According to research, new employees who have a positive onboarding experience are 18 times more committed to their employer. Not only this, but a great onboarding experience ensures 69% of employees stick with a company for three years. This implies that employee onboarding experiences have a significant impact on employee engagement, productivity, and retention rates. However, according to Gallup, 88% of organizations don't onboard well. As a result, most companies are missing the opportunity to avail the benefits of effective onboarding.
Besides, they're suffering from the consequences of poor onboarding. Research has shown that a negative onboarding experience doubles the chances of an employee seeking another opportunity. The enormous demerits of losing an employee such as loss of productivity, high cost of hiring a replacement, and reduction in employee satisfaction are known to us all.
Given that, it is crucial for employers like you to offer engaging onboarding experiences to new hires. Effective onboarding programs should be one of your business objectives. But, what elements make a positive onboarding experience? Let's explore them together.
7 actionable tactics to make the onboarding experience engaging for new hires
New hires are new to your organization. They know nothing about your company. Given that, they have their minds full of questions. But, being new to the organization, wrapped in the robe of shyness, they don't feel comfortable when asking questions over and over again. This keeps them engulfed in the clouds of confusion which prevents effective onboarding.
However, by implementing a buddy system and assigning an onboarding buddy to new hires for a month or two or more, you can give them a go-to person whom they can consult every time they have questions or face some confusion. When new hires know they have a work buddy with them, they feel comfortable openly discussing things with them.
Moreover, the buddy can introduce the new hire to other employees in the workplace and establish the foundation of new friendships for the new recruit. Cordial workplace relationships also improve the new hire experience. Hence, it is advisable for you to allocate a buddy to each new hire through a buddy program.
Everyone loves playing games and having fun. Workplace fun is one of the key elements that work wonders in enhancing the effectiveness of your onboarding programs. Having said that, you should try to include games and activities in the onboarding process. For example, you can pair up new hires with your old employees and make them play a Scavenger hunt. You can use this game to introduce them to the different departments and places within the organization.
On similar lines, you can look for other games and activities on the internet to include in your onboarding process, or you can create some yourself. The best thing about these games and activities is that they promote the formation of cordial bonds between your new recruits and existing employees, enhance employee engagement scores and morale.
One thing that you want from the new hires is to learn well, be productive and zealous. The secret key to accomplishing this endeavor is to help the new hires envision their future in the company. When they can see to what level they can rise, they naturally exude immense passion and enthusiasm towards work. After all, they have to reach the next level in your company and keep progressing.
To introduce them to the new horizons they can reach in your company, those in the senior roles can serve as the best instruments. Let them share their stories of progress with the new recruits. Let them share their struggles and journey of success with them. This way, right from the beginning you'll program your new recruits to dream of an excellent future within your company, contributing to better new hire retention.
This is one place where many companies make mistakes. They start with a training program and wait for it to finish before they can set up the tools and resources new hires will need to begin with their work. But, sometimes candidates are extremely passionate and they aspire to gain hands-on experience right from the start. They want to gain access to all the tools and resources they will use.
Under such circumstances, if they ask for access but you aren't ready with the right tools and resources, you can lose them. They'll feel demotivated to know that you weren't actively preparing for the start of their career at your company. Hence, it is crucial for you to be ready with the tools and resources, including an onboarding portal, that the new hire will need to start performing their work.
One of the basic reasons why conducting onboarding programs is imperative is that it builds an emotional connection between new hires and your organization. When new employees get emotionally connected with your company, they naturally feel driven to give their best performance. To ensure that your onboarding program accomplishes the goal of emotionally connecting new hires with your company, you should include your company's history and workplace culture in it.
Spend some time introducing your employees to your company's inception story, struggles, growth stories, mission and vision. With these elements, the new recruits will penetrate the soul of your organization. This sets up a foundation for strong companionship between the new hires and your organization, improving new hire integration.
You have designed your onboarding programs with the best intentions. But, you don't know the impact it's producing. Only those who have experienced it can let you know about the loopholes they experienced. The shortcomings they bring to your notice can help you improve your onboarding program.
So, you should use the feedback derived from your previous batch of new hires. For this, it is crucial that you first derive feedback from the previous batch of new employees. To get honest responses, it is best to keep the feedback anonymous. This feedback can help you enhance the new hire experience and improve employee satisfaction.
Sometimes companies rush to make their new employees match the productivity levels of those who left. This is not a good thing to do because it pushes new hires to put in strenuous effort. Although you might think that it's okay to push them a little, from the eyes of new recruits, it's not.
When they feel stressed at the beginning of their career at a particular company, they get motivated to leave it soon. After all, no one wants excessive stress in their life. Given that, it is crucial for you to keep a comfortable pace when training the new hires. This will help them understand things well and develop excellent professional acumen, contributing to better employee retention rates.
Your onboarding process determines the engagement, productivity, morale, and retention of your new recruits. Given that, you should focus on delivering excellent employee onboarding experiences. Otherwise, you might not be able to tap into the true potential of the new hires. The above-mentioned are different ways to make your onboarding programs engaging. Do try them out and see the results for yourself. Wish you All the Best.