Three Ways to Improve Employee Retention Through Onboarding
Onboarding can make or break your new hire’s experience. Many employers want the best talents on their teams, but only a handful of employers provide a structured onboarding experience for their new hires. With employees, first impressions matter. New hires decide on their commitment to an organisation within their first three months of employment. This decision is shaped by their onboarding experience.
Consider that:
- Only 1 in 10 employees agree that their company does an excellent job of onboarding new hires.
- 22% of staff quit their jobs within the first 45 days of employment.
- At least half of the workforce at any given time is on the search for a new job.
- The cost of hiring new employees is twice the cost of retaining employees.
A high employee retention rate prevents work instability. By retaining employees, you build a reliable workforce for your organisation, prevent marginal and significant losses of time, effort, and energy, and let your employees feel like a part of the vision. Here are three things you can do to improve retention rates through onboarding.
Set Expectations for Onboarding
A good onboarding process boosts an employee’s commitment to a company over a long period. When planning your company’s onboarding, think about the people. How can you get your new hires excited to work in your company? Can you automate the administrative end of onboarding ‒ completing necessary documentation for payroll and taxes, providing login details, etc?
When thinking long-term about onboarding, be intentional about promoting continuous learning. Track performances, ask questions, and request feedback.
Beyond this, you should invest in communicating with your new hires through their first week (and month) at your company. Let them know what they are supposed to work on and the tools at their disposal. Save them the time spent on figuring things out by providing necessary guides. A simple note such as “Provide work updates via Slack” can fast-track a new hire’s time to productivity within their first week.
When thinking long-term about onboarding, be intentional about promoting continuous learning. Track performances, ask questions, and request feedback. A happy, vibrant environment ‒ remote or physical ‒ will make your employees feel appreciated.
Create a 90-day plan
A 90-day plan is a key step in integrating a new hire into your company culture. During this period, the new hire gets familiar with the company, the teams, the vision, and the objectives.
You can set goals for an employee’s performance during the period. This 90-day period is a probationary period during which you track an employee’s performance, attitude towards work, self-leadership initiatives, and ability to meet outlined KPIs. You can offer quality feedback, address problems, and supply training materials for improved performance. This will give the employee sufficient time to review, correct, and adjust their courses of action on the role.
Use an HR Software
An easy-to-use HR tool facilitates an effective onboarding process. You can automate a list of procedures and create time for the more important tasks of offering real-time counsel and feedback, providing learning resources, and keeping employees happy.
When choosing HR software, choose one that meets your company’s needs. It should be easy to navigate so HR teams can collect information as needed, grant access to tools, and share documents. Can employees request time off work from the HR software? That’s a big flex. What counts, primarily, is that the tool enables a seamless work experience for your employees.
Key Takeaway
A happy employee thinks twice about seeking new offers. The cost of recruiting new hires to feel vacant roles overwhelms the cost of keeping your employees happy. An intentional onboarding experience ‒ which includes an employee-focused probationary period ‒ will increase employee retention rates. This will help you build a reliable team that moves your company forward.
Onboardly provides efficient, automated HR operations for HRs and employers, including leave management scheduling within two minutes. New to Onboardly? Sign up for a 14-day free trial today to start managing your employees’ experience and improving retention rates.
Read More on Managing Employees
- How to Improve Your Employee’s Performance Through Onboarding.
- Should You Set a Probationary Period for New Hires?
