My disastrous first day at work
I have a fairly adventurous employment history and have therefore experienced quite a few first working days with new employers. A first day of work like that does something to you, especially when it's disastrous.
The disaster in a nutshell
On my first day at - I won't name names - a company that should know better, I was unpleasantly surprised even before I arrived. The barrier proved to be the first impregnable obstacle. I was not registered and there was also no space in the parking garage. Whether I just wanted to find a paid seat on the street. Once at the front desk, it turned out that my managing CEO was in an MT meeting all morning. My HR contact was also included in that meeting, but fortunately, an employee of that department was quickly mobilized. There wasn't really a place to work yet - a desk and a chair, but no computer, no login and no phone - and the employees of my department also seemed a bit overwhelmed by me coming. After exchanging a few pleasantries here and there, I turned around. I suggested to the management that they should do it again thinly the next day, but okay now. It did arrive and one of the first actions we took was to better structure the onboarding program.
Structuring the onboarding
Structured onboarding is important because, as an employer, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Smooth onboarding is the way to welcome a new employee and lays the foundation for his or her future in the company. Without structure, a new employee can feel lost and less welcome. Research shows that companies with an effective onboarding program will retain 82% more employees over time. The short-term effect of such a program is an increase in productivity of no less than 70%. Of course, it's a bit of an open door and everyone gets the point. No one is opposed to structured onboarding.
How do you start a strong onboarding program within your organization?
We quickly agree on the necessity and usefulness of structured onboarding. But what should be structured then?
Step 1: First day of work
First, a few practical things. This includes prior communication in the form of a welcome package or an introduction email before the first day of work. You can then also organize the layout of the workplace in advance. Make sure that all necessary resources such as a laptop, software and access to systems are ready. For employees who do not work in the office, this may include other things such as a forklift, a truck, measuring devices, corporate clothing and personal protective equipment.
Step 2: The introductory phase
In addition to the practical issues, you also want to structure the introductory phase. As an introduction, you can share and discuss mission, vision and core values. This is also the time to share the house rules and get them approved. In this phase, you can also help a new employee with internal networking. Organize introductory meetings with colleagues and team members to get off to a flying start.
Step 3: Training and guidance
The third pillar of structured onboarding is training and guidance. It is a good idea to clarify what is expected of the new employee and to support his or her performance with relevant training courses. For example, also link new people to a buddy or mentor for extra support.
Why go to all that trouble?
A poor onboarding program leads to a low level of employee engagement. They feel less welcome and appreciated. It also causes a higher dropout rate. These employees call in sick more easily and often leave the company more quickly. In addition, it takes longer for employees to be productive and effective if there are no clear expectations and good guidance.
All in all, a faulty onboarding program does not only affect the performance of individual employees. Ultimately, entire teams suffer from poor onboarding, especially if it is structural and lasts longer.
The benefits are up for grabs
Well-structured onboarding provides a sense of welcome and connection from day one. It gives a new employee more confidence in their new role and clarity about their responsibilities. This also means that the new employee is more productive faster. For the company, it also results in lower turnover and ultimately a better reputation.
But how do you do that?
The reason that structured onboarding often doesn't get off the ground is that companies lack executive power. The will is there, but then getting it done over and over again is a difficult one. For executive power, you actually need three things. First of all, clarity about who is responsible.
Next, an onboarding program that you want to use for the various types of employees in your organization. And finally, the onboarding apps to be able to smoothly roll out the onboarding program over and over again.
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How an HR onboarding app can provide a sense of welcome and connection
The platform of ISO2 HANDLE is intended to support quality and risk management in your company with automation. In addition, processes that are necessary to consistently manage quality and risk are then automated.
This is actually no different when it comes to employee onboarding. This is also a process with a number of steps that you can support automatically. That is why the HR onboarding app often used in our software by users of the ISO2HANDLE platform to HR processes - including onboarding - to organize. After all, well-organized and executed onboarding is also a part of it. quality management.
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