Effective Onboarding Strategy Is Vital for Employee Retention | #hrmanagement #hrexecutive

Nowadays, many companies make an effort to create a unique work environment, company culture and work conditions that nourish trust, productivity and employee engagement. It’s up to the HR departments to welcome new hires and help them adjust to the new environment. It’s also very important that the HR department caters to the needs of existing employees to prevent costly turnovers.

This is all part of an onboarding process that plays a vital role in employee satisfaction. HR departments use different strategies, software and tactics to make the onboarding process as efficient as possible. Unfortunately, many company polices tend to hinder onboarding processes, so that the company wouldn’t spend too many resources. With that in mind, here are a few reason why the onboarding process is vital for employee retention and satisfaction.

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Helping new hires to adapt

When a new employee arrives at the company it usually takes around eight months for them to reach their full potential and productivity. That said, around 37% of companies extend their onboarding process longer than just a month. Therefore, it’s up to the HR departments to pick up the slack and ensure that new employees are properly adjusted to the new environment.

The main reason is that up to 20% of employee turnovers happen withing the first 45 days. That being said, HR departments should strongly consider to get to know more about PWA short for Progressive Website Applications. Using this technology, HR departments can provide assistance and onboarding to new hires at all time because PWAs  can even work offline. Employees who are satisfied because they went through a well-designed and structured onboarding program are 58% more likely to remain with a company for three years or more.

That’s why HR departments have their hands full when it comes to helping new hires. After all, turnovers can be quite costly and no company can afford a high employee turnover rate. Unfortunately, only HR employees see it that way while company executives usually pay it no mind until it directly affects the company’s bottom line.

Employee retention

No one likes to feel left out, especially new employees who recently began working at your company. That said, 60% of companies fail to set milestones or goals for new hires. Furthermore, 35% of companies don’t have any formal onboarding process whatsoever. In such cases, new employees are likely to feel left out and neglected, which encourages them to seek employment elsewhere.

That’s why 23% of new hire turnovers happen before their first year with the company. Looking from a financial point of view, the estimated replacement costs for employee turnover is anywhere between 100% and 300% of that employee’s salary. That’s why it’s crucial to have an effective onboarding process and allow HR departments to manage both the onboarding and new hires. The main reason is that effective onboarding processes lead by HRs can result in at least 50% greater new hire retention.

Employee satisfaction

As mentioned earlier, it takes around eight months for a new hire to reach full productivity. During that period, it’s of vital importance to meet the needs of new hires so that they won’t consider looking for a new job. Different organizations and their HR departments have different approaches when it comes to ensuring employee satisfaction. However, there are a few strategies that have proven to be quite effective and encourage employees to stay. Here are a few examples.

• Great onboarding – 69% of new hires are likely to stay with a company for three years if they’re satisfied with the onboarding process.
• Salary increase – 65% of new employees feel like they can find a new job that offers more compensation for the same job position.
• Employee involvement – Involving new hires in projects and decision-making processes will encourage them to become more productive and engaged.
• Investing in employees – Helping employees learn new skills or hone their existing ones so that they can become more productive boosts morale and inspires loyalty.
• Praise and rewards – Showing appreciation for their work and rewarding employees for achieving business goals encourages them to do their best.

An effective onboarding process should be a top priority for every company or organization. This not only helps HR departments manage new hires more efficiently but it also ensures employee satisfaction and helps organizations avoid employee turnovers.