Onboarding: Beyond Paperwork and Procedures

Employee onboarding has long been recognized as a pivotal process for organizations. However, with a notable shift to hybrid, remote-first, and globally distributed workforces, onboarding has become even more significant. Given the increasing complexity of the modern workplace, onboarding must be reimagined to truly integrate, motivate, and prepare new hires for the road ahead of them.

Research underscores the critical nature of effective onboarding procedures and the potential they have for strengthening employee retention, productivity, commitment, and overall achievement.

1. Onboarding boosts new-hire retention – Brandon Hall Group reveals that companies with comprehensive onboarding practices experience an impressive 82% boost in new-hire retention. This statistic emphasizes the significance of providing a comprehensive onboarding experience that helps new employees feel welcomed, supported, and integrated into the organization.
2. Onboarding increases productivity – Companies that implement effective onboarding experience a 54% increase in productivity. By providing new employees with the necessary training, resources, and support from the start, organizations can accelerate their learning curve and enable them to contribute to the company’s goals more quickly and efficiently.
3. Onboarding cultivates commitment – Employees who undergo a comprehensive onboarding process are reportedly 18 times more committed to their organizations. By investing in a robust onboarding program that aligns with your company’s culture, mission, and business goals, you can move beyond a “one-sized-fits-all” orientation module, or a “check-the-box” compliance course to cultivate a sense of loyalty, engagement, and dedication among new hires.

Can onboarding be more than paperwork?

Despite the proven impact of effective onboarding, 58% of firms predominantly concentrate their onboarding efforts on procedures and paperwork, according to Sapling HR.

While paperwork will always be a part of bringing on new hires, the best onboarding gives incoming talent an opportunity to learn more about their employer. To truly enhance the onboarding experience, organizations must take a holistic approach beyond administrative or compliance-related training.

Ideally, onboarding should reinforce cultural cornerstones, align employees to organizational goals, build strong relationships, and provides ongoing support.

Embrace technology for flexible continuous onboarding

In the increasingly dynamic and disrupted world of work, technology needs to be an additive benefit for employees rather than a chore or a distraction. Choosing applications that centralize and mobilize training can keep your onboarding process streamlined, without diminishing impact.

Mobile training is a must in today’s fast-paced work environment, as it allows new hires to access training materials on-the-go and at their own convenience. This flexibility not only accommodates different learning preferences, but also helps new employees feel more in control of their own onboarding experience.

A learning management system (LMS) can serve as a one-stop hub for new hires to access training courses, materials, and resources from anywhere, on any device. Additionally, personalizing the onboarding experience, breaking it out into bite-sized learning modules, setting professional development goals, and encouraging informal learning can further enhance employee engagement and knowledge transfer.

Moving beyond compliance and paperwork to implement relevant and effective continuous onboarding means investing in solutions that can address the needs and challenges of the modern workforce.