An effective onboarding program is a must-have for all successful organizations. Employees who feel they had a good onboarding experience are 2.6 times more likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace, according to research by Gallup. Unfortunately, the same research found that only 12% of U.S. employees say their company does a good job of onboarding.
So, what is onboarding, and what does it look like? Onboarding is a process for new employees to focus on building a positive and lasting relationship with the organization. During their first few months of employment, a new employee’s time and energy should be centered on building relationships with others and getting immersed in the organization's culture, enabling them to become a productive contributor in their work area.
Organizations often confuse orientation with onboarding. Although orientation is an important part of onboarding, they are not the same. Orientation is task and process focused. New-hire paperwork, selecting benefits, and learning where the bathrooms and breakrooms are located are some of the usual orientation activities. They typically are one-time events that occur during the first week or two and are administrative in nature. Onboarding is a lengthier, interactive process where an employee is immersed in the organization.
So, what are the benefits of an effective onboarding program? Here are three ways onboarding can help an organization.
Retention
An effective onboarding program helps retain employees. The Gallup research mentioned earlier found that employees with positive onboarding experience are more likely to stay with their organization for three years or longer. Onboarding is a foundational part of a new employee’s journey, focused on development, engagement, and becoming comfortable with their work. Such efforts reinforce to the employee that they made the right decision to come to the organization.
Productivity
New employees become productive faster when onboarding is done right. They become a contributing member of the team quickly because they get the right information at the right time from the right person. During onboarding, the new employee is provided with appropriate training based on a plan designed to maximize their success. Not only are they productive sooner, but the supervisor also saves time and energy due to a well-structured development plan that is part of the new employee’s onboarding.
Job Satisfaction
A new employee will experience a high level of job satisfaction through an effective onboarding process. That includes being introduced to the job and its expectations and learning how their job fits into the organization. An employee should learn what is expected and not encounter surprises in their new job.
Employee retention, productivity, and job satisfaction are but three of the benefits of an effective onboarding program. Onboarding takes time, resources, and effort. Organizations need to be intentional in developing a structured onboarding program and implementing it.
Mark Castillo is a human resources consultant for Employers Council.