Sesame HROnboarding
Human resource management is one of the most overburdened departments within an organization. The primary responsibility of HR is to onboard recruits and keep the employee retention rate higher. While it may seem like a piece of cake, managing the onboarding and recruitment process is time-consuming and hectic. Stay with us and find out how […]
Isabel García
HR Consultant
14 of June, 2022
Human resource management is one of the most overburdened departments within an organization. The primary responsibility of HR is to onboard recruits and keep the employee retention rate higher. While it may seem like a piece of cake, managing the onboarding and recruitment process is time-consuming and hectic. Stay with us and find out how modern companies are doing it.
The rational methods of onboarding rely on paperwork and cumbersome forms. Moreover, compliance is another critical factor in the recruitment and onboarding process. The complex functions of an HR team make it extremely difficult to retain employees. According to statistics, 22% of employees do not show up on the joining date after accepting the offer letter.
Consequently, losing employees will increase the workload of HR managers as they will have to look out for more candidates. The problem is that the HR team will have to repeat the whole process to fill the void created by the employees who never showed up.
That is where the HR team understands why onboarding is essential. Generally, the onboarding processes lack excitement and fail to impact the employees. Resultantly, the to-be employees never show up and look for better opportunities.
Therefore, HR managers grill on the possibilities of making the onboarding process seamless to increase the employee retention ratio. With technological advancement, HR is utilizing automation to streamline the onboarding process. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of the onboarding process and how modern companies are doing it.
As the name implies, onboarding is the process of integrating new hires on the organization’s platform. Generally, this process is under the umbrella of the human resources department. Onboarding is the first impression of an organization. Therefore, HR managers must ensure that the recruits get the best out of the first impression.
An onboarding process starts right after the candidate is selected after the recruitment process. The activities of the onboarding process fall into two categories; formal activities and informal activities. The HR department formulates the scope of activities, and they vary with every organization. However, some parts of the activities are common.
To sum it all up, the following table will highlight some most common formal and informal activities of the onboarding process.
| Formal Activities | Informal Activities |
| Providing Offer Letter | Facility Tour |
| Communicating Formal Welcome Email | Interaction With Different Departments |
| Sharing Information on Dress Code and Office Conduct | Introduction With Team Members and Team Leader |
| Orientation | Visiting Recreational Area |
| Assigning Workstation and Official Contacts | Throwing A Welcome Party |
The onboarding process is a combination of formal and informal steps. However, proper execution of every step is mandatory to ensure a higher retention rate. Since we know what onboarding means for a job, now is the time to get familiar with the steps involved.
Providing the offer letter right after completing the recruitment process is the first formal step of the onboarding process. Many organizations linger on with the provision of the offer letter. Meanwhile, during the time between an offer letter and the interview, a candidate might be open to other job offers.
Therefore, HR managers must arrange offer letters without making the selected candidates wait. A prompt provision of an offer letter will build trust with the employee on behalf of the organization. Furthermore, the contents of an offer letter must be transparent and include every detail the employee should know.
Communication is the tactical weapon of an HR team. After accepting the offer letter, the recruits will have to report at a specific joining date. The timeframe between the acceptance of the offer letter and the joining date is of sheer importance for HR managers.
Therefore, keeping constant communication within this period is the second most crucial onboarding step. It is pertinent to mention that a candidate may be open to offers from other organizations during this period. Hence, communication and engagement are necessary if you want your recruits to show up on the first day.
Managing the first day of new employees is also an uphill task for the HR team. New employees get a complete tour of the office by the HR team. Furthermore, some HR experts recommend using small gifts to welcome newbies to the organization. It will have long-lasting impacts, and the employees will never forget their first day.
Moreover, assigning workstations and training material is also an essential part of the first day. The new employees are mostly confused or nervous on the first day. Therefore, HR should instill maximum confidence in the employees on the first day.
Orientation and on-job training are the most vital steps of an onboarding process. The new employees get to know the organization’s mission, working mechanism, and culture in general orientation. At the same time, the on-job training is specifically related to the work and responsibilities of the employees. Training is a vital aspect as it will help the new employees to fulfill their obligations.
The onboarding process comes to an end when the employees start contributing to the organization’s productivity. It is up to the HR team to keep the recruits updated and engaged until that point.
The tenure of an onboarding process varies per the organization. Some organizations keep the onboarding process for a few days. In contrast, others may take up to 6 months since training is also a part of the onboarding process.
Ideally, the onboarding process of 90 days is considered sufficient. A poorly planned onboarding process will only last for a few days and result in employee dissatisfaction. Hence, the tenure of onboarding should be selected by the job requirements so that the employees are well-versed with the work after completing this process.
The traditional onboarding processes consisting of paperwork are outdated. As a result, technological development has eased the work of HR managers. Nowadays, companies use onboarding software such as Sesame HR to streamline the onboarding process.
An onboarding software takes the load off the shoulders of the HR team and follows a checklist of steps digitally. These are some of the benefits of Sesame’s onboarding software:
Every task of the onboarding process will become seamless with the use of this dynamic software.
I'm Marcos López, HR consultant at Sesame HR. Book a meeting with my team to help you.
USA
Mexico
Colombia
Costa Rica
Chile
Peru
Brazil
Spain
France
UK
Italy
Germany
Netherlands
Portugal
