Whenever an employee goes through the doors of a new company, the first few months could either make them fall in love with the job or decide to quit the job. Whilst most companies have systems in place emphasizing recruitment, it might not be sufficient. What happens during their first 90 days may contribute to how they perceive your company.
Why the First 90 Days Matter
The first 90 days is when new employees assess whether they are a good fit for the company and want to continue that employment beyond the honeymoon. We know that employees who have a great onboarding experience are more likely to stay. It’s been proven that employees who experienced a structured onboarding process were 58% more likely to be with the same organization after three years. It is a time when the new employee decides if the reputation of your company as an employer matches up to the experience as an employee.
Effective onboarding helps employees acclimate quickly to their new roles, understand the organizational mission and values, and access the requisite tools and resources they need to feel supported and successful. Absent that, new hires can feel isolated, disengaged, lack clarity in their roles, and soon leave the organization entirely.
Key Elements of Effective Onboarding
In order to set new hires up for a successful 90-day period an onboarding program should cover the following key components:
Company Orientation and Culture
A focus on company culture should be a priority from the outset. New hires should understand the company’s values, mission, and vision, and how they relate to their own objectives as an employee. A strong culture and clear sense of what the company expects fosters loyalty and connection, and is tied to retention.
Role Clarity and Expectations
Let’s show new employees exactly what we expect from them. That’s everything from how they spend their days to how they’re measured and how we will determine the success or failure of performance.
Training and Development
Let’s give them the tools. Whether that’s a training manual, a software system, or questions about how to interact with customers, confidence in their ability to do the job depends on knowing what to expect first.
Mentorship and Support
Let’s make sure this is a longer term commitment. Set amounts of time spent with veterans (office-wise of course!) or team leads as it can make on-the-job training easier.
Feedback and Check-ins
Let’s make sure we have an open dialog with new employees and their manager/HR rep. They feel like they know what’s expected and the right channel for feedback at the right time. Positive feedback can help them understand what they are doing well. Constructive feedback can direct them to where they need to improve.
The Role of Technology in Onboarding
Aren’t you glad that we live in a digital-first world? Now, technology plays a huge role in the otherwise long, and tiresome process of on-boarding. The lifesaving solution provided with employee onboarding solutions will help you make the various onboarding processes to be automatic and in doing so, you’ll deliver an effective, and consistent onboarding experience. We’re talking about document management, training, and development — you can be confident you are not missing any important steps to ensure your new employees have a successful Day 1!
Benefits of Onboarding Software
With employee onboarding software, all the process steps can be assigned and tracked in one place. New hires simply generate one each time they get started. Company policies? Training for the new role? Make sure things are done? Done! Managers can see the hours they’ve completed assignments etc.
The Impact of Onboarding on Retention and Productivity
A great onboarding process can make all the difference to your new hires in not only getting comfortable in their role faster, but also in helping them establish a path to success. Engaged employees are generally more productive and for new starters if they are engaged in their role they are likely to max out what they can in their roles.
Engagement isn’t the only benefit, retention comes with the territory too. If a new starter feels like they fit in and are settled in their role there is rarely any reason to leave. Less turnover is a massive positive when it’s lighter on the wallet and less time consuming it is in the long run to run a business.
Conclusion
The first 90 days can literally define whether an employee will stay with you for a long time. Having a structured onboarding program can help you in preparing the new employees for success more proficiently, even before they come in here. In fact, with employee onboarding software one can easily automate and streamline the entire process, leading to higher retention of employees, and productivity, and overall this ensures undisputable business success. In a nutshell: A good onboarding plan is beneficial to both the company and the employee themselves.
