Beginning the Onboarding Process

Posted by SRA Admin on Nov 18 2015

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There was a time when talented college graduates had to essentially beg companies for an opportunity. However, an open global economy and competition from Asia have left recent graduates with more options than ever before.  It's important for companies to not only appeal to new employees, but make sure they're properly implemented into the work force. Onboarding refers to  the act of properly welcoming new employees into the work force, and it helps new hires feel like parts of the team. 

What is Onboarding?

Onboarding is a system by which new employees learn what's expected of them, and how to properly perform their duties. However, the term refers to more than just training the new hires. Most companies spend lots of money teaching new employees the ropes. Each new person that the company hires has to be seen as an investment. The company pays for the employee to sit through hours of orientation and someone receives a salary for training these new workers. A company with a higher turnover ratio will spend more on training and orientation. On top of that, it can take up to 2 years for a new employee to reach his or her productivity potential, which means lost opportunity to recoup those expenses as well. 

How does Onboarding Differ From Orientation?

Orientation is an event while onboarding is a process. It's important to communicate the company's overall goals to the employees during the onboarding process. In fact, the onboarding process needs to begin before the employee is ever hired. By conducting multiple face to face or video interviews with potential employees, the company can get a much clearer picture of who the potential hire is. A recruiter can help in this process by taking some of the interview burden off of busy hiring managers and other personnel. This allows management to determine who will and who won't fit into the established training methods. Interviews also gives management the chance to communicate the company's mission to new hires. By starting the onboarding process before orientation, it's easier to filter out which employees are likely to have longevity with the company. However, interviewing isn't the only way to begin the onboarding with potential hires.

Testing and Evaluation 

Training hired employees means paying them a salary to learn information. However, you can teach basic information to potential hires before paying them a wage. Some companies give new employees a packet of information to study and then test them on said information. The tests show the company which employees best understand the information and therefore may be more efficient to train upon hiring. While this kind of test is not common in executive recruitment, the idea of discovering an upper level hire's baseline of knowledge is ultimately a good one. Employees that know more and are easier to train are more likely to stay. 

Drug Screening and Background Checks

Both drug screening and background checks are useful ways to reduce insurance premiums on new employees, but they also serve more practical purposes. Taking the time to get a criminal record and take a drug test shows that an employee is willing to take extra steps for his or her employment. A criminal record shouldn't automatically disqualify potential hires, but they can be used as assessment tools. For instance, a financial institution might give a violent criminal a second chance. However, hiring someone convicted of bank account fraud is probably a mistake. Drug screenings and interviews are costly, but they're not as costly as hiring and training the wrong people. Training employees is an investment and each individual is an asset. In order for the company to make the most of these investments, the employees must stay with the company for more than a few months. Fortunately, there are ways to begin the onboarding process, before actually hiring anyone.

Twenty years ago, most people held an average of 6 jobs over a lifetime. That number is now up to 11, because employees now have more options than ever. By beginning the onboarding process before making a hire, a company can reduce the turnover rate and become more profitable. From medical careers to natural products jobs, the onboarding process works best when it begins before the hire. 

Topics: natural products jobs, employee retention

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