Back to School: Will Your Onboarding Program Ace the Big Test?

Imagine this: It’s your first day at a new company. You’ve changed your outfit a handful of times, you woke up early to spend a few extra minutes on your hair and makeup, and you find yourself battling a mild case of butterflies. The future looks bright, and you’re excited to start getting to know your new coworkers, tackling fun, new projects, and becoming an influential part of the team. But wait, why isn’t this link working? What do you mean I was supposed to send that in already? Oh, the team didn’t realize I was starting today? You haven’t had a chance to set up a computer for me yet?

We get it – everyone is busy. However, you aren’t guaranteed to keep your new talent just because the desired candidate has accepted your offer letter. With today’s competitive war for talent, these top-notch professionals, with clearly recently updated resumes, owe it to no company to stick around if their employee experience isn’t up to expectations. Keep reading to learn how your onboarding affects the likelihood your new hire will stick around, about the metrics that truly matter throughout your onboarding program, and how you can lock in these professionals for the long haul.

Pop Quiz! Why Spend So Much Time on Onboarding?

Surely, you must be joking. We already finished the hard part: long hours putting up job postings, filtering through resumes, sitting through great (and not-so-great) interviews, and finally coming to an agreement with the newest addition to the team. You can finally take a deep breath, right? Not so fast. You should be devoting just as much time, if not more, to creating the best possible onboarding program. Check out these onboarding statistics from a report shared by Finances Online:

·   Onboarding programs can improve employee retention by 25%.

·   Well-designed onboarding plans can boost new hire performance by 11%.

·   Employees who participate in a structured onboarding program are 69% more likely to stay with an organization for 3 years. 

“Recruiting may be a tiresome process but focusing on creating a positive onboarding program for your new hires is critical,” says Marci Caudle, founder of TenFootLine. “A solid onboarding strategy can help boost productivity and reduce employee turnover, making it crucial to both your company culture and your bottom line.”

Grab a Ruler – It’s Time for Metrics that Matter.

So, you’re sold on creating a strategic onboarding program. While smiling faces, a free first-day lunch, and company-branded swag may seem like enough, in reality, this is merely a superficial investment. ‘A’ for effort? Not this time. The next three months (at least) need to be devoted to your new hire’s acceptance, engagement, and growth. While there are so many aspects of onboarding that can be measured, the talent acquisition experts at TenFootLine consider these 5 to be must-have metrics of every onboarding program:

1. Training Completion Rate – Repeatedly losing new hires throughout the training period can indicate an issue with the training methods, work environment, or possibly management, and should be closely reviewed to ensure higher productivity and improved morale.

2. Onboarding Satisfaction – The happier your new employee is, the more likely they will be dedicated to the role and engaged in their work. Provide new hires with surveys or 1-on-1 check-ins regularly to help ensure they’re fitting in, understanding their new role, and are becoming committed to their future at your company.

3. Time to Productivity – While it’s unfair to expect the same time-to-productivity metric across various roles, teams, and levels of authority, it’s important to establish reasonable expectations as to when your new hire will become a self-sufficient, productive member of your team. If new hires are consistently not hitting your time-to-productivity goal, it’s important to reevaluate whether your goal may be too aggressive or if there is a stage of your training that may require revamping.

4. New Hire Turnover (Voluntary and Involuntary) – Tracking the number of new hires who leave or are let go is one of the best indicators of your recruitment and onboarding programs. Using this information can help you determine if you’re not attracting or hiring applicants who are a good fit, or if the onboarding is not adequately preparing your new talent for the work that is expected.

5. Feedback – There is always opportunity for improvement. Try to gather feedback from as many people as possible, such as the new hires themselves, teammates, managers, and mentors. Perhaps there is a certain part of the job where your new hires are regularly lacking and should be emphasized more in the training process, or maybe more complex processes can be broken down to more snack-sized steps for easier-to-retain training sessions.

Highlight the Value of People-First Culture.

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients.” Maybe Sir Richard Branson was onto something. At the age of 71, this entrepreneur has a net worth of $4 billion and he certainly didn’t get that successful by neglecting the happiness of his employees. Curating a positive employee experience, from the very first interaction and throughout the life of their career with you, is fundamental to the success of your company.

“Thanks to the Great Resignation and the resulting war for talent, professionals are standing firm on what’s important to them and setting healthy boundaries like never before,” shares Marci Caudle. “And while that may have disrupted corporate life as we know it, agile companies, who understand that their people are their greatest asset, will use this as an opportunity to better their employee experience. These are the companies that will see substantial growth as a result of taking into consideration employee health, happiness, and development.”

While we can agree that there’s always opportunity to improve the employee experience, execution is more easily said than done. So how can a business take a people-first approach to onboarding?

Make Your New Hire’s First Day Memorable – We know you’re busy, but in today’s competitive talent climate, it’s equally important for the employer to make a great first impression. While it may seem like common sense, you’d be surprised how many times a new hire shows up to their first day, only to find IT hasn’t finished setting up their computer or phone, their chair is missing, or the desk has a thick film of dust on it. Instead, ensure everything is ready to go and focus on making your new teammate feel at home.

Welcome the New Hire to the Team – They may not remember everyone’s names or their roles but introducing your new hire to the rest of the team throughout the first day is instrumental in building a strong company culture. One study published by Officevibe shares that “70% of employees say friends at work is the most crucial element to a happy working life.” Furthermore, 50% of employees polled who say they have a best friend at work also reported that they have a strong connection with their company.

Create a Personalized Roadmap to Success for Your New Hire – While there may be a standard blueprint for your onboarding, these plans should not be rigid. Refusing to bend to what best fits each new hire is more likely to cause something to snap. Instead, discuss with your new hire how they learn best, what kind of support they find helpful, and any applicable preferences to this role’s onboarding process. While one new hire may be an introvert who prefers a digital experience, another may live by the law of hard copies and require more of your attention.

Have Regular Check-Ins & Actually Listen – When your new hire is first starting out, more frequent check-ins, such as weekly, may be required. However, it’s important to stay committed to the newest addition to your team throughout their entire onboarding process and continue with regular 30-, 60-, and 90-day check-ins if applicable. What works for some may not work for others, and meeting with them provides a great opportunity for feedback and detours on your roadmap to success as necessary.

Unsure If Your Onboarding Program Will Pass with Flying Colors?

Talent acquisition is evolving, and businesses will need to step up their onboarding strategy to retain top-notch professionals. If you’re experiencing new hire turnover or simply know you could be doing better, let’s connect! Send us a message to schedule a complimentary, no-obligation 30-minutes assessment of your organization’s onboarding program.