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Blog: An HR's Guide to Employee Onboarding

Added By: 247Compliance,   Dated: Feb. 3, 2020,  Industry: HR Compliance

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Conducting a successful employee onboarding is a mundane task. Agreed. But, what about the later duties that come along with the onboarding process? Is it not more debilitating? From hiring the right candidate to getting her settled, it is generally, what some HRs might consider a proper employee onboarding process. This blog describes various facet the HRs face while onboarding new employees in their organization.

Employee Onboarding 101: Know the basics

Employee onboarding, in a nutshell, can be defined as a process of getting aboard new employees in an organization, wherein the entire process can incorporate process such as from releasing offer letter till the time when the employees become productive to the organization or become permanent. The training period, orientation program, the training plan, setting up performance metrics, and a feedback loop, etc., all come under the umbrella term— onboarding process.

Employee onboarding becomes a mandatory procedure considering various cases where the employees, after accepting the offer, bail at the last moment such as on the date of joining. The one who gets majorly affected in this situation is the HR, as they are responsible to conduct the interview process and would require to conduct the entire scheduling and interviewing process again from scratch. 

The process of employee onboarding

While some organizations might consider employee onboarding a one-day affair, it can extend up to a wholesome period of 18 long months for other organizations to get the employees effectively onboard. An important factor that holds major importance is making the new employee comfortable and friendly while introducing them to the work environment and making them acquainted with their new colleague. As good your onboarding process goes, the better you, as an HR, get positive feedback on your onboarding practices. If something goes south, you might want to consider bringing in some changes in your onboarding practices.

Below mentioned are some steps that you can follow to conduct an easy-to-go employee onboarding process:

1. Offer Releasing Process: 

After the employee has been selected for the position, the offer is released with the date of joining and salary structure. The onboarding process begins at this stage. If there is a significant time-gap between the employee's offer release date and the date of joining, the HR must keep a constant track on the employee's activity and record their updates considering offer acceptance.

2. Offer acceptance:

In the employee onboarding process, this process stands to be of major importance in the entire onboarding process, as the rest of the onboarding process will depend on the candidate's offer acceptance. While the candidate takes away some time for himself, the HR can plan out the later steps if the candidate has accepted the offer. This brings us to our next step of joining date.

3. The joining day of the candidate:

After the employee has accepted the offer, sixty percent of possibility exists that the employee might join on the given date of joining, with another forty percent possibility that he might bail on the joining date during the onboarding process. In the waiting period, the time between employees offer acceptance and date of joining, HR can form a schedule about the tentative training and onboarding program that the new employee must be going through. 

4. The orientation program for the new candidate:

The next step after joining is the orientation program, which comprises of training and an overview of the organization’s culture and an insight into company goals. Other relevant information about the teams within the company, team processes, and company policies are also part of the orientation program. From the onboarding point of view, orientation program plays a vital role in the entire hiring process, as it acts as an interface between the new hireling and the organization's culture, meanwhile, it also provides a broader picture to the employees as to where he fits in the organization as well as what the organization has to offer him. 

5. Feedbacks in the first quarter:

In the first quarter of the employee's tenure in the organization, HR can take valuable feedback about what the new hireling thinks about the company and where do they see themselves in the future with the company. HR must confer the new hireling to review their performance and offer feedback. S/he should also check with the employee on their performance and offer feedback at the same time. Any suggestion about the entire onboarding program and how it can be further improved can also be asked from the newly on-boarded employee. Also, HR must not hesitate to offer any additional training to the employee on their demand.

Conclusion:

Onboarding is a process that can tell a lot about the company's way of dealing with the new candidatures and the new employees on their initial days in the organization. When conducted with a proper plan and schedule, it can help HR with hiring rightful and potential candidates in a shorter period. The onboarding process has turned out to be fruitful for many organizations that follow a rightful strategy for the entire onboarding process. To know more about onboarding processes, attend live webinars by our speakers.