Surely, we all have met at least one person who has recently joined the company and has little to no idea of what his/her job is and what exactly they should be doing. Is it because the rookie is incompetent? Let’s disagree on that one. The time has shown that the number one culprit is the employer. Or let’s say their philosophy on on-boarding. On-boarding is now slowly becoming a ‘process’ rather than a ‘one day event’, as we speak. It is fair to say that many of the global organisations, mainly the top performing firms agree to this fact and are revisiting their on-boarding programs and strategies.What use does an on-boarding event have if there is nothing to learn from it for the new recruits. Certainly, all employers would wish their fresh signings to be as productive as possible but it is impossible to achieve this without making sure that the on-boarding process provides the fresh starters with all the information they need and understand the business and the philosophy as well as the existing employees do.
On-boarding is Not an Event
The first idea we need to get rid of is that on-boarding can no longer be considered as an event. It is rather a process that starts on the day of the interview. Rather than handing sign on forms and that old dusty policy handbook on the first day at the job, clear instructions, essential information and expectations must be made clear before the first day even arrives. Soon after, the process should go into its first week and its first year before the annual performance review is carried out.
During its life, on-boarding should focus on transferring the mission and vision of the company into its employees, in making clear of responsibilities and in kindling with all of the other employees and the senior management. Moreover, this process should also include training and development programs where applicable and must be evaluated periodically. The company also must understand that this is also the period when the new recruit scans the workplace and identifies the culture within. It is extremely important for the company to channel all the right messages to its new employees.
From Sign-on Forms to Multidimensional Programme
It is rarely that we see such a leap in the philosophy in any setting. What used to be a one day event with a single form to sign has taken multidimensional form as it is now known as the effective on-boarding process. All top performing companies are now covering the three main areas in the on-boarding process namely, business, situational and cultural context. This covers most of the information that a new employee needs in order to perform their duty at an optimal level of efficiency. Various practices can be designed to fit the organisation and the position they are trying to fill. The most important aspect that the organisation needs to consider is that they MUST cover all three dimensions of the modern day on-boarding process.
Leading by Example
In a modern, agile working environment, senior management should not be seen isolating themselves from the employees. Also, employees can learn a great deal seeing senior management personally involved with their respective departments. The new and improved on-boarding process requires direct and increased involvement of the senior management. This not only gives an account of a transparent technology-focused operating culture but also offers continuous learning opportunities to the new recruits.
No More Bulky Handbooks
Technology has now forced many companies to go digital in an attempt to improve communication efficiency with all of its stakeholders. As tweets are replacing emails and blogs are replacing newsletters, the on-boarding has all but completely gone digital. In more younger working culture, evidences of Employee portals, YouTube videos, blogs and social media announcements are everywhere and for everyone to see. Not only it is an efficient and cost effective process for a company, it is also a fun way to get to know the company for the employee whilst keeping errors and miscommunications to the minimum.
This digitised process also doesn’t require you to take notes or miss something because you were looking outside the window for a nanosecond. As for the management and the HR department, it is easier to track the progress of the process in the most effective way imaginable. This process also encourages a conversation rather than an announcement and offers employees to voice their opinions and feedbacks.
How do you Measure?
So how should an organisation measure or monitor their on-boarding process. The answer is simple. Just look at the numbers. It is not difficult to see what has been a success or what has failed. It is equally effortless to tell if a program is popular or not. Collecting feedback and other measurement methods are constantly adopted by top performing companies around the world. This is in an attempt to improve their efforts of evaluating the effectiveness of their on-boarding process.
The best part of this monitor and measurement process is that it can promote learning and development opportunities for the employees. If the employers are able to find room for improvement and a need for training and monitoring programs, it will benefit both parties as a result. This will serve other HR activities really well such as Talent Management and Career Development process.
Top Employers can be seen to be quick to adopt newer trends and adapt to the changes. They not only employ a team in researching the trends but are also designed to commit to change at will. First things first however, all companies must stop treating On-boarding as an event and prepare their employees for a long-term success of the company. Making the employee feel welcome and comfortable can go a long way in defining the success of the recruitment process. Not only that, it is also equally beneficial for the Talent management process and in identifying ‘high potential’ individuals.
Like all of the newer HR philosophies, it will take time to perfect the on-boarding process. Perhaps one day we will live to hear of a completely flawless process being developed. Or will we? On-boarding is clearly an on-going process and its development will be an on-going process as well. No philosophy can stand the test of time and every company, successful or not, must change with the changing times.
Our HR Insights Report on On-boarding contains other useful information including latest trends and case studies.
