One of the most overlooked parts when having a new member joining an organisation's workforce is the onboarding process. This is mainly because the company may assume that the candidate is well aware of their responsibilities, based on the discussions done during the hiring process. However, both training and onboarding are two essential components that prepare the employee for their job and ensure transparency around how the organisation works, introduce the new talent(regardless of their seniority level) to the company's values, and what the exact expectations from different stakeholders are, among others. In short, we could say that onboarding is the design of what the new talent sees, feels, and hears after they have been hired.
Why Invest in an Effective Onboarding Process?
For starters, new hire turnover is too costly and a considerable waste of valuable resources. Research has demonstrated that upgrading the organisation's onboarding process can bring new-hire turnover down to 16% (from around 70%). Other than that, delivering a more focused onboarding experience also leads to:
1. Increased Engagement & Improved Productivity
Studies have shown that the first 3 months (90 days) of employment are pivotal in building rapport with the management, company, and coworkers. When support levels are high from the leaders and team, new employees will usually have a more positive attitude about their job, which will also motivate them to work harder. Hence, offering direction and support improves productivity and helps cultivate and maintain spirits high while a new hire is trying to become a valuable addition to the team. In any other case, chances are the new employee will not make it much further than 3-4 months. That aside, effective onboarding programmes can also improve the performance of other staff members by up to almost 12%, according on study findings.
2. Improved Retention
Creating a structured onboarding programme increases the chances of employees remaining with the organisation for more than 3 years. It should be noted that every temporary employee leaving an organisation can costs that organisation up to 75% of their annual wages, while a permanent staff that departs can costs to 150% of their annual salary. So, it is crucial that organisations make sure they employ people that feel accountable, heard, and seen. A standardised onboarding programme shows new hires that you are satisfied with them being there, and consequently increases retention.
Tip: It is a good idea to consider new and interesting ways to use employees' skills after they have been working in the organisation for a couple of years to keep their engagement high.
How Can You Help a Talent or Leader Transition Into a New Role?
First of all, training a new employee into the ethos of the organisation while also showing them how you expect them to do their job at the same time is a win-win situation. Try to bring people from all levels into the training of a new talent irrespective of where the new employee sits in the organisational hierarchy. Also, ensure new employees feel comfortable with providing feedback and, of course, know who to turn to for feedback or questions during every step of the process.
When it comes to high-performing new leaders, their overwhelming majority usually shows a strong focus on quick results as a means to show the company that they can contribute to its success. The new leaders' bosses actually need this form of reassurance before they can place confidence in their new manager/leader. However, it is essential to pursue quick results while demonstrating true leadership abilities and attributes at the same time (i.e. react to criticism positively, avoid jumping into conclusions and meddling in work you should trust others to do, focus on what is really important rather consume all your energy on the details, and respect the people that report to you). Otherwise, new leaders are more likely to underperform, which will affect not only themselves but also the performance of everybody else around them.
All in all, giving teams the time to transition from one type of leadership into another and focusing not on how to prove themselves (the new managers) but how their team can make direct contributions to provide accomplishments and fast results will help add meaningfully and measurably to the success of the business.
Attracting, guiding, and retaining a new talent can be achieved through various methods that keep changing every year with the advances in technology. The new generation of applicants needs new-hire programmes that make them feel valuable and comfortable while also passing on all the information/guidance required to take on their new role and become the strong link in the chain. This is certainly time-consuming for the organisations, especially considering the many responsibilities senior level managers have.
This is where WeLinkTalent comes into the equation. We provide onbaording enhancement services to accompany new employees in their first 6 months in the new role and allow you to focus on other important aspects of your business, always with a peace of mind, knowing that knowledgeable professionals have your back.