Your recruitment process and your employee onboarding process are two halves of a co-existent whole and should ideally be approached as such. In fact, the employee onboarding process is Juliet to recruitment’s Romeo. And whilst it’s easy to get swept along on a recruitment adrenaline rush, attracting talent and making red hot hires is far from job done.
You see, recruiting goes to a signed offer. But, what next? This is the intersection where recruitment and onboarding need to seamlessly intertwine.
Recruiting corporation Jobvite explains, “Onboarding is a critical part of the candidate journey and can make the difference between a successful hire and an unsuccessful one. It’s important to make sure a new employee feels comfortable and prepared for their new role. Their success is reliant on your preparation and organization before they even start on day one.”
And truthfully, it’s impossible to underestimate the importance of the employee onboarding process. This is because the last thing you want is to risk losing your hard-won new hires by failing to follow through on an inspired candidate journey.
But, fear not! You can take humongous strides in the right direction by –
- Looking at the two sides of the coin – recruiting and onboarding – through a more holistic lens
- Implementing a more integrated recruitment and employee onboarding process
And here’s why you should seriously consider doing so sooner rather than later…
Why the Employee Onboarding Process is Fundamental to Quality Recruitment
Acing your employee onboarding process means strategically plugging the gap between the points when –
- A candidate accepts your job offer
- A new hire completes their new starter training and/or probation period
Failing to take an umbrella approach to recruitment and onboarding can – and does – result in:-
- Pre-Start Reneging on Acceptance or Ghosting – Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking under the best of circumstances. So, it’s understandable that your new hire might get cold feet and be tempted to look elsewhere if they’re left in the dark after accepting your offer. It makes a solid case for keeping them informed about what and when to expect, in the same way that you might already be used to doing pre-hire, during the recruitment process.
- Post-Start Disillusionment – The proof of the pudding, for a new hire, is when they start working with you. This is when they get to see your true colors. And they’re unlikely to be impressed if they’re carelessly dropped in at the deep end. Don’t provide them with the impetus to run for the hills by failing to put together and deliver a well-planned induction. Any shortfalls in your onboarding process don’t deliver on the promises you reeled in candidates with. And broken promises will see many intrepid new hires beating a hasty retreat.
And she’s right. After pulling out all the stops to entice candidates during the recruitment process, you need to keep wooing them during the early days of your relationship, to ensure you retain their interest.
So, what do awe-inspiring rules of engagement look like?
What Does a future Fit Employee Onboarding Process Include?
It’s a worthwhile exercise to approach your employee onboarding process in a similar touchpoint-by-touchpoint way to your recruitment process. Think about –
- What needs to happen?
- When it needs to happen?
- What comms are desirable at every step?
For example, some or all of the following steps are probably applicable to your employee onboarding process –
- Timely Written Job Offer – Don’t leave them dangling after your candidate has informally accepted your verbal job offer. They need certainty – fast! Any undue delay in emailing their job offer doesn’t reflect well on your business. A candidate might be uncomfortable about handing their notice in to their existing employer before receiving written confirmation. And you might be gazumped by a competitor.
- Automated New Starter Paperwork – There’s a lot of paperwork for both of you to plough through. But, with leading onboarding software, you can make child’s play of a challenge. So, factor in automated requests for contracts, bank, tax and medical paperwork, accompanied by digital signature and easy self-service uploading features. It couldn’t be quicker and simpler for both parties, (with the added advantage of being received and logged directly into your system).
- Pre-Start Staff Intranet Sign In – Provide your new hire with a login to your staff intranet, introduce them to their soon-to-be colleagues, and even invite them on any social events or Friday drinks that are coming up ahead of their start date.
- Induction/Probation Calendar – Get your heads together with your new hire’s Line Manager and plot a considered time-lined calendar for the first week, month, quarter or other role-specific induction period. And share it with your new hire, so that they can see what’s in store for them and get excited about diving in.
- Pre-Training and Induction – Make it a thing of the past to leave new hires in a corner on their first day reading your Employee Handbook. Let’s be honest, it’s mundane. And their time is better spent getting involved with their new team on the frontline. Provide them with digital versions of their job description, staff benefits and related HR information before they start. In addition, you can also ask them to complete early training modules. This is a compelling pre-emptive strike to make them feel like they’re part of the furniture long before they actually are, (so long as you’re not putting unreasonable unpaid demands on their spare time!).
- Pre-Scheduled Welcome Email Sequence – If you’re already using a premium ATS, you’re likely already leveraging a pre-scheduled email sequence ahead of interviews. Doing the same for new hires ahead of their start dates is merely a continuation of this process. It doesn’t have be over the top to make an impact. Something like “Just one week to go and we can’t wait to welcome you aboard” is fine. But it will make your new hire feel expected, planned for, and like they’re about to join a great employer.
At HireRoad, we understand that there’s more to designing and implementing an exemplary employee onboarding process than meets the eye. And, we also understand that awesome onboarding shouldn’t mean doubling your workload. That’s why our leading ATS and onboarding combo practically does all the hard work for you.
Are you planning to design a new employee onboarding process? Or, concerned that your existing process doesn’t do justice to your recruitment efforts? Then get in touch to arrange a demo and see for yourself how unrivalled onboarding software can take the entire process to a whole new level.