In today’s tight labor market, your staffing department is working overtime to source top talent. There simply aren’t enough skilled workers to meet demand. However, filling positions is just the beginning. Once candidates accept an offer, the onboarding process starts – and many companies aren’t prepared.
New hires go through an obstacle course before they are comfortably settled, which delays their ability to reach a state of productivity. More concerning still, missteps in the onboarding process can lead to poor new hire engagement, increasing the likelihood of attrition within the first year of service. The cost of turnover is high under any circumstances, but losing a new hire is particularly expensive. The resources devoted to recruiting and training are never recouped.
The Link Between Onboarding and New Hire Retention
New hire turnover is a significant issue for most organizations. In a recent survey by Futurestep, 1,817 executives were asked whether they were concerned about new hire retention. Ninety percent said “yes”. More than half of those survey indicated a new hire turnover rate between 10 percent and 25 percent within their businesses. Though most respondents (98 percent) agreed that onboarding is a significant factor in the job satisfaction of a new employee, only 69 percent actually offer formal onboarding programs. Of those, 23 percent last just one day.
Automating the employee onboarding process offers an effective alternative to the chaotic methods currently in use by companies of all sizes. Organizations that choose automation use comprehensive workflow management tools to create a seamless experience for staff members who are just beginning to acclimate. Through improvements in the onboarding experience, these companies find that new hires become productive more quickly, and they are far less likely to leave the organization in their first year of service.
Create a Unified Onboarding Process
Some managers are gifted mentors. Their new hires have the tools and support they need to feel like part of the team right away. However, such leaders are few and far between. Most have too much to do and too little time to devote attention to onboarding. This means they neglect to share critical information, which can lead to serious consequences.
First, employees lose trust in the organization when they don’t have the materials they need to be successful, leading to higher turnover. Second, lack of organization increases the likelihood that compliance requirements are not completed.
In highly regulated industries, compliance errors result in fines, negative publicity, or worse. In addition, many companies make commitments to the businesses in their supply chains, such as assurances that all employees undergo background checks and drug screenings. Without careful management of the onboarding process, these steps can be missed – potentially damaging business relationships.
It can be overwhelming to keep track of the many compliance details involved in onboarding a new hire – even when staff members complete every step. Keeping track of signed paperwork and test results adds yet another obstacle. Automated onboarding systems should easily integrate with contract management. This simplifies record keeping through the use of digital signature software and a document management system. Signed documents are stored and retrieved electronically, eliminating the need for elaborate filing systems.
Automating the onboarding process creates a consistent experience for staff members, who enjoy access to all the tools needed to get settled into their new position. From information on benefits to required regulatory training, new hires can feel confident that they have complete information. Before getting started with using BPM software to automate your process, it may be a good idea to use this checklist – compiled by Continu – to organize your onboarding workflow.
Self-Directed Onboarding Puts New Hires in Charge
One of the most difficult challenges in starting a job is the sudden switch from autonomy to dependence. Highly qualified individuals likely came from an environment where they had strong networks and the organizational knowledge needed to solve problems and complete necessary tasks. Now, these formerly autonomous workers are often completely dependent on leaders, HR staff, and coworkers for information ranging from the mundane location of employee restrooms to the intricate nuances of office politics.
Automated onboarding puts new hires in the driver’s seat. This gives them an early sense of accomplishment – and the resulting self-confidence to attack more difficult tasks. While employees onboard themselves using the predesigned forms and processes, leaders and HR staff focus on other responsibilities.
Effective Onboarding Increases HR Efficiency
When something goes wrong during onboarding, correcting the error typically falls on the HR team. New hire attrition puts recruiters in the hot seat; HR staff is then called upon to handle compliance issues.
Automated onboarding decreases the likelihood of missed steps and incorrect completion of requests, dramatically reducing resources needed for rework. Employees enjoy a consistent experience in their dealings with the HR department, even if there are staffing changes. In fact, many organizations extend automation to other parts of the HR function, such as leave of absence requests and expense reporting. This is an effort to offer employees a consistent experience in these areas as well.
Finally, automation allows visibility into the effectiveness of onboarding programs. Missed components are identified and adjusted, and leaders collect feedback from new hires who go through the process. In many cases, these staff members offer the most useful insight into how the business can improve the onboarding process. This can lead to consistent increases in ineffectiveness.
Onboarding is a critical factor in business success due to its impact on employee engagement, retention and productivity. Through automated workflow management systems like ProcessMaker, companies are able to create a seamless experience for new hires. Try ProcessMaker for your employee onboarding processes today.
