How to Make Onboarding Easier and More Effective: 5 Ways

Having a solid onboarding process is crucial if you want to attract and keep top talent at your company. The very best way to welcome new employees to your organisation is by providing support and helping them integrate well into your organisation. You can do this by giving them a positive onboarding experience.

An employee onboarding program, by definition, is the process of training and managing newcomers. It also includes various orientation activities that help them learn more about the company's culture, mission, and values.

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Statistics related to onboarding show that employees who have had a positive onboarding experience with a company are more likely to be committed, engaged, and stay. Stats go on to reveal that up to 69% of employees would stick with an organisation for three years if they experienced a good onboard process.

If you’re wondering how to make onboarding easier and more effective, continue reading below to learn how to give your new hires the best start and quickly make them productive members of your team.

Ensure Proper Pre-boarding

As an HR manager or recruiter, you might have heard about pre-boarding. Although it is still a new concept in the hiring process, it is rapidly gaining popularity as more companies recognise the benefits it brings.

Pre-boarding refers to engaging new employees before they start their first day of work. This can include paperwork, orientation, training, and other activities. When companies make it easier for new hires to start the onboarding process before their first day, it can help improve retention and engagement and reduce the time-to-productivity for new employees.

Talking about a new concept in the hiring process can't get around the topic of HR tools and solutions available that provide powerful software for managing employee data, onboarding, training, and more. HR system in UK is one such software solution that integrates various systems and processes. It is used by both small and large enterprises to improve personnel management.

HR tools not only help organisations manage flexible workspaces but also promote growth and streamline the onboarding process for new hires.

A strong pre-boarding program is an effective way for companies to differentiate themselves and attract the best candidates. To make your pre-boarding program successful, communicate expectations early and frequently, start building relationships to create a sense of belonging, make sure all necessary paperwork and forms are sent out early, and provide clear instructions and assistance for completing forms. Furthermore, organise a training schedule or orientations and provide access to online learning portals or training materials as this will help the new hires understand the company's vision and goals and help them be more efficient.

A strong pre-boarding program includes clear communication, relationship-building, and timely paperwork. In order to do this successfully, communicate expectations, build relationships, send paperwork early, provide clear instructions, and offer access to training video software by Synthesia for efficient learning and understanding of company goals.

Invest in Onboarding Software

A good onboarding process helps keep everyone, from the hiring manager to the team members, on the same page.

A bad first impression of the companies and onboarding experiences can be costly to your business because the time, resources, and effort you spend on recruiting and training will go to waste. This is why you should invest in robust employee training and onboarding software for an effective process.

While there is a lot of paperwork involved in the onboarding process you don't need to overwhelm your new hires by giving them too many documents on their first day. Automated onboarding software provides guaranteed accuracy and eliminates the need for unnecessary paperwork from day one. Some software solutions make it easier for recruiters to keep their recruitment processes paperless.

Follow Up Regularly

Onboarding staff can be made easier if you keep in touch with new hires every week for the first month to make sure they're getting the hang of the job and can ask whatever questions they may have.

Supplementary reading: 5 Ways to Make Onboarding More Collaborative – And Why You Should

It’s a good idea to send a simple checklist to make sure they've completed all tasks, or you can quiz them on company procedures and policies to assess their knowledge. Micromanagement is not a good idea. Instead, help the new employee to make sure that they are making progress as expected.

Keep A Schedule

You should establish a schedule to guide your new hires through the onboarding process. Your planned schedule can consist of team lunches, shadowing opportunities, training sessions, or scheduled meetings as a chance to get to know key coworkers better. The ability to plan a balanced schedule gives newcomers structure and purpose. This allows them to use their new knowledge with different levels of supervision.

Assign a Mentor

A mentor can help the new employees get settled into the workplace and make it easier for them to feel supported and at ease during their onboarding process. This person can answer questions about the company's culture and expectations.

A mentoring program for new employees is a way for their mentor to ensure that they have all the information and tools they need to succeed. The mentor can help the mentee with any questions or feedback they need to be successful in their new role.

Auxiliary reading: The Yin And Yang Of Coaching And Mentoring

They can also provide valuable insights into company operations and act as a sounding board for fresh ideas and concerns.

In Closing

Welcoming new employees into your organisation is an exciting process. The onboarding process can have a huge impact on their enthusiasm, motivation, and overall performance, so creating create an effective onboarding should be your top priority. So make sure you apply the best practices for onboarding your new hires in an easy yet effective way above to ensure smooth employee sailing.

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