What does Staff Onboarding Mean?
‘Onboarding’, is all the activity that a company and a person need to do from the point of the job offer to when a new employee is up and running and productive within the company.
In HR, People Management and Personnel circles, new terms and processes come up from time to time that non-specialist managers and business owners need to find out about.
Welcoming New Hires
Some companies also like to demonstrate how much new hires mean to them by leaving quirky welcome kit packs and fun gifts next to their flashy new devices as they arrive at their new desks on day 1.
For millennials and in some industries these are almost seen as standard, welcoming touches.
HR Onboarding Software Helps the Process
The reality of the general onboarding process though is, traditionally, heavily laden with administration work and ‘red tape.
Onboarding software can take care of a lot of this via automation.
- Contracts
- Medicals
- Health and safety documentation
- Ordering equipment
- Physical and IT access rights
- Benefits sign-ups
- Induction
- Training
- Objective setting
- Introductions to key personnel
- Client and supplier introductions
- Mobile phone allocations
- Issuing employee handbooks and signing off on the receipt of key company policy documents etc., etc.
… and a lot more. You get the picture.
Going Overboard on Onboarding?
In some big companies, I have seen the job title “Onboarding Manager” or, wait for it, “Organisational Socialisation Manager”.
But, in all seriousness, this process can be the difference between a recruit becoming productive or leaving the business.
Automate Onboarding and Increase Employee Retention
A company can spend vast amounts of money on recruitment. Whether you’ve invested that heavily or not, paying close attention to your onboarding process and the messaging it sends to new hires about how your company culture will benefit them during their time with you can increase your employee retention rates and lift productivity in your workplace.
Yes, you can automate onboarding to a huge extent by using employee onboarding software Cloud HR systems like (*plug alert!) HRLocker – or even onboard them directly from your recruitment software. But, a simple list with a schedule for onboarding the employee – that’s owned by the Hiring Manager – can be very effective and a nice personal touch to show that you care and have all the relevant boxes ticked as you help someone into their new role.
So the next time you see the term “onboarding” you will now know what it means and you can speak in confidence about what it’s about and its importance.
