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Onboarding is a crucial part of the hiring process. It helps ensure that newly hired employees are “on board” with the basics of their new role and new company. Effective onboarding has shown to help increase employee contributions and success in their new job, as well as help them feel more engaged in their role and increase the likelihood of a business retaining that employee in the long term.

So, what does an effective onboarding look like? The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) notes that one of the most important things to consider when planning an onboarding strategy is to make sure it’s not just one day of training videos, but a process that is long enough to make a difference. Here are some steps to consider:

  1. Automate where you can. Automating HR tasks can free up a lot of time and money for your business and help enhance the employee experience. Using a self-serve portal program, for instance, to help new hires fill out their benefits information or fill out their paperwork can help save time on administrative tasks, freeing up time for more focused work or training. It also gives employees a sense of autonomy from the beginning.
  2. Use an itinerary. Onboarding might not be a one-size-fits-all process, but it’s important to set employee expectations. Having a flexible schedule for employees to follow for the first week can help offset any new employee anxiety and ensure that employees feel included and productive.
  3. Make sure the hiring managers are on board. Onboarding isn’t just an HR task. It requires hiring managers and department managers to be part of the execution, so training management in onboarding and what is expected of them can make the whole process easier.
  4. Ask for employee feedback. Follow up with new employees with an online survey or email after a few months on the job and see how they feel about their onboarding. What do they still have questions on? Did they feel prepared for their day-to-day job when onboarding was complete? Soliciting employee feedback will help you shape and tweak your processes to ensure onboarding is effective and supportive for employees.

Of course, onboarding is only as good as the employees being onboarded. We can help you source the best IT candidates so you can focus on creating better processes to support your employees. Get in touch today to find the talent that your business needs.

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