How Good Recruitment Onboarding Reduces New Hire Failure
Why do we need to get it right?
No matter what your talent attraction strategy is – direct hire, agency or a blended mix, Getting your Onboarding process wrong can have a, significant impact on your business. Every new hire failure (those leaving within probation) has a knock-on impact across the business.
Having to repeat the costly hiring process which can include, advertising costs, agency fees, hiring manager time, resourcing time, IT, training, payroll as well as lost productivity, is painful!
Therefore, it is important for HR and Resourcing teams to take a good look at how they do Onboarding to ensure that it is fit for purpose for your business. In our brave new world of working from home, hybrid, remote or onsite this process may not only change in different business’s but even within a business that has different classifications of workers. So, a different approach may be needed for each type, but should overall provide the information they need to succeed.
So where do you start?
Review the numbers. Look at your exit data to get a base line and to see where you may be going wrong. Assumptions about why people are leaving are all to easily embedded but can often be misinformed. This exit information can then inform you on where your onboarding may be going wrong.
Defining what your Onboarding should look like for your business
When does onboarding start, how far does it go and what should it aim to achieve? The primary goal for any business is to get new hires to productivity as quickly as possible, and to do this a good onboarding process should start as soon as the offer is made.
What to include:
- Wow the candidate with their offer. Offer candidate what they are worth and don’t undervalue and try to get them cheap. First impressions count
- Simplify the offer and contract process through digitisation – make it easy to complete paperwork online and quickly – delaying getting offers and contracts out creates anxiety with candidates and opens you up to counteroffers.
- Set up, keep in touch dates between the hiring manager and new starter These regular check in meetings prior to start ensure candidates feel welcomed and lessens imposter syndrome on day one
- Plan the induction and set clear objectives, goals, and timelines
- Set up mentors or buddies that are not line managers They can often help with the settling and small things like how does the printer work?
- Offer choice in your digital and ICT set up (different job need different solutions or personal choice)
- Plan their orientation to systems, people, and culture – the way we do things round here
- Provide a welcome pack with some gifts and a message from the team
Remember the Onboarding is not just about compliance, job training and enrolling in payroll.
What can you do differently?
One of the things we have introduced to our new hires at Onward Homes is an Onward welcome tour. As a social housing provider, we offer a range of services to our customer and for new hires to Onward this can be a confusing landscape of who does what and when.
As a recent new hire to Onward Homes myself, I took advantage of the tour (we hold one each quarter for new hires to attend) so I could embed my knowledge and meet some colleagues face to face, building those all-important relationships.
It was a great chance to see what happens on the ground and in our communities.
Our bus tour included the Customer Service Team in Accrington where we were warmly welcomed and listened in to live customer calls, giving us a great insight into the vital role they play at Onward. We then headed off to “1stCall” a fabulous community service run by Onward Homes that offers support in employment services, help budgeting, as well as housing support and advice.
The last stop was the repairs and maintenance depot at Onward Repairs, Altham – who deliver services to 6300 properties across Lancashire.
Whilst this scale of onboarding my not suit all companies, it shows just how far you can take your own onboarding process to give your new hires the tools they need to succeed. The tour has certainly accelerated my knowledge and those of the cohort that attended the day who came from all across the business.
Review and adapt
Once you have honed your Onboarding process to fit your company and culture remember to check in and review with your new hires. Don’t wait for exit interview data to make decisions. Carry out new hire surveys at probation sign off to take the pulse of how your onboarding is working., then adapt where necessary.