Corporate onboarding and employee retention

What is corporate onboarding and why is it linked to employee retention?

Corporate onboarding is the final phase of recruiting and is a crucial activity for companies of any sector and size. It includes various actions to facilitate the integration of new hires within the workplace. The goal is to make newcomers operational and productive in a short time after providing them with the information and tools necessary to manage their tasks independently.

For the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which mission is to build a positive world of work, corporate onboarding is the process that helps new employees adapt to the social and performance aspects of their new job, quickly and without hitches. Onboarding programs must therefore help new hires to:

• Be comfortable in the new environment;
• Understand roles and responsibilities;
• Know the teammates;
• Acquire knowledge and procedures to become full members of the company;
• Learn about company policies and protocols.

This process, which involves both managers and employees, takes 3 to 6 months. However, it can last up to a year depending on the circumstances. In any case, it ends only when the resource is perfectly integrated into the company.

Why is an effective onboarding strategy useful? Successful onboarding is the key to increasing the Employee Retention (or HR Retention) rate. It includes practices, policies and strategy aimed at retaining the best employees, thereby reducing turnover. In fact, turnover is expensive for the company. That is why Human Resource (HR) departments aim to counteract the instability caused by the replacement of employees and the flight of the most qualified professionals.

Data from The True Cost of a Bad Hire, a research by US Glassdoor, shows that organizations with a robust onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by more than 70%. Enhancing and maintaining a stable relationship with employees, thus improving Employee Retention, has positive effects on both the company balance sheet and the well-being of workers:

• No investment loss: training a new resource requires time and money to make them suitable for their tasks;
• Engagement, commitment and motivation: employees feel involved in the general vision and in the processes to achieve the objectives, they are informed, they create bonds with colleagues, suppliers and customers, they acquire new skills. All of this significantly reduces the risk of them looking around for new job opportunities.

How to increase the employee retention rate? Five strategies for attracting and retaining talent

The high employee turnover affects almost any sector. Even if some reasons why employees decide to leave are beyond the control of HR managers, companies can influence several of them.

In an increasingly competitive and constantly evolving job market, it is essential to understand that an effective corporate onboarding program can make a difference in terms of retention and engagement of new employees. The positive inclusion of a new resource, in fact, represents an incentive to productivity and leads to a longer collaboration, thus reducing the possible flight of talents.

Let’s see five aspects to take into consideration to attract talent and increase the Employee Retention Rate:

1. Hybrid approach to work, greater flexibility and autonomy.
   Recent research by the US company WeWork reveals that flexible work policies are gaining popularity, increasing job satisfaction and employee engagement. Hybrid work models and remote-firts companies offer employees an alternative to traditional office work and have better results. In addition, according to the American Psychological Association, employees who work in an environment that supports autonomy tend to feel more engaged and empowered, resulting in increased loyalty;
2. Employee feedback.
   Collecting feedback allows the company to know the needs and perspectives of employees in order to implement positive changes. The best way to collect this information is the Employee Engagement Survey, which measures employee satisfaction;
3. Do not underestimate the importance of the work-life balance.
   Employees who do not have a good work-life balance will sooner or later reconsider their future within the company in which they work. So, it is very important to pay attention to the well-being of the team – especially today with the increasing number of smart workers – and to ensure flexible hours, reasonable workloads and emotional support to prevent burnout;
4. Support inclusion.
   Being part of a heterogeneous team strengthens the bond with the company and the sense of belonging. Cultivating inclusion and preventing discrimination through training programs have a positive impact on the well-being, performance and productivity of employees;
5. Collaboration and communication.
   Paying attention to communication and stimulating collaboration between teams help to create a more transparent, happy and productive work environment that focuses on trust and enhances the commitment of the individual and the group.

Company onboarding and Namirial

Today, digital tools accelerate and automate the corporate onboarding process. They allow new hires to access the information they need from any device at any time. Business collaboration, video conferencing softwares and electronic signature make the steps smoother. In addition, they improve the work of the HR team.

If you want to facilitate your corporate onboarding, discover all Namirial digital tools.