The recruitment process consists of several tasks. It ranges from the evaluation to the selection of employees. However, this is not the last process that the Human Resources department carries out with new recruits. Once those selected have joined the company, the task of streamlining and improving their integration arises, which is what onboarding is all about.
A digitized onboarding process makes data storage and resource availability easier for both employees and the company. This practice can increase performance as well as employee retention, so its implementation is key.
Summary
- The onboarding process helps employees in their incorporation into the company during the first months. It will help to optimize the integration and training of new employees, reaching a high level of performance faster.
- The digitization and automation of this process bring high benefits for the company and for the employee. It saves time and costs for the HR team, while for the employee it is more accessible and fully available.
- In addition to the economic benefits, proper implementation of this procedure will have positive effects on employee productivity. An integrated, motivated and valued employee will aspire to move up the job ladder and maintain a consistently high performance.
What you should know about the onboarding system
In today’s world of work, everything is automated and more and more processes have been digitized and optimized. When we talk about onboarding, we are talking about one of the most important processes for the company to achieve high performance and efficiency. Therefore, we will see below the main aspects to know, as well as its advantages and tips for a successful implementation.
What is the onboarding system?
First of all, for those who are not familiar with the term, let’s define it. Any employee arrives nervous and confused on his first day of work. All kinds of doubts may arise, as they are faced with a completely new environment, to which they must adapt as quickly as possible for contributing to the company’s performance. All this means that the first few days, without proper orientation and support, can be a real challenge for employees.
To avoid all this, the onboarding system is responsible for providing new employees with the necessary support to ensure that they are happy in their new company. Onboarding systems are also designed to automate and streamline many tasks of the HR team for optimal employee onboarding. There must be constant interaction between employees and the company.
Such a system generates a procedure by which employees will be able to get to know, in a simpler and more agile way, important aspects of the company. Such a procedure will introduce employees to the company, their role, their colleagues, as well as the company’s philosophy and what is expected of them and the team in general (1).
What is onboarding software?
To clarify doubts, software is a set of programs, computer rules and instructions that allows an electronic device to function.
Onboarding software is a software designed by the HR department to offer an attractive experience to new employees.
The main objective is to get these new recruits to connect with the company and their colleagues from the moment they take up the job.
In addition, onboarding software is designed to automate and streamline the HR team’s most time-consuming tasks related to onboarding. This will save valuable time to invest in other important tasks.
Why adopt onboarding software?
Unlike traditional onboarding, the process of remote onboarding and tracking employees online brings convenience and benefits to both employees and companies. There are several reasons why it is worth adopting a digital system to carry out this procedure.
Does a company need an onboarding system?
As we already know, the onboarding procedure means a reduction of costs, money and resources when it comes to hiring personnel. However, we can think that the traditional method is equally valid. Companies will be really compensated by the integration of this system in many cases, if they have some of these needs (2).
- Preference for employees to perform onboarding tasks electronically.
- Need to create a secure platform to store employee data.
- Need to contact new hires frequently.
- Need to reduce the time it takes to enter applicant data into the database, as well as to register them.
- Seeking to automate tasks, reminders and deadlines, and assigning them to new employees.
This automation also influences employee performance. The experience of those employees who experience a well-organised onboarding process is significantly superior to those who have not. The experience of those who have been part of this system is superior in all the moments of relationship with the company, while it is more complicated to raise the experience of those who have not lived it.
As we can see, the level of experience and satisfaction is clearly higher at all stages of integration into the company. We can conclude that the onboarding system helps employees to feel more comfortable, the more processes are integrated into this system, the higher the satisfaction.
Advantages and disadvantages of the onboarding system
Implementing an onboarding procedure will be an almost guaranteed success in optimizing the recruitment and orientation of new employees. As in all digital systems, there are a lot of advantages, but also some disadvantages that must be solved. Among the most important, we find the following (3).
Advantages
- Optimal incorporation of the employee to his or her new position
- Increased employee confidence
- Increased employee retention in the company
- Reduction of doubts and confusion
- Continuous access to database and information necessary for the fulfilment of tasks
- Increased performance and reduced adaptation period
- Facilitates and speeds up the understanding of corporate values and characteristics
Disadvantages
- Failure to clarify objectives can lead to confusion
- Poor organization can lead to not being fully effective, however, this is a problem of the programming, not the system itself
- If it is too short, the employee onboarding process is half-baked
Basic elements of an onboarding system
To create a successful onboarding system, the company must ensure that new employees understand the organization’s strategy. The process must be a blend of education, motivation and practical knowledge. To carry out this strategy effectively, let’s look at the basic components of a good onboarding system
(4).
Customer onboarding
The onboarding system is not only for new employees of the company. The organization can design a system for customers. It is similar to the procedure for employees.
Customer onboarding is key in the case of products or services with certain technological complexity, such as new enterprise software. These products or services have a long sales cycle and require agility in their adoption to begin to perceive the benefits of their acquisition.
The proper coordination of a customer onboarding system can bring many benefits, as well as greater value to the company. We can highlight some of them.
- It promotes a successful and long-term relationship between the client and the company.
- The customer receives advice and support to achieve their goals, so the purchase experience has a higher value for them.
- It minimizes the risk of defection in the early stages of work.
- There are more possibilities to revalue the customer’s life cycle, since loyalty and post-sale actions are initiated at the time of purchase.
If the company is able to guarantee a personalized follow-up and good planning, both of the tasks to be performed and of the information, it will achieve fruitful results. It should also be noted that this process never ends for the company, providing the client with continuous knowledge and follow-up, so that loyalty to the company is even greater.
When does the onboarding procedure end?
We know that the onboarding system should start from the new employee’s first day on the job. However, we do not know how long to extend this procedure.
A short time period may not be of great use to the new recruit, as he/she does not have enough time to adapt and get to know the characteristics of the company and the position.
On the other hand, a process that takes too long may entail costs for the company that it could actually be saving.
Onboarding should end a few months after the employee joins the company. This process allows the employee to be followed up and accompanied, being able to reaffirm what he/she has experienced in the first days in the company and to confirm that everything is in order.
During all these weeks, it is important to inform the new employee about everything. He or she must be fully aware of his or her role, needs, expectations, objectives and culture. In addition, the company must take an interest and be aware of his feedback so that he does not feel lost.
Finally, onboarding ends when the employee is fully integrated into the organization’s structure. Although he/she still has room to continue learning and asking questions, the company is confident that he/she feels part of the project and is able to deploy his full potential.
On the other hand, there are experts who defend the idea of a constant onboarding process, so that it never ends. The main reason is that companies are constantly changing and the aim of this system is to accompany the employee throughout his or her working life in the company. A changing company requires employees constantly learn and adapt to new circumstances (5).
Conclusion
Onboarding takes advantage of all available human and technological resources in order to speed up the welcome of new recruits and integrate them into the company. Thanks to this system, it not only improves their perception of the company and their motivation, but also accelerates the learning curve, providing knowledge about the operation, contact networks and business philosophy.
This system brings great value to the company, as well as reduces costs and resources in the process. All this makes it a great idea to invest in the coordination of an adequate system, generating more and more functional and skilled employees.
References
1. Ferro Vásquez J. ONBOARDING PROGRAM FOR JOB ADAPTABILITY AND TOOLS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCIES [Internet] Universidad Católica de Bogotá. 2021. [cited 2022]
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2. Maksuti S, Bicaku A, Zsilak M, Ivkic I, Peceli B, Singler G, et al. Automated and secure onboarding for system of systems. IEEE Access [Internet]. 2021; [cited 2022].
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3. Quijije Menéndez P. Onboarding and its influence in creating affective bonds in employees towards the employer brand. [Internet]. University of San Francisco de Quito. 2019. [cited 2022].
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4. Rodríguez Monsalve MA. ONBOARDING: DYNAMICS AND PROCESSES WITHIN ORGANIZATIONAL INCORPORATION PLANS [Internet]. Lumen Gentium Catholic University Foundation. [cited 2022].
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5. When does an Onboarding process begin and end [Internet]. Teams&talent. [cited 2022].
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