several years now, but many companies are yet to take the full seriousness of the matter. Such a huge number of businesses underestimate the importance of employee onboarding.

To put this into perspective, about 22% of businesses have no formal onboarding programs whatsoever. About 49% are partially successful, while only 28% are highly successful.

Unsuccessful onboarding will leave your employees stressed. They’ll be unproductive, unengaged, and will feel disconnected from the rest of the team.

The thing is, while onboarding employees is absolutely important, how you do it matters even more. You’re going to spend time and a ridiculous amount of money, so you may as well do it right, no?

Read on to find out the importance of managing employee onboarding correctly.

What Is Employee Onboarding?

Employee onboarding is the process of integrating new employees into your business. It’s quite different from employee orientation because orientation is a process that only lasts about a day. Onboarding, however, continues for months, and it has to be done correctly for it to be effective.

The few successful companies usually start their onboarding process before the first day of work. This allows new hires to acquaint themselves with the business. It gives them a chance to understand what they’re expected to do before they officially start.

As an onboarding manager, this would be your chance to make your employees comfortable in the office. From here, the employee onboarding process will continue as you nurture highly productive and seasoned new employees.

What Makes Employee Onboarding So Vital?

No company should underestimate employee onboarding. It acclimates new employees into their roles and business philosophies. Onboarding engages new employees.

It helps create workers committed to the business goals and overall vision. You want employees who are committed to the company’s success. You want to retain new hires, and proper onboarding is the most effective way to do it.

Now, get this, about 1 in 10 employees leave a company due to poor onboarding processes. About 39% of employees said that the onboarding managers did not offer full support during the onboarding process.

Now, the good news is that if you manage the onboarding program correctly, employees are likely to stay with the company for at least three years.

Even better news, about 85% of engaged employees are unlikely to leave a company. You can get your new hires engaged and downright productive with a proper onboarding process. Hence, you cannot afford to overlook any aspect of your onboarding program as a manager.

What Is the Impact of Negative Employee Onboarding Procedure

The employee onboarding procedure involves hiring, welcoming, orienting, and engaging new employees.

As a manager, your job will be to help them become integrated into your company culture. This will be your chance to make a great impression on your new employees, a chance to remove friction points, and create a seamless experience.

Onboarding needs to be a top priority for the first year of your employees’ time with your company and not a mere few weeks. Understand that the effectiveness of the process you use will influence the likelihood of retention.

You see, about 90% of employees decide whether they’re going to leave or stay in a company within their first six months. About 33% of employees start looking for a new job within six months, and 28% don’t make it to their first anniversary. High turnover is never a good thing for a business because it hampers engagement and productivity.

Even worse, the average recruiting cost to replace employees stands at about 20% of the base salary of said job position. These statistics show you how delicate new employee onboarding is, especially in the first 6 to 12 months.

Most importantly, it’s imperative for you to understand that not any kind of onboarding will do. You’ll have to do it properly if you want top performers and not a turnover.

What Are the Benefits of a Proper Employee Onboarding Procedure

Let’s take an in-depth look at the benefits of effective employee onboarding. We’ll start off with some good news and tell you that a strategic employee onboarding procedure can bring new employees up to speed about 50% faster.

This means that they’ll be able to contribute to the company more quickly and do it more efficiently. Read on to find out even more compelling benefits of proper employee onboarding.

Proper Onboarding Reduces Employee Turnover

This is by far one of the most important reasons for managing employee onboarding the correct way.

Employee turnover refers to the number of employees who leave a company and need to be replaced. If there’s one thing you should understand about employees, it’s that replacing them is a lot more expensive than retaining them.

According to research, the average American holds about 11 Jobs before they reach 42 years of age. This number is projected to grow even higher because the newer generation is getting pickier about the places they work. This means that you should have a top-of-the-line onboarding process to avoid losing employees every now and then.

Now, it’s entirely possible for you to avoid turnover. All you have to do is keep your employees engaged, happy, and well taken care of. Onboarding is the first process of gaining employee engagement, reducing any chances of your new hires leaving you.

Effective Employee Onboarding Allows Higher Productivity

One of the best things about a proper employee onboarding procedure is that it allows your employees to be productive more quickly. In general, it takes about eight months for a new employee to reach full productivity.

This costs a company anywhere from 1% to 2% of its total revenue. Get this, the US and UK spend about $37 billion every year on unproductive employees.

The good news is that you can accelerate this process with proper employee onboarding. You’ll be helping employees figure out everything much faster. Longer onboarding procedures are usually more effective as well.

So, forget about spending two months or less and consider 12 months instead. Don’t give your new employees any chance to consider whether they should be looking for a new company or stay with you.

Offer continuous engagement and training during the first year. Your employees will not only feel at home but be completely comfortable in the business.

It’ll show them that they made the right decision by staying with your company. It’ll encourage them to share the company’s vision and look forward to achieving the overall goals together. They’ll look forward to growing their careers in a safe place.

Effective Onboarding Will Teach Employees About Their Roles in the Company

A proper employee onboarding procedure will include training for new hires. The best part of training your new employees is that he will provide them with the proper knowledge to excel at their jobs.

You’ll teach them about the mission and culture of your business. This will eventually help them align themselves with those values, goals, and missions.

During the onboarding process, your employees will find it easier to meet expectations set by the business. The thing is, there’s a big problem in throwing employees into a job.

They have no idea what’s expected of them or how they are supposed to perform in their roles. As an onboarding manager, it is of absolute importance for you to show new hires where their job roles fit into the business. How valuable their individual positions are to the company.

When you align new employees with their individual roles, you make them feel needed and essential to the company. It becomes easier for them to associate themselves with the company culture. As a result, they gain intense engagement as well as motivation to do their jobs and meet set expectations.

Effective Onboarding Reduces Employee Anxiety

Do you remember how anxious you were during your first job or when you were new to an organization?

Being a new employee can be stressful, to say the least, especially when there’s no onboarding process and only a little orientation. The employees would not know what to do, what’s expected of them, who to approach when they have issues, and generally anything else that’s vital in a new job.

Providing any information new employees need to fulfill their roles would be a game-changer. Managing the employee onboarding process correctly is even more important. A robust onboarding procedure will result in happier employees who look forward to fulfilling their roles in the company.

An effective onboarding procedure will help employees realize how the roles fit into the rest of the workforce. It’ll facilitate friendships and build relationships with other team members. This is vital for a healthy working environment.

Understand that a lot of people would refuse high-paying jobs if they wouldn’t be able to get along with other coworkers. Case in point, an effective onboarding procedure will reduce or completely eliminate any stress and anxiety associated with the new job.

An orientation process only gives new employees the first impression of the business. An idea of what to expect while working there. The orientation period should be welcoming, informative, and celebratory.

However, it shouldn’t be enough but should be followed by proper employee onboarding. Use practical onboarding tools and software programs to make the process even easier for both you and the employees. An onboarding software will simplify your hiring process.

Your new hires can complete the required forms online before they even show up for the first day. Online employee onboarding can be as effective. Learn more about how onboarding software can help you with the onboarding process.

How To Onboard a New Employee

A proper online employee onboarding procedure may seem like a daunting task for most companies. However, if you plan and map out your onboarding strategy, then it becomes a whole lot easier. It’s also essential for you to invest in an employee onboarding checklist that will help systemize your business.

This will help make an overwhelming procedure and make it seamless for both you and the employees. Having an employee onboarding checklist also eliminates any chance that you will forget any key steps into both the orientation and onboarding processes.

Here are a few more new employee onboarding tips.

Start With Goals and a Plan in Mind

An effective employee onboarding procedure requires that you have a plan and set certain goals to measure success. For instance, if you want to track retention rates or reduce employee turnover, it will become easier for you to measure your progress. The process can also be a lot easier if you ask employees to fill out surveys anonymously, which will give you insight into what you may be missing.

Personalize the Onboarding Experience

One of the best things you can do as an onboarding manager is to personalize the employee onboarding procedure. Even though everything should remain consistent, it’s vital for you to find a way to personalize the experience for every new employee. For instance, if you’re an IT company, a new hire might appreciate a larger computer monitor, or you could personalize their mouse pad.

Include Social Introductions Into the Process

Introductions are a significant part of the onboarding procedure.

It’s absolutely essential for you to take the time to introduce new employees to the team and help them assimilate with the culture. This is how you make it easy for them to make new friends and create lasting relationships that will benefit both the employees and the organization.

You can organize a new employee lunch with the team as a great way to break the ice. Encourage new hires to set up introductory meetings with other coworkers that they’ll be interacting with on a regular basis. This’ll encourage face-to-face interactions that are important for an overall healthy workplace.

Clarify Roles and Responsibilities

One of the most important aspects of an onboarding procedure is the clarification of roles and responsibilities for every new hire.

Make their duties clear from the word go and walk them through their daily responsibilities and what’s expected of them. Answer any and all the questions they may have about expectations, rules, and the overall company culture.

Involve Company Leaders

We cannot overstate how important it is for you to involve company leaders in the employee onboarding experience. Involving them shows new employees that they are valued and that they matter to the organization.

The best thing about this is that it’ll impact their long-term goals and cement their decision to stay with a business.

Employee Onboarding: Why It’s a Must-Have Procedure for Any Business

As you can see, it’s impossible to refute the importance of a proper employee onboarding procedure. It’ll benefit the employees and the business as well, as you can avoid turnover, increase productivity, and ultimately grow your ROI.

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