Want to Keep Your Employees? Start Them Off Right with Effective Onboarding

Employee retention statistics are sobering: 31% of newly hired employees have left a position within the first six months. That means that a sizable number of your client’s employees may have changed their mind shortly after starting their job.

Employee turnover can be one of the costliest HR issues a business faces. Rebecca Seaman, PHR, host of the Training On-Demand titled “The Importance of Onboarding” and the Insight training “Start Right, Stay Right: Effective Employee Onboarding” explains, “Because turnover is expensive, it’s important to support new employees with an effective onboarding process to ensure their success, which will quickly translate into your success! So, be sure you are retaining your investment in your new hires, and not losing valuable talent to competition.”

[sidebar width=275]HRAnswerLink Effective Employee Onboarding Resources
Here are just a few of the resources HRAnswerLink provides to help your clients create an effective onboarding strategy.

• Infographic: Ultimate Guide to Employee Onboarding
• Article: Hiring Paperwork and Candidate Recruitment – Getting New Hires Onboard
• New Employee Orientation Checklist (Essentials tab, Guides)
• Insight webinar: Session 3 – Start Right, Stay Right: Effective Employee Onboarding
• Training On-Demand: The Importance of Onboarding (Training & Education tab, Training On-Demand)

[/sidebar]

The basics of effective onboarding

Onboarding is the process of welcoming new employees into the company and helping them acclimate to workplace policies, culture, and their new position. It’s this critical transition time that impacts how successfully a new hire is integrated into the company fold: Studies show that new employees will determine within 30 days whether they feel welcome in the organization. “The right onboarding program can help you maximize your workforce’s effectiveness by ensuring that each new employee gets off to the best possible start,” says Seaman. “The impression you make in those first few days and weeks can be the difference between a long lasting, loyal employee, and an employee who transitions quickly out of your organization.”

Helping employees form a positive impression of a new employer starts on the very first day when they walk in the door… and continues for weeks or months after. Follow these onboarding tips to make new hires feel welcome and to get them invested in the company.

Day one — A new employee’s first day should include compliance paperwork, employee handbook review, an explanation of benefits, introduction of company culture and values, and an orientation (some of this can be completed prior to an employee’s first day). The employee’s workspace should be set up and ready for them to get started on day one. Creating a welcome packet with necessary supplies such as pens, pads of paper, staff lists, procedures, a company t-shirt, and other helpful items shows a new hire that you’re excited to have them on the team. Day one should also include introductions to other team members, managers, and supervisors that the employee will work with in their new role.

Ongoing onboarding — Onboarding doesn’t end after day one. Onboarding is an ongoing process for the first several weeks until the employee is fully assimilated into the company and feels confident in their new position. HR or management can help in this process by providing a mentor or buddy system. This helps to ensure new hires have all of the necessary tools to perform their job function, have received proper training, and are getting feedback so the employee has all the support they need to make a smooth transition into their position.

“The sooner an employee feels confident in their ability to do their job and their place in the corporate culture, the sooner they will be contributing to your bottom line,” Seaman says. Did you know our Insight Pros are experts at helping you and your clients understand, design, and implement the right onboarding program? Contact our Client Engagement Manager to schedule your own branded, Start Right, Stay Right: Effective Employee Onboarding session today!

[cta]We encourage you to take Training On-Demand for a test drive by clicking the “Training and Education” tab in the HR Support Center. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Alicia Ness in the Client Experience Department at any time.[/cta]