Why the On-boarding Experience is Key for Retention

Why the On-boarding Experience is Key for Retention

Employee onboarding is not mere a part of those processes which are required to hire. There is much more than meeting a person on the very first day and not leaving him only with the introduction. The general perception which revolves around onboarding is limited to the paperwork and a welcome note on the very first day. But that’s not the reality. The first day is just the beginning which can even go tilla year. Making a new employee settle in the company is not that easy.  This is a complete change for the new hire in terms of the work environment, teams and many other factors. Also, for the employer handling new hires in the initial days is crucial. A lot more depends on this strategy which might go deep down with the mindset of new employees. Not to mention, for the new employees these are one of those critical days which might help him decide whether he really want to continue or change in the coming months. Whenever any employee leaves the company, getting a replacement is a task and double cost to the company. Also, there is no guarantee when the right replacement would turn up. So, anyone leaving might be a concern and why onboarding matters if any organisation wants to retain its employees. Additionally, not only cost but the entire culture and job satisfaction can be impacted too. An effective and well- designed onboarding process can significantly change the scenario, impacting more on employee retention.

Why the first impression is important?:  There are many surveys which prove that any new employees can decide in the first six months if they really want to continue or drop in the organization. The only reason is adapting new culture and when they don’t see them settling well with others they chose to quit in between. Thus, due to these reasons, the recruitment cycle keeps going on for long.

Here, a proper on-boarding can change this and bring positive feedback from the employees. The very first day when the new employee step-in matters and this is how the first impression goes to them. If there is no one to attend and there are lapses in the entire on-boarding process, they might find it difficult to carry on with the company.

What are the core on-boarding objectives?

One of the surveys claims that whenever new hires go through a proper on-boarding process, they are supposed to stay in the company for at least 3 years. Not only retention but it also improves the employee’s performance by 11%. In both ways, effective on-boarding can help an organisation to achieve its goals. There should be a proper plan for the on-boarding process.

It cannot work as spontaneous or any haphazard manner. It should have clarity when to start, what the ways, role, how long it would last, what are the key roles and goals and proper feedback to improve things if any.

Successful integration matters: Whenever a company needs talent or set skills it’s hard to find one. One can say that’s most critical as any other challenge one can get. Any growing company needs recruitment and hiring in regular intervals for achieving their targets, but integration is another challenge. Despite hiring a core talent, if the integration is missing then there are chances that they might leave in between.

Employees leaving in between is a double cost to the company and no one wants to get into the repeated process of recruitment for the same positions. But if the objective is to make new hires feel positive about the company then the conventional approach of one-day orientation might fail.

That’s why on-boarding is not only about introduction but an extensive process which starts from the job offer letter till he gets productive to the company. And not to mention, the feedback which is most critical, and which might differ.

Why on-boarding matters so much?

Are you check out the surveys and various research which talks about on-boarding and related results you will be surprised to know the facts? Getting talent and making them settle to be productive go hand in hand.    An on-boarding program if executed properly and which helps employees to engage early improves retention and improves productivity.

The results can always be seen with the help of various studies made in the same context. That much powerful on-boarding can happen and how it changes the entire concept of healthy working spaces. Also, on-boarding isn’t a quick fix, it takes time and many other aspects like personal touch and transparency can bring a positive approach to the entire organization.

There is no second thought on why on-boarding is a key to retention. It’s as crucial as any other process and every company should make it as mandatory for the better working environment and retention ratio. See also:  Bring Your Team Together