Onboarding New Employees in a Tough Economy | Business 2 ...

In a tough economy with unemployment numbers holding steady at high marks, hiring and retaining employees shouldn?t be all that hard. It should be a buyer?s market with a selection of extremely qualified candidates ready to go to work and willing to be in it for the long haul. Yet, all too often, new hires are sent back to the unemployment line because they?re incompatible with company culture. They may look good on paper and have interviewed well, but the lack of proper onboarding procedures leaves a critical blind spot that can lead to second thoughts for employers, new hires or both.

An effective first step in setting up and successfully implementing an effective onboarding program is to go back to the beginning ? the very beginning. Disclosure of vital employee information starts with the application and interview stage of the hiring process. If a system were in place that kept track of?prospective?employee information and was capable of easily transferring it electronically to the appropriate departments and automatically populating required documentation, a new employee?s first week would go much smoother.

The Right Documents at the Right Time

Employee onboarding software?can be customized for your business so that the information your HR and other departments require is efficiently stored in a database that also automatically transfers that information to the necessary hiring and employee forms, no matter how unique they are to your company. It saves time and money since your new hire doesn?t have to spend so much of her first few days filling out forms and your managers and HR staff don?t have to spend so much of their time chasing down missing information.

Give New Hires All the Info They Need

Aside from data gathering, there?s the dilemma of trying to smooth out the transition process. Educating your new employee on company culture helps him slide as seamlessly as possible into his new role. Many companies consider this the responsibility of an orientation program, but like data collection, orientation tasks can also begin before the hire.

In a list of onboarding tips for?Inc., Fred Cooper of Compass HR Consulting recommends tying certain aspects of the orientation in with the recruiting program. If your company requires things like drug testing or background checks, for instance, applicants can be told so before you?ve made a decision or an offer. Allowing applicants to bring up concerns about their background or to decline a drug test can narrow the pool down, saving time and money.

Orientation should be visual and precise

Making actual orientation activities more efficient can be accomplished by providing the information via video. Being visual creatures, we can often retain more information by watching it rather than reading it. In his article about onboarding for?Huffington Post?s Blog, Brian Kelly points out that video creates an emotional connection that isn?t established with a pamphlet or through a lecture. With videos, you can control the delivery and the feel of the content, making the presentations more concise and consistent. You can also eliminate the risks of omitted information or a negative impression. And with current technology, digital video can be delivered through email, stored on the company?s website or even loaded on YouTube for access anytime.

Presenting company policies, department overviews, job expectations and vacation and benefits information in a positive format along with proactive data gathering and storage will make the hiring and transition processes flow smoothly. Your new hire isn?t the only one out to make a good first impression; making a positive impression and retaining new employees is easier when you implement efficient onboarding procedures.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/human-resources/onboarding-new-employees-in-a-tough-economy-0304226

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