Are you still wondering if onboarding is necessary? Read on to discover 4 benefits of implementing the right employee onboarding training program.
For many years, employee onboarding consisted of signing the necessary paperwork and giving new employees a tour of the office. But today’s corporate world is more demanding than ever. If you want your new hires to add value to your organization and not head towards the exit after a few short months, you have to be more organized than that. Specifically, you have to create a comprehensive employee onboarding training program. In this article, we talk about the warning signs that your onboarding process is lacking, as well as the benefits the right onboarding training program can provide.
Does Your Company Need An Onboarding Training Program?
The answer to this question is rather simple. All organizations need an onboarding program to ensure that their employees are putting their best foot forward. However, in some cases, businesses create a training program and leave it be, never checking if it’s actually effective. Here are some signs you need to keep an eye out for, which indicate that it’s time to implement or freshen up your organization’s onboarding process.
Increased New Hire Turnover
Unsuccessful or nonexistent onboarding is very likely to cause new employees to get quickly disappointed with their new job and leave. The first few months of a new job are the most challenging for a new employee. Consequently, if you don’t give them the necessary support, you will find yourself going through costly hiring processes very often.
Confusion Among New Employees
If you notice that your new hires are spending their first days or weeks wandering around aimlessly, it probably means your onboarding training program is lacking. Frequently, employers neglect to give new team members a comprehensive description of their role, its goals, and how those contribute to the company’s larger purpose. As a result, employees never connect to their new workplace, which leads to decreased productivity and engagement.
Lack Of Motivation
Motivated employees are easy to spot. They are always willing to bring new ideas to the table, learn new things, and try their best to promote the objectives of their organization. If your new hires aren’t displaying this behavior a few months in, your onboarding training program didn’t spark their interest. As a result, they make no real effort to understand and become part of your company culture by doing the bare minimum.
Many Preventable Mistakes
Job descriptions give little information about the daily tasks that come with a new position. It is up to the employee onboarding training program to let new hires know how things are done in your company and what is expected of them. When that doesn’t happen, new hires are left to find solutions to problems on their own, and the fear of seeming inadequate might keep them from asking questions. Therefore, if you notice frequent misunderstandings and mistakes, take it as a sign to upgrade your new hire training program.
4 Ways The Right Onboarding Benefits Your Organization
Now that we know what ineffective onboarding causes, let’s also see how different things can be when you implement an effective onboarding program.
1. Attracts And Retains Top Talent
In recent years, businesses have been offering new employees more and more perks to attract them. And although it’s easy to match higher salaries or more PTO, offering meaningful opportunities for professional development is substantially harder. However, if you invest in a robust employee onboarding program, you can create a comprehensive knowledge base that will make your company sought after among employees. As a result, you will expand your talent pool and be able to attract top talent that will add value to your business.
2. Increases Employee Engagement
Many things contribute to job satisfaction, such as compensation and company culture, but it seems that employee engagement is what makes an employee stick around for the long haul. And you want employees to engage in their job early on. By creating an educational and pleasant onboarding training program, employees gain valuable insight regarding their position as well as the vision and values of their new workplace. Consequently, they start building a connection to the organization and are motivated to perform well to help it achieve its goals.
3. Helps New Employees Become Acclimated
First-day anxiety is a real issue that employee onboarding can help you surpass. Instead of letting your new team member spend their first day wondering what they’re supposed to do, give them a rundown of what their duties are and how their work contributes to the company’s vision. Acclimation also includes finding out what the company can do for them. Direct them to a knowledge base that contains information about company policies, organization charts, development opportunities, requests to management, or even a virtual tour of the workspace. Give employees all the necessary tools from day one and set them up for success.
4. Decreases Employee Turnover
Something to keep in mind is that onboarding defines the first impression your company gives to new hires. If you appear unorganized or indifferent, chances are your new employees won’t be sticking with your team for too long. As a matter of fact, research shows that a large percentage of new hires will look for a new job in the first two months if they find the onboarding experience unsatisfactory. A structured onboarding training program will keep new employees engaged by showing them that your business honestly cares about their development.
Choose The Right Onboarding Program And Watch Productivity Levels Soar
Whenever a company welcomes a new employee, the ultimate goal is to acquire a valuable colleague that will help them fill a gap or expand the capabilities of the company. But for this to happen, you can’t just drown them in responsibilities and hope they come through. Instead, you must implement a comprehensive, educational, and most importantly, engaging onboarding training program that will give them all the tools they need to hit the ground running. Showing new hires how invested you are in their professional development creates a connection with your company and encourages them to try their best.
Helpful Link
Want to know more about how the right onboarding training program can support the success of a company? Read this case study to learn how Delta Airlines took CX to the next level through scaled employee onboarding.
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