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Traditionally, onboarding was thought of as the process of filling out all the necessary paperwork and getting through the administrative tasks needed when first starting a job, said Allison Nadeau, VP of talent management at talent cloud company iCIMS. But businesses have since recognized it as one of the pivotal moments in the employer-employee relationship.
The focus over the last few years has been on getting that critical moment right, particularly when in person onboarding wasn't always possible. Technology has long played a supporting role in the onboarding process, but it's increasingly playing an integral role in this stage of the employee experience.
“We look at the onboarding platform as the opportunity to take what hopefully was a candidate experience and drive it home as this is their first experience as an employee,” she said.
Technology should be used to facilitate the process. There’s a lot of information captured during the application, the interview and the offer, Nadeau said, so that information should be pulled through to a human resources information system (HRIS) to avoid redundant paperwork for the new employee.
Efforts to get new employees up to speed quickly are also now more possible than ever, with automation and artificial intelligence, but onboarding doesn’t stop there. Live, face-to-face interaction is just as important, particularly when it comes to the company culture. Getting that balance right is the hard part.
Getting Onboarding Right
Making sure that employees are fully onboarded sounds relatively simple. But in reality, only 12% of employees say that their companies are great at onboarding, according to Gallup’s 2019 “Perspective on Creating an Exceptional Onboarding Journey for New Employees.”
Additionally, only 29% of employees said they felt fully prepared to excel in their role after going through the onboarding process.
According to Gallup, onboarding is tied to employee preparedness and sentiment; employees who said their onboarding is exceptional were 3.3 times more likely to say their job is “as good, or better, than expected.”
“First impressions are huge for a new employee,” said Beth White, founder and CEO of MeBeBot, an AI intelligent assistant company, adding that once an organization has attracted and hired great people, onboarding will help ensure that they stick around.
Organizations are set up for success when new hires feel comfortable that they have the tools to do their job, can connect with their colleagues and know how their contribution affects the overall company goals.
MeBeBot clients use its AI Intelligent Assistant to greet new team members and offer help with their common onboarding questions, whether they are hybrid, remote or onsite. Some examples include “how do I get a badge for the office” or “when will I receive my insurance card.” White likened the chatbot to having a seasoned co-worker in your back pocket, helping new hires acclimate quickly.
Related Article: Is Your Technology Fueling or Foiling the Digital Employee Experience?
Not Everything Is Virtual
While technology helps with lessening the paperwork and getting employees set up, onboarding goes beyond digital processes.
“There’s only so much that you can show virtually,” Nadeau said. A lot of getting ingrained in a company culture happens face to face.
In its internal iCIMS Foundation Program, new hires experience three days of virtual or blended onboarding, before working with their team and manager. There are touchpoints in the first 30 days to explain the benefits packages, products and culture, gradually sharing information with the new hires so as to not overwhelm them.
iCIMS shares important materials with its new hires via email, consolidated in one place. This allows employees to work according to their respective learning styles, whether that is reading on their own time ahead of an orientation or learning face-to-face from a subject matter expert first. Either way, they have that information in their inboxes, ready to be referenced later on.
When it’s time to meet teams face to face, iCIMS gives its leaders and hiring managers a structure of what to cover in 30, 60 and 90 days. Guidance in the background is helpful for those face-to-face portions of the onboarding process, Nadeau said.
No matter the category of the new hire — full-time, temporary, frontline or senior leadership — onboarding them appropriately and exposing them to the company culture is important. “Whether you have three hours, four days or 90 days to do that, it doesn’t matter. That’s what’s critical,” Nadeau said.
Nadeau said everyone in the company should be included into the process, even seasonal workers, though the timeline to provide all the necessary information may differ given their shorter time with the organization. They need to quickly know what they’re doing on the job, but it remains critical, she said, that they, too, feel invested in the organization. “If that hasn’t come through during the onboarding experience, they may walk out the door three days later and take another offer because they’re not invested or engaged with the company’s overall driving themes and passions.”
Related Article: The Risk of Virtual Onboarding
Creating Culture Touchpoints
Some types of information simply can’t be shared through a presentation. And that is the case with the company culture, such as communication and workplace norms.
Nadeau said it’s helpful to communicate these elements to let new hires talk with other team members, virtually and in person when possible.
For instance, interns at iCIMS are invited to have lunch with a team member to create bonds and better understand the company culture. Some interns, Nadeau said, have said that these lunch conversations were their favorite part of the experience.
It’s of course important to consider where new hires work, whether that is remotely or internationally, to create a consistent experience. “If we’ve mastered it at our headquarters location but our team members in India have a lackluster experience, we have not completed the mission,” Nadeau said.
iCIMS organizes lunches or volunteer events for employees grouped regionally, so they have touchpoints and can connect in person. For truly remote populations, the organization sets up times virtually so they can meet other remote employees. Nadeau said conversations often start out with talking about life and pets, dovetailing into work-related topics such as workplace norms.
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“There’s nothing like being able to physically connect with co-workers in person and spend time connecting in person,” said White, who noted that most employers host virtual new hire orientations and offer opportunities to join in-person events.
“Prioritizing time on the digital/tech onboarding is what matters today, as it allows for a quicker time to hire and supports the business needs to attract and retain talent,” she said.
