Onboarding

An effective onboarding process can not only improve employee engagement and retention but can also positively impact customer satisfaction. 

What Is Onboarding?

In the human resource industry, onboarding is the process of familiarising the new hire with the organisation's policies, company culture, and their role within the organisation. The main goal of onboarding is to integrate the new employee seamlessly into the organisation. 

During onboarding, it is important to make the new hire feel welcomed, valued, and supported. When they are comfortable with the company and their role within it, they are more likely to become productive members of the team. 

Many companies start onboarding talents on their first day at work, but by definition, onboarding begins the moment the offer is made. 

What Should Onboarding Include? 

To help the new employee acclimate to company policies, organisational culture, and their role within the organisation, the following activities are usually included in the onboarding process:

Making the job offer

Onboarding starts as soon as you make an offer to the candidate. This offer may be conditional, subject to certain requirements, such as the results of background checks. 

Completing new hire paperwork

A huge part of onboarding is the completion of new hire paperwork. Some of the documents needed are the following:

• Signed contract
• Employee information form 
• Employee benefits form 
• Documents for tax 
• Nondisclosure agreement
• Non-compete agreement
• Consent agreements for drug and alcohol tests (if applicable)

Note that accomplishing these documents is likewise important to comply with the relevant laws and regulations. 

Orientation and Training

To help new employees get familiar with the organisation, the HR department often conducts orientations for facilities, schedules, and compensations and benefits. 

Training is also a crucial part of onboarding talents. In general, new hires have employee handbook training, training for IT devices or systems, and role-specific training. 

Meet and greets

Onboarding wouldn’t be complete without a meet and greet with the executives of the business as well as the new hire’s immediate supervisor and team members. 

How Long Does Onboarding Take?

There’s no one-size-fits-all duration for onboarding talents. It depends on the industry, the role, and the company size and capacities. It can be completed anywhere within 30, 60, or 90 days from making the offer or employee’s start date. Sometimes, it can take as long as a year until the employee has fully integrated into the organisation. 

The Importance of Effective Onboarding Strategy

An effective onboarding process helps ensure that employees have everything they need to carry out their tasks well and build healthy professional relationships with their supervisors and teammates. 

Likewise, when they feel engaged and motivated, they are more likely to be productive, helping your business thrive. 

Learn more about Why Onboarding Matters here. 

Best Practices for Employee Onboarding

To onboard talents effectively, consider the following best practices:

Try to automate the process 

You may want to implement HR software for onboarding. This helps you keep track of every step, measure onboarding metrics, and personalise the experience for your new hires. 

Do some steps online

Don’t forget that some onboarding processes can be accomplished virtually, such as meeting executives from another country, sharing the employee handbook, and uploading training materials. 

Learn more about Remote Onboarding here. 

Create a timeline and stick to it

Keep things consistent and organised by creating a schedule and sticking to it. It would help for you to use a checklist. You can find examples of checklists here. 

Communicate and evaluate

Throughout the process, communicate with the new hire. It would help to assign a mentor to them. Also, don’t forget to inform them who they can get in touch with should some concerns arise. 

Finally, evaluate the onboarding process. Set up calls to ask how the employee is doing and formally request their feedback. This way, you can make improvements where necessary.