The length of time between accepting an offer and starting a new job can be filled with anxiety. It’s an uncomfortable vacuum for the candidate and can be a missed opportunity for the employer. An agency will be able to help you design an effective onboarding process to get the candidate involved with the organisation, including building a digital portal for new hires. Here’s why it is helpful:
1. It deepens brand engagement
An onboarding portal will continue your relationship with new hires as soon as they’ve accepted your offer, helping to minimise their chances of disengaging or even declining the offer prior to their start date. A link to a password-controlled onboarding site should be sent out as soon as an offer is accepted. “Include a welcome from the chief exec, show them round their new departments, and make them feel part of the team before they arrive,” suggests Gareth Edwards, who manages attraction and resourcing at the agency RSCG Riley.
2. It guarantees a consistent experience
The quality of traditional onboarding across an organisation can be hugely variable because it often comes under the remit of line managers and some of them will be better at it than others. A digital portal guarantees a welcome of the same temperature for all candidates and ensures that all new hires have reached the same stage of induction before they start.
3. It informs newcomers and builds their confidence
A new candidate may worry about how ready they are for their new role, or how long it will it take them to settle into the organisation. Even a basic online onboarding environment can arm a new colleague with relevant HR documentation, start date and joining instructions, an overview of the organisation, and their individual department. They can also learn what is expected of them in terms of behaviour and dress codes and so on.
4. It deepens colleague engagement
Using social networking, wikis and user-generated content can really enhance the onboarding experience. New joiners can build networks with other new starters or existing employees before they start, share information and compile online ‘to-do’ lists in a customised environment.
5. It makes new starters more effective
A good onboarding experience will help employees adapt to their new environment quickly and become productive straight away. Data from the Corporate Leadership Council shows that clarity around job importance and the overall organisational vision can improve the discretionary effort of new employees by 20% in their first year. “Not only is it possible to get some of the time-consuming paperwork out of the way in advance, freeing up some of the first week for actual work, you can build the commitment and engagement of the new joiner, giving them confidence that they have made the right career decision, reducing the likelihood of early attrition,” says Edwards.
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