What is Onboarding?
According to IPADE Business School, "it is a practice that seeks to accelerate the incorporation of human capital into the company". This practice aims to help new employees join and adapt to the company's culture quickly. Likewise, it aims to socialize them and ease their acceptance by the people who are already part of the company.
Many of these socialization tactics in the organizational environment were analyzed and structured by Van Maanen and Schein (1979 ) and, over time, they have given way to current trends such as the Employee Journey, imported from marketing, and which makes it possible to structure a map with the phases in the employee's journey from his first contact with the company to his last day.
Many of these socialization tactics in the organizational environment were analyzed and structured by Van Maanen and Schein (1979) and, over time, have given way to trends as current as the Employee Journey, imported from marketing, which allows us to structure a map with the phases in the employee's journey from their first contact with the company to their last day in it.
Making use of these type of actions represent benefits both for those who enter and for the company, some advantages that have been evidenced are:
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Feeling of personal satisfaction.
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High level of commitment.
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Develop a sense of belonging.
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Better performance in their future role.
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Visible results: increased productivity.
Onboarding Objectives
The Onboarding process has several main objectives that contribute to the successful integration of a new employee into the company. These objectives include:
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Facilitating adaptation: Helping the new employee become familiar with the company, its culture, organizational structure, policies, and procedures.
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Accelerating productivity: Providing the new employee with the tools, training, and information necessary for them to start contributing effectively as soon as possible.
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Fostering retention: Helping the new employee feel welcome and valued from the beginning, increasing the likelihood that they will decide to stay with the company in the long term.
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Promoting job satisfaction: Ensuring that the new employee feels comfortable, secure, and supported in their new work environment.
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Building relationships: Facilitating the creation of positive and collaborative relationships between the new employee, their team, and other members of the company.
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Clarifying expectations: Ensuring that the new employee clearly understands their responsibilities, goals, and performance expectations.
In summary, the Onboarding process’ main objective is to ensure a smooth and successful transition for the new employee, allowing them to integrate quickly into the company and start contributing effectively as soon as possible.
How can we apply successful Onboarding processes?
To carry out this strategy, we must first create an action plan that covers the experiences prior to the employee's entry, from operational and practical aspects such as the
reading and signing of the contract or delivery of
materials work (computer equipment, stationery, etc.), through
accompaniment on their first day, to long-term aspirational aspects such as the
creation of a sense of belonging strong>,
involve the person in the organizational mission and vision, up to the development of satisfaction questionnaires for the reception process itself for subsequent analysis and improvement of the applied strategy.
And in order to make this happen we must be especially careful about two parts of the plan:
The first is that we must make sure to
instill a sense of belonging in the new collaborator, and we can achieve this with acts as simple as: a
welcome kit with corporate materials, assign a sponsor/mentor to accompany and train them in their new functions, invite them to meetings and take their opinion into account, open contact spaces not related to work, among others. All of the above will allow the collaborator to develop engagement and voluntarily invest their energy, passion and willingness to carry out their duties in the best way.
The second part in which we must be careful is in
the feedback that we can receive from these new participants in the organization. This is where tools such as
personal surveys are an ally for you, since you have to take advantage of the fact that the new team member comes up with new ideas for them to share before they completely adapt and forget to give us that " fresh vision" of the early days. In addition, people will like to feel that their opinion matters to us and is taken into account.
In addition, it is important to ensure that you monitor their learning period during the first months. For this, we can count on self-assessments, as well as evaluations by their direct managers or closest collaborators. Thus, the employee will have the opportunity to demonstrate how much they know and have learned about the organization, its values, its mission. He will also be able to value their strengths, the role they will play from now on, who their colleagues are, and they will even be able to express what their desire is for the future within the organization.
Having this information will help to better direct the person's focus and efforts, as well as to confirm if we are indeed incorporating the right person into the team.
It is also necessary to emphasize that it is not only important to launch surveys, but the subsequent analysis, which is of great importance to make decisions that allow the human resources areas, a 360º management of human talent and in special retention and development of the same.
How to Design an Onboarding Plan
1. Planning
Clearly define Onboarding goals. Design a detailed plan that covers every step from the initial welcome to full integration into the team. Establish a schedule with the tasks and activities that the new employee will carry out during the first weeks or months.
2. Personalization
Adapt the Onboarding process to the specific needs of each position and each employee. Provide relevant information about the company, its culture, values, history, and organizational structure. Assign a mentor or colleague who can guide the new employee during their first weeks in the company.
3. Effective communication
Maintain clear and open communication with the new employee from the moment they accept the job offer. Provide all necessary information before the first day, such as office location, working hours, etc. Establish regular meetings to review the progress of the new employee and address any questions or concerns they may have.
4. Training and development
Provide training on the tools, processes, and procedures necessary for the new employee to perform their job effectively. Offer opportunities for professional development and growth within the company.
5. Feedback and follow-up
Provide regular feedback on the new employee’s performance. Establish periodic meetings to review progress and address any issues or concerns that may arise.
6. Evaluation and continuous improvement
Regularly evaluate the Onboarding process to identify areas for improvement. Request feedback from both the new employee and the team to identify which aspects of the process work well and which ones could be improved.
Remember that a successful Onboarding process does not end after the first few days or weeks of the new employee, but is an ongoing process that can last for several months. The goal is to ensure that the new employee feels welcome, integrated, and is able to contribute effectively to the team and the company.
How to Evaluate Onboarding Processes?
To evaluate Onboarding processes, it is important to consider key factors such as:
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Selection and hiring process
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Welcome Program
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Commitment
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Other general issues
At Hrider, our clients have access to a Model Library with dozens of templates to evaluate processes such as Onboarding. You can download our free template for Onboarding Evaluation
here.
All these new tools and strategies, developed and implemented every day by thousands of companies, show us that they are necessary not only to attract the best talent, but also to enjoy it for a long time.
And do you already apply these practices within your company?