Employee onboarding is the process of integrating new hires into your team and company. More importantly, it plays a strategic role in a company’s ability to maximize employee engagement, productivity and retention.
In this article, we explore the pillars of employee onboarding and the 5 steps to follow to ensure the success of your integration process. We'll also give you some practical tips and real-life examples to get the most out of your employee onboarding process.
Onboarding refers to all the actions taken by a company to welcome, integrate and support a new employee. This process goes far beyond the simple administrative management of contracts and work tools.
Successful employee onboarding aims to:
Onboarding is much more than just an administrative HR process. It is a powerful lever for ensuring the long-term success of new employees. Successful onboarding meets three main challenges.
HR Challenge: Reducing turnover and retaining talent
When done correctly, employee onboarding enables us to meet the expectations of new arrivals right from the start. According to a Glassdoor study, an effective onboarding program can increase new employee retention by 82% at the end of the probationary period. This figure illustrates the direct impact onboarding can have on turnover, a costly problem for companies.
Managerial Challenge: integrating employees into a team dynamic
Successful onboarding is not just about passing on information. It also aims to create a bond between the employees and their coworkers. This involves regular interaction, discussion and team-building activities. An employee who is well integrated into their team is more committed and efficient, thus fostering a positive collective dynamic.
Strategic Challenge: aligning new employees with company values and objectives
From the the beginning, instilling the company's values and mission in new recruits is crucial. This step strengthens their sense of belonging and helps them understand how their actions contribute to the overall vision. Companies like Google invest heavily in onboarding to ensure that their recruits successfully assimilate with their workplace culture.
Even the best intentions can lead to ineffective onboarding if certain mistakes are made.
Lack of preparation
Missing equipment, an unprepared workstation or a non-existent schedule are all signs of a lack of planning. This can frustrate a new employee from day one. Sloppy onboarding gives the impression that the company does not value the arrival of new employees. This can quickly affect their level of engagement.
Inadequate communication between stakeholders
Lack of coordination between managers, the HR team and other team members can lead to confusion. For example, if nobody greets the new employee on arrival, it can lead to a poor first impression.
Lack of follow-up after the first few weeks
Onboarding should go well past the first day or even weeks. A failure to follow up with new employees can leave them without a real sense of direction and hinder their integration.
A classic example is forgetting to check whether the new employee has fully understood their mission, or whether they’re encountering any specific difficulties or challenges.
A structured onboarding process is based on clearly defined phases. Each phase is designed to support employees as they step into their new role, while reinforcing their engagement.
Digitalization can considerably simplify and enrich your HR onboarding process. Here are the essential tools for a smooth and efficient experience.
A performance review solution can transform your onboarding process into a real performance driver.
Structuring exchanges: prepare customized templates for the first day, the first week, or the onboarding review. These tools enable you to standardize best practices, while leaving room for flexibility according to the employee's needs.
Accurate, centralized follow-up: document feedback and objectives set during exchanges, accessible to both the manager and HR. This ensures continuity in integration and better traceability of progress.
Employee engagement: by actively involving the employee in these reviews or exchanges, you show that their feelings and expectations are considered, thus reinforcing their commitment to the company.
Timesaving: thanks to automated reminders and integrated templates, managers and HR can save time in preparing and conducting reviews. Regular check-ins leave more room for human interaction.
Without a talent management tool, these tasks are more time-consuming and tedious.
Prepare documents or digital media to familiarize employees with internal human resources processes.
For example, an interactive guide on Notion or a PDF document containing key resources will make it easier for new arrivals to find specific information.
For all stakeholders, the progress of the onboarding stages can be monitored more simply thanks to shared Kanban boards. Tools such as Trello or Asana are ideal for this purpose. Right from the end of the recruitment process, structured onboarding guarantees a better employee experience during the employment contract.
It's also worth opting for collaborative planning. Involve managers and mentors by assigning them specific tasks dedicated to the onboarding process.
With e-learning sessions, it's possible to offer online courses for a gradual build-up of skills. If the company is not equipped with an Learning Management System (LMS), it can set up certain tutorials on its intranet, for example.