Human resources recruiters and professionals have known for some time that onboarding is a key step in the future success and retention of quality employees. As employee productivity and retention have continued to be on top of minds in the business world, executives have also recognized a need to improve onboarding processes. As a result more attention has been dedicated to effectively educating and engaging employees from the time they join an organization.
If your company has struggled with random, disorganized onboarding processes in the past, even the work of the best human resources recruiting agencies can be for naught if an employee isn’t retained long enough to make an impact. Turnover hurts productivity and morale, both of which play a direct role in your company’s bottom line. Fortunately, technology tools are available that can significantly increase the success of your employee onboarding process by centralizing ownership of onboarding, providing an organized storehouse for forms and training records, and giving management a platform for actively engaging staff. Read on to learn more about how technology can help you hone your employee onboarding practices for greater success.
Form Warehousing
Most new employees are caught up in a whirlwind of new experiences as they join a new company, and details like completed forms can fall through the cracks. At the time of hire, there are copious numbers of forms that must be completed to begin work, from tax forms to waivers and background checks. Handling those forms manually in a paper-only format can be cumbersome, both for new employees who are still learning the ropes and HR professionals who must secure and manage them. Technology can help streamline the process by providing a central clearinghouse for all onboarding forms that an employee may need to start work. Not only does it improve new employee access to forms, it can help prevent redundancy of records and omitted forms. When forms are available in a digital library, it also provides HR staff with superior document control, meaning form versions can be updated and put into the field immediately through the digital form warehouse. Onboarding technology helps provide new employees with the impression of a streamlined, organized system and prevents frustrating retreads when forms are forgotten or lost.
Training and Education
Another benefit of onboarding technology is that it allows for concise, directed training for new employees that allows them to learn needed information without expensive travel or lost productivity. Onboarding Learner Management Systems, or LMS, provide a clear, easy to communicate roster of educational modules that new employees must complete, and it tracks their progress in a way that is visible to the vested parties. LMS technology can help improve your onboarding process by exposing new employees to only the content they need to start work, which allows them to be productive more quickly. It also provides reminders and clear curriculum guideposts that learners can use to plan training during the hectic onboarding period and track their progress. Because most people gain their information from digital sources these days, using technology as a training tool makes perfect sense and can increase retention among new hires.
New Employee Engagement
Technology also provides companies with a way of engaging new hires quickly to help them understand your brand and company culture. Engagement can even begin before the new employee starts work. Content such as newsletters, welcome aboard messaging, company-wide morale emails, or mission statements can be distributed via digital channels to help new hires understand what your company is about. Digital communication channels can provide management with a way of embossing the company’s mission in the minds of new hires and make them want to become involved. It also provides a social outlet that stays within the parameters of professionalism, and helps new hires build bonds with co-workers that transcend their business functions. Those functions ultimately help new employees understand the atmosphere of your business, how departments and peers interact, and whether they will fit in with your team.
The onboarding process is of critical importance to the success and retention of quality employees. If your onboarding program leaves something to be desired, technology can provide you with an excellent tool for streamlining the onboarding process, demonstrating organization and good business practices to new hires, and engaging new employees in your company culture. For more information on how technology can help you improve your onboarding practices, visit The Christopher Group at https://www.tcgco.com/.