Information technologies have significantly impacted on typical HR functions. Today, both businesses overwhelmingly apply technological solutions in talent acquisition, duty allocation, employee retention, and so forth.
Onboarding, one of the human resource functions where the significance of technology cannot be downplayed, is what we will focus on in this post. Research shows that about 69 percent of employees are likely to stay with their current employer if they were put through an excellent onboarding process. What this means is that, to attain better customer retention, it is imperative for businesses to ensure that they implement an effective onboarding strategy. And what is a better way than to use the latest technologies?
In this article, we will highlight some excellent tips for improving your onboarding programs with new technologies. Let’s get started, shall we?
Use Digital Fill-In Forms for Your Onboarding Process
The “pen and paper” method of collecting information on new members is no longer a best practice. At least not in the modern workplace. As a proactive business owner, it is vital to leverage new technology when obtaining information regarding your employees. Digital fill-in forms are an excellent example of tech you could easily implement to save recruits from tedious paperwork.
Acquaint New Employees with Your Team Using Video Introductions
A good number of us find it difficult to remember the names of people we’ve just met. Recruits too, face this problem when they join a new company. While they might be introduced to people within a particular business on hiring, keeping up with their names might prove to be a daunting endeavor.
To make it easy for new workers to recall the names of other members, you could ask your team to create video profiles. Then, ensure that recruits access these videos to learn more about their workmates.
Improve Onboarding Process by Availing Info on Social Media
It is essential that new workers get acquainted with the corporate culture as fast as possible. On average, a worker requires eight months before they can reach full productivity at the workplace. However, you can cut down on this length by providing your recent employees with information regarding the company culture on social media.
Check out these statistics to better understand the importance of social media in the workplace.
A 2018 study by Igloo concluded that about 68 percent of employees are connected with their workmates on social media. And of all the social platforms, Facebook takes most connections at 91%.
As a recruiter, you can leverage the power of social media by providing information on cultural and core values on various social sites. You could create video presentations and post them up on various social sites where new talents can watch them. Moreover, you could create informative social media pages containing work-related stories. New hires can learn from these sources of information, adapt to the workplace, attain a sense of belonging, and thus become productive way sooner.
That said, it is important to note that employees are bound to practice a level of discretion. Here is an expert’s comment on the matter.
“Only one-third or about 30 percent of employees are ready to connect with coworkers on social media. Millennials are twice as likely to be open to social media connections than Baby Boomers, while men are more welcoming of social web interactions at 31 percent compared to women at 21 percent. Therefore, hiring managers need to consider their demographic to achieve successful onboarding via social media.” – says Mark Slack, a Human Resource Manager at Skillroads.
Use Online Courses to Educate New Employees about the Job
87 percent that is how many millennials stated that access to career growth opportunities and professional development were vital to them in deciding whether to stay with their current employer.
To ensure that the orientation phase is successful, it is essential for human resources departments to offer their new talent opportunities for learning about marketing plans, job-related administrative procedures, business strategies, and so forth. By providing courses online, companies can easily acclimatize new workers at a pace that is ideal for them.
Provide Audio Tutorials with Company Information to Recruits
As a recruiter, you can also use audios to ensure that young talents get to settle within their jobs fast. Audio files are particularly helpful to workers who spend a lot of time commuting to and from the workplace. They can listen to voice files containing useful information on the company while traveling.
Use Virtual Reality to Familiarize Recruits with Company Premises
VR can provide your new talent with a great onboarding experience. It will help the team learn about the company premises and provide them with a comprehensive overview of their departments they will be working in.
VR also enables recruits to practice thus reduce mistakes when they begin their actual duties.
Consider Gamification to Inspire New Employees
Games are an excellent way of boosting employee engagement. You could consider designing an array of contests and quizzes to make your employees more acclimatized to the workplace in a fun way. Be sure to pick a suitable gamification model to ensure that your employees get an experience that is specific to your business.
A good understanding of company duties, IT skills and some creativity are enough to see you create an excellent gamification model.
Keep Track of Your Onboarding Metrics
Keep tabs of all your onboarding data to minimize staff turnovers. Regularly update and re-evaluate your onboarding data to identify what practices give the best results and which ones need to be done away with.
To conclude, the tips highlighted here will help you enhance your employee acquisition and retention process. However, that’s not all of it. You can always learn about new strategies to ensure that you stay competitive in the recruitment market.
About the author:
Alice Berg is a blogger and career advisor, who helps people to find their own way in life, gives career advice and guidance, helps young people to prepare for their careers. You can find Alice on Twitter.