Surprising ways to improve employee engagement during onboarding
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New hires usually join a company for emotional reasons, and what happens during onboarding sets the tone for the relationship. Onboarding is where the promises made during recruitment either hold up or fall apart.
This post covers three areas where human resources (HR) pros can focus to keep new hires engaged: emotional connection, people, and process. It also lists onboarding steps worth automating.
Focusing on connection to ensure engagement
Comparing the employee hiring and onboarding process to an online dating experience can seem trivial. HR pros, though, can tell you of one similarity worth noting: the goal of making an emotional connection.
Gallup(opens in a new tab) tells us that only 12 percent of employees believe their companies did a great job during the onboarding process. More revealing, the failure to forge an emotional connection between the new hire and company is a bond that can make or break retention. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) goes further, saying employee turnover can be as high as 50 percent during the first 18 months of employment(opens in a new tab). Turnover costs a company six to nine months of an employee’s salary(opens in a new tab) to identify and find a replacement. Others in the field estimate the cost to be much higher.(opens in a new tab)
The opposite experience improves a new hire’s connection to their work and company. The result is an engaged employee who is “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace(opens in a new tab).”
Similar (in some ways) to the online dating process, new hires arriving at your company have also combed through reams of information. They searched for ratings and reviews from past and present employees. They’ve also consulted family, friends, and colleagues’ opinions and responded to the many promises your company made during the recruitment process.
Indeed, rational considerations were top of mind as they began their job search. Those included company/brand impact in the marketplace, career advancement potential, and training and development opportunities. But their decision to join your company was usually an emotional one, accompanied by a decision to leave another. They hoped this role — and relationship — would work out better than the last, meeting an unfulfilled need at their previous employer.
While this can sound touchy-feely to some, HR pros have enough know-how to understand the importance of emotional connection. They know why companies shouldn’t fail to deliver during the onboarding process. Failing to do so wastes the energy and engagement generated during the attraction and recruitment of new hires.
Like meeting a perfect match for the first time, the onboarding process is a series of firsts for your new hires. These include the first day on the job, the first time meeting their managers and colleagues, and their first work projects. Those projects are opportunities to make a good impression by sharing their talents with your company. What happens during the onboarding period sets the tone for a new hire’s relationship with your company. A disconnected and poorly organized on-ramping experience sends a clear message. Your company may not be committed to their well-being, much less their ongoing career growth and nurturing(opens in a new tab).
Record levels of stress and worry permeate the workplace in the wake of the COVID pandemic. As a result, a renewed focus on employee well-being has become a top priority and a critical plank in the modern employee experience. New and unexpected onboarding challenges now confront HR pros in the wake of the pandemic. Examples include helping remote workers cultivate relationships and learn about their roles in a virtual setting. Companies are accountable for making these changes. In this environment, one in five employees described their recent onboarding experience as poor or none at all(opens in a new tab).
Now more than ever, an engaged, productive workforce requires companies to make the right impression. That takes an emotionally connected employee onboarding process that’s focused on people and processes.(opens in a new tab)
Focusing on people to ensure engagement
HR pros can focus on people in several ways to ensure the well-being of new hires during the onboarding process. Those efforts also reduce stress and worry levels in our pandemic workplace.
Onboarding is all about connection, and data from several sources indicate that new hires found the human element of the onboarding process most valuable. According to Gallup Workplace(opens in a new tab), new employees appreciate forming social ties, learning from their coworkers, and generally feeling supported, included, and respected.
Expectations for onboarding go far beyond the old paradigms of “Where do I sit” and learning the ropes of the job. New hires value honest feedback and clear communication from managers. They want to ask lots of questions and access mentoring relationships with colleagues who care.(opens in a new tab)
In today’s remote environment, many companies use technology in human ways to help new hires feel included and engaged. Companies encourage new hires to participate in special threaded conversational groups in Microsoft Teams. For example, they can ask questions and bond with team members in chats and impromptu video conference calls. This can approximate the experience of tapping a colleague on the shoulder in an office setting.
Companies can break these conversational threads in Teams out into special interest groups, too, like “Pets of UX” or “Cat Lovers in HR.” They can dedicate them to general non-work-related topics. There, new hires can interact with colleagues and post lighthearted GIFs to show their personality and sense of humor. Teams offers a vast array of humorous GIFs. This use of technology to create connections can add a little levity, reduce stress, and foster a sense of belonging in a remote workplace.
Companies have other simple ways to foster a sense of belonging and connection with new hires. They can send a welcome package with branded gifts to new hires’ homes. A handwritten welcome note can also make them feel seen and valued. Managers can step up and take a more proactive role in the onboarding process. They can set up mentoring relationships with other colleagues and regular check-ins with new hires. They can also communicate what’s expected of them during their first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job. Managers can also extend a virtual open-door policy to field impromptu questions whenever possible.
Focusing on process to ensure engagement
HR pros may also wish to research workflow automation solutions for employee onboarding to ensure a smooth process. For example, automating the request process for onboarding new employees is becoming more affordable and practical. Companies can build customized portals and workflows to handle request/information intake (forms) and the subsequent routing of the information around the organization. The new employee’s manager, the employee themself, or HR can use the portal, depending on what part of the process they handle.
Requests (hardware, network access, benefit forms, furniture, etc.) that are typically part of the onboarding process can then start online. IT, Finance, Facilities, and other departments get notifications and approvals in an automated fashion. This replaces paperwork, phone calls, and back and forth emails/instant messages.
In addition, providing new employees with an online portal gives them a centralized location to track the status of the process. They can also keep up to date on when the company will fulfill their requests. This type of request portal becomes their window into the company and promotes consistency and stability as they acclimate to their new company.
Potential onboarding processes to automate include:
Pre-hire
- Position request form
- Recruitment and application process
- Internal referrals
- Interview feedback and tracking
- Offer tracking
- Background checks
- Security badge request
- Business card ordering
During hire
- New hire information gathering
- IT setup form (hardware, software, network access)
- Policy/mission review and acknowledgment
Post-hire
- A survey of their onboarding process
- Employee information change
- Personnel action
- Hardware and software requests
- Leave requests
- Expense and travel requests
- Performance reviews and acknowledgment
- Goals tracking
- Peer and team recognition and awards
Conclusion
Engagement during onboarding rests on three things: an emotional connection to the company, supportive people, and a process that keeps new hires informed. Each one protects the energy generated during recruitment.
HR pros can start small with a welcome note, regular manager check-ins, and an online portal for onboarding requests. Companies that deliver on their recruitment promises give new hires a reason to stay.
