Trying to figure out why onboarding has become so important?
Whether you are hiring for the C-suite or an entry level position, a fantastic onboarding program can be your most valuable tool. The way you bring an employee into your company is a huge contributing factor to their success. When fighting for the best talent, as we all have to do now, the last thing we want is to lose them simply because we left them to flounder on their own without establishing those real bonds that are so necessary in the first six months. Everyone needs much more than just job training in order to want to stay in a new position. They need to feel they matter and they have to make those connections. Onboarding the right way ensures your employees receive what they need so they become productive and successful for the long-run.
Onboarding is the process of introducing a new employee to your policies, procedures and company culture. Once, new employees would go through a period of orientation, where they usually sat in a room by themselves and watched boring videos before starting their new tasks. Today, the process has matured, and onboarding usually involves multiple months of dedication designed to give new employees the tools to succeed and hopefully bond with their new company. In fact, the onboarding process really now begins long before someone is hired. It starts with your organization’s culture building, but I digress as this begins a more in depth topic. Back to the fundamentals! Focusing on training, socialization, and immersion in the company culture rather than just giving new hires the basics of responsibilities and a map to the break room, ensures the best possible outcome for you and your new staff.
When you hand an employee the tools to be successful rather than just throwing them in the deep end, they learn that you have their best interests at hand. Increased job satisfaction leads to increased loyalty. That’s better for your bottom line because you’re not going to have to fill this position again within a six months to a year. It’s an investment of time that pays off immediately.
Onboarding is a way to make sure that your company holds onto its best and brightest talent that it has worked so hard to recruit. Don’t neglect this crucial step in employee development. It can honestly make or break a business.
Danielle VanZorn, PMP, SPHR
