Studies indicate that most companies have the highest employee turnover rate in the first 6 months of a recruitment exercise. According to research from the Society for Human Resource Management, turnover in the first 18 months can be as high as 50%. This has been attributed to an ineffective onboarding process or the lack of it altogether. When companies talk of the onboarding process9 Reasons How Subtitle Generators Can Simplify The Recruitment Onboarding Process, most refer to orientation, which is part of it. This article will guide you through an effective employee onboarding process.

What is Employee Onboarding?

An onboarding process is the process through which an employer takes a new employee to integrate them into their new workplaces and positions. The process begins immediately after an offer letter is accepted.

There is no one-size company onboarding process. How it’s done differs from one company to another. At times, even departments in the same company may do it differently. For instance, some departments may require their employees to watch a few videos and be introduced to their colleagues before getting started right away. Other departments may require employees to undergo a few weeks of onboarding.

Importance of Employee Onboarding

Employers are realizing they must go beyond the standard orientation for new hires and have an effective onboarding process. This is one new way of improving customer retention. An effective onboarding can help your employees feel more valued and better understand their roles. It can also help to increase their productivity and performance. Here are the key benefits of an onboarding process:

• Better employee retention. The onboarding process is one of the first interactions a new hire has with the company and their peers, affecting their perception of the company and staff. When the new hires feel welcome and love the work environment, they are more likely to stay in the long term.
• Become more productive. Onboarding helps the new employees settle into their positions and become productive and successful. Ideally, it helps them become enthusiastic about their new roles and fit in the company’s culture. 
• Increase the chances of success. When done correctly, onboarding provides employees with the tools and resources they need for success.

Developing an Effective Employee Onboarding Process

For your onboarding process to be effective, it should consist of the following elements as a minimum:

Welcome new hires

A key element of onboarding is to make new hires feel at home. When developing an onboarding strategy, you should consider new ways of making new employees feel at home. This could be through steps such as:

• Scheduling a welcome luncheon. This will provide the new hires with an informal opportunity to get to know one another.
• Orientation with different managers. You can ask managers from different departments to share information and provide an overview of what is expected of employees. This will give new employees a better understanding of their role in the new company.
• Company update. Tell them about key company events, activities, and other important dates.

Cultivating Connections

Cultivating connections will ensure that new employees can navigate around the workplace. It involves:

• Providing the necessary tools and supplies. Showing the employees their workstation, office phone, and other necessities, such as setting up their email accounts. 
• Show them around: It also involves taking them around the office, kitchen, washrooms, and other key places.
• Introduction to colleagues. You can ask other team members to stop whatever they are doing to welcome the new staff member.

Mentorship program

A good onboarding process should include a plan for mentoring the new hire. Since it’s difficult for them to understand everything during orientation, the mentor will provide additional information to help them understand the bigger picture of the business processes and event sequences.

The mentor may sometimes be required to help the new hires with their day-to-day activities. If they have a question, the new staff will contact their mentors. When getting a mentor for new employees, ensure that it’s someone they are free with and can ask them silly questions.

Career growth

Many employers assume that career growth conversations are for the already onboarded employees. However, we noted earlier that as many as half of your new employees may leave before their second celebration. One of the reasons that can keep them in your organization is by clarifying their career progression paths.

If employees feel strongly satisfied with the direction their career will take in your organization, this can help keep them. Therefore, it’s never too early to discuss when, why and how their jobs will progress when in that position. They should know the available career progression opportunities and the steps they should take to get a promotion.

Get feedback

It’s important for managers and supervisors to regularly meet with new onboarded staff to provide and even receive feedback from them. The goal of such a meeting is for the new hires to learn about their performance and areas for improvement. On the other hand, the managers and supervisors get to understand the new employees’ expectations and how they are fairing. This feedback can greatly improve the onboarding process. Additionally, businesses looking to boost their social media presence can gain Instagram promotion to enhance their online visibility and engagement.

Dont be afraid to ask the new hires for their opinions. What do they like and don’t like? Is there a way to improve the whole process? Once you get this feedback, tweak your onboarding process as needed. Consider if there are steps you can add or remove.

Measure results

As noted earlier, there is no definite period during which an onboarding process should take place. This depends on the complexity, company size, and team distribution. However, you must keep measuring the results to match your company’s expectations.

Try not to rush the process. If you do, you will make the new hires feel abandoned, discouraged, and without adequate resources. Ensure that you are measuring progress in the hiring process.

In Conclusion

The onboarding process is one of the critical elements that will affect the success of a new employee. When done ineffectively, it will lead to demoralized employees who might leave the company. Fortunately, by following our steps above, you can be assured of a smooth and effective onboarding process.

Guest writer.