The Onboarding process is the stage where employees who have just joined a team perform different activities that aim to make them participants in the functioning of the organization.
Thanks to onboarding, new employees get an idea of what their day-to-day will be like, as well as what are the expectations about their role, facilitating the transition to their new functions until they are fully integrated into the corporate culture.
It is also crucial in the talent loyalty strategy. According to an article published by Gallup, if employees do not reaffirm their decision to join the organization during the first month of work, they will most likely begin to lose motivation and show interest in new opportunities outside the company.
Furthermore, it’s possible that disenchanted employees form a bad brand image and spread it through social media platforms, with very bad consequences for our future potential candidates.
As Human Resources professionals, or if you manage people on a daily basis, you will agree that the Onboarding process requires special attention.
However, the same article mentioned above highlights that “only 1 in 10 employees, including all management employees, agree that their organizations do a good job of recruiting newcomers”.
In a culture like the current one, which values immediacy, companies cannot afford to wait for time to make new talent feel part of the organization. And that’s why the initial onboarding stage is so important.
Objectives of the onboarding process
From Gallup’s perspective, that we share in Team Insights we at 100%, the onboarding process must cover two main objectives:
- Fulfill the promises made during the attraction and selection process.
- Lay the foundation for long-term engagement, loyalty, and performance.
There are many methodologies to carry out an effective onboarding that achieves these objectives. But regardless of what and how it is done, this process must answer 5 crucial questions in the life of every employee starting a new journey:
- What are the values of the company?
- What strengths decanted the hiring?
- What is the function of the job?
- With who is the position shared with?
- What to expect from the future in the organization?
Let’s look at each of these questions one by one.
1. What are the values of the company?
Newly hired employees must experience the corporate values and culture from the first moment they join the team. What’s more, they should appreciate it from the moment they submit the resume and we contact them.
Understanding how the processes are carried out, what factors are prioritized, how the hierarchy is structured (if there is one), how shifts and schedules are distributed, what are the benefits that employees enjoy… is more simple if internalized from one’s own experience.
2. What strengths decanted the hiring?
This question is related to the expectations about the employee. To be successful in the position, people need to know what their strengths are, and what their areas for improvement are.
When employees know why they were hired and are aware of what they are good at, they are more likely to perform optimally and effectively.
This is also useful for leaders, as they will know how to manage talent to create a balanced, high-performing team.
3. What is the function of the job?
This time the question is oriented not to the person, but to the job. It is useless to have strengths if later you do not know how to apply them.
During the onboarding process, managers must make clear what are the main objectives to be covered by the position and, in addition, newcomers must be able to understand how their role fits into the organization as a whole.
It is important to set realistic goals and expectations that are consistent with the job description and what was discussed during the hiring process. Otherwise, employees can get frustrated and begin to think that maybe they didn’t make the right choice.
4. Who is the position shared with?
This is an important aspect to take into account and, however, many managers address it superficially.
Socialization and teamwork are part of the day-to-day of any professional so, from the first moment, we must make an effort to integrate the newly hired employees with the rest of their colleagues.
Many onboarding programs dedicate this phase to a general introduction: what are the colleagues names and where to find them in case of help. However, the effusiveness of the beginning can be forgotten in the short term. In addition, new employees are already processing a lot of information at once… do you think that this way they will remember everyone?
In Teams Insights we know the importance of talking and asking employees in order to get to know them and manage them better, and that is why, during the onboarding stage, we hold 1 to 1 meetings between newly hired people and each member of their team.
These meetings are the perfect opportunity for the two people to chat, get to know each other, explain their history and ask each other questions (nobody better than the employees themselves to know what is going on in the organization).
It’s a very effective way to build trust links from the start!
5. What to expect from the future in the organization?
All of us have the desire to grow and develop professionally, a goal that beats stronger in newly arrived employees.
During the onboarding process, employees will realize what the future awaits them within the company and, no matter how motivated and excited the first few weeks arrive, if they are concern that they will remain stagnant, the initial emotion will pass. They will become demotivated and start looking for growth opportunities outside the organization.
So, even if there are no promotion plans in the short term, it is advisable to draw in their minds what their growth process will be like as they gain experience.
How to know if your onboarding process is effective?
Being clear about the questions that need to be answered is not enough for effectiveness. The post-onboarding evaluation is essential to know if our strategy is working or, on the contrary, if there is some aspect that we must adjust.
In this sense, onboarding surveys are an essential tool for professionals who are dedicated to managing the talent of their company.
Thanks to them, we can know for sure if we are really helping new employees to know:
- What is our culture.
- How do they have to do their job?
- How will their day to day be?
- Who will they share their experiences with?
- How far will they be able to go?
In Teams Insights we have a predefined questionnaire designed solely and exclusively for this purpose. With a single click, you will be able to collect all the information you need to make your onboarding program one that is truly unique and special. And most importantly, you will start to get the commitment of your employees from day one.
