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Start on the Right Foot With Digital Onboarding, Part 1

Recruiting in today’s tight labor market is no small task. A report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 9 of 15 industries were competing for a limited amount of qualified candidates.

So once you hire the right applicant, your problems are solved, right?

Not quite. Onboarding is a pivotal period where new employees come to understand and (hopefully) adopt the company’s vision and their role within it. If a new hire isn’t fully engaged with your organization, they could reenter the labor market to find a more suitable fit. How can better onboarding push back against the rising tide of turnover? We’ve got a few tips you should consider.

Embrace the digital reality

HR pros have been talking about the digital transformation for over a decade when discussing the exponential development of tech in our society. But in the wake of 2020, we must accept that the digital reality is finally here.

How does this relate to onboarding? It begins with employee expectations, especially in a consumer marketplace full of user-friendly self-service technology.

According to a OnePoll survey, 68% of office workers don’t believe their company prioritizes digital transformation. What’s more, 67% would take a pay cut to have technology twice as good as what they have now.

This survey also found nearly 50% of employees signed up for benefits using digital forms or email, while only around 17% used HR software. That means more than 82% of them had to use paper forms, email or some other outdated, manual method. This can lead to daily, on-the-job frustration, but during onboarding and early in the employer/employee relationship, it also gives your new hires a preview of the kind of efficiency and/or frustration they can expect in their workplace.

When you embrace the digital reality, you’ll not only provide a streamlined onboarding process, but also send a clear message to your staff about your commitment to the organization’s future and, by extension, their future as well.

Engage and retain talent with digital onboarding

Realize the importance of effective onboarding

When you start onboarding early, you get paperwork out of the way so you can focus on culture and values from the first day. It also helps lock in new hires so they don’t accept a position at another company. But it shouldn’t end there.

To truly set your new hires up for success, onboarding should extend well beyond Day 1. The first several months are a critical period during which 86% of new hires decide if they want to stick around. Truly effective onboarding should include ongoing feedback and support. Yet only 15% of organizations extend onboarding beyond six months, and only 2% extend the process to a full year.

Studies show companies prioritizing onboarding enjoy 62% higher productivity, 54% higher engagement and 157% less turnover. The cost of not focusing on onboarding? According to SHRM, the average U.S. employer spends about $4,120 and 42 days to hire a new worker and 25% of all new employees leave within that first year at an average cost of $10,731 each. Without a strong onboarding process to increase employee engagement and get them committed to your organization, your turnover will rise and you can look forward to the increased cost and lowered productivity that comes from the efforts required to fill those newly vacant positions.

Are you ready to learn more about delivering superior onboarding for your newest team members? Be sure to read more in part two!