Importance of Having a Strategic Employee Onboarding Process
By Space Coast Daily // June 1, 2023
You get the dream job you always wanted, and after a few days of orientation, you are left to figure out things on your own.
You are clueless about where to start, and no one seems interested in helping you navigate through the workplace’s overwhelming social landscape. If only there were someone there to greet you warmly and guide you through the office maze. That’s where employee onboarding comes into place.
Why Should You Have A Strategic Employee Onboarding Process?
“A good first impression lasts a lifetime.” This is true when it comes to companies too. The success of any business depends on how well it can retain its employees. In order not to waste valuable time or resources, an effective employee onboarding process must be implemented by any organization. An employee onboarding process is more than just an orientation; it is a systematic process designed specifically for new hires that make them feel welcome in their new environment while preparing them for what lies ahead.
Benefits of Employee Onboarding:
According to statistics gathered by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), around 1/3rd of employees leave the company within six months due to a poor onboarding experience. A structured employee onboarding program may not only enhance employee retention rates but also positively impact productivity levels throughout the organization.
Here are some benefits of having an effective employee onboarding process:
1) Boosts Productivity: Studies have shown that proper training and guidance significantly increase productivity levels among new employees. Those who undergo proper training have proven to produce quicker results compared to those without training at all.
2) Better Employee Retention: An effective employee onboarding system has proven helpful in ensuring better retention rates among new hires compared to companies that do not focus much on improving their orientation processes.
3) Positive Work Environment: Fostering good relationships between team members contributes immensely towards creating a positive work environment. Welcoming gestures such as assigning mentors or buddies go a long way in ensuring that new hires feel valued and respected.
4) Improved Employee Morale: When employees feel welcomed, valued, and supported from the beginning of their work life, they are more likely to be happy about their job and become motivated to deliver quality results.
5) Transparency: During the onboarding process, company culture is explained in-depth allowing new employees to understand better what kind of company they are working for, resulting in reduced turnover rates.
6) Cost-Effective: According to a study, companies take an average of 8 months for companies to fully replenish or recover the resources lost when replacing an employee. Onboarding programs can reduce this by successfully retaining new hires as productive team members, decreasing recruitment costs, and keeping top talents within your organization.
In conclusion, without a proper employee onboarding process, you will lose valuable time and potentially valuable employees. The lack of proper orientation procedures might negatively impact productivity levels throughout the organization, hindering overall business growth. This systematic process provides significant benefits for both employer and employee. Employees who have gone through effective onboarding are less likely to quit than those who haven’t received any form of training or guidance at all.
Therefore it is high time for businesses to understand that “you cannot just let talent come knocking at your door; you need to make sure they stay.” To retain them effectively from day one through structured processes such as employee onboarding programs using different techniques like assigning mentors/buddy systems, this blog post has illustrated how vital it is in creating loyal and committed team members. It indeed strengthens an organization’s competitive edge within its respective industry chains.