Why the Human Side of Onboarding is the Most Important Side

Most readers of this blog are recruiters or HR professionals. When these professionals see the word “onboarding” they think compliance, policy and the paperwork triathlon that seem to go into creating a complete file. Although vital, this is only one side of the process; the human side of onboarding is just as vital, if not more.

It Starts Before the First Day

The average minimum cost of a new hire is $16,177. Now, consider that 20% of new hires are no-shows the first day of work. Does anyone really believe that sending a handbook the week before the new employee starts is going to make a difference?

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A real connection must be established between the employee and the organization. Employee relationship experts at CommonGood Careers suggest the following actions should be taken before the new hire’s first day on the job: 

Prepare and send an agenda for the new hire’s first week on the job.

You can almost feel the anxiety of a new hire, standing around with no guidance or direction. Everyone dreads this on his or her first day. Let the new hire know that this won’t be their fate. They will have an agenda and help. 

Provide staff members with the new employee’s resume and job description, and advise them to follow a meeting format that includes sharing a description of their own position, how their role interacts with that of the new hire, and how they might expect to work together in the future.

This gets co-workers familiar with one another quicker, and establishes social connections. It also provides the new hire with names and positions for reference as they get acclimated. 

Assign them a mentor who will be their immediate resource for any questions, help them build a network, educate them on resources, and give key information about organizational culture and goals.

It is a very different feeling knowing that you will have someone to greet you, show you around and be a friendly resource as you start this new position. It is comforting to new hires to know exactly who and what they will be walking into on their first day.

The First Few Months are Crucial

22% of turnover occurs within the first 45 days. That statistic alone is costing businesses a lot of money. Even for positions with pay as low as $8/hour, the turnover cost can be as much as $3,500.

“On-boarding doesn't end on the Friday of a new employee's first week on the job. The process should continue over the span of several months and, during that time, it is essential to solicit feedback from all constituents. A good way to do that is to assign a recruiting manager to keep track of the new hire's first few months on the job, because that individual will already have developed a relationship with the employee.” -Business Coach, Richard Jordan

 Technology Makes Room for the Human Side

We’ve established just how important the human side of employee onboarding is, and it seems to be taking up a lot of resources –a mentor, planning, soliciting feedback and tracking progress, etc. Most companies have only allotted the time it takes to set up the workstation, get the appropriate documents in order and review necessary policies. How can HR find the time and resources to make it all possible? The answer is, the right technology.

Today’s leaders in onboarding technology have made the compliance part of onboarding intensely efficient. These are the specs you should be looking for in an onboarding system that allows room for humans in Human Resources:

• Paperless: Paperwork can be done and processed entirely online.
• Online signatures: No need for shipping, waiting and paper volleys.
• Smart forms: These eliminate the need for the new hire to duplicate any information. Once they have entered it once, it is automatically replicated on all appropriate fields.
• Total HR systems integration: The new data is automatically integrated with all other HR systems like:  payroll, ERO and HRIS.
• Compliance notifications and reminders: The system will automatically keep the entire onboarding process organized and on a timeline, with notifications and reminders.

These features drastically reduce gaps, onboarding compliance issues and the time it takes to get the compliance pieces of onboarding complete. The time and resources that allow an organization to properly onboard a new hire on the social side, have to come from somewhere, and your onboarding technology is the place.

Would you like to know more about just how automated and streamlined your onboarding process can get? We want to show you!