In the United States in particular, unemployment rates are at their lowest level in decades, and unemployment rates in the IT sector are even lower, so job seekers often receive offers of several sources. Therefore, if the path to a new job is not easy, job seekers will reconsider whether they want to work for a company, even for a short time.
However, research firm Gartner found that 63% of new hires were unhappy with their onboarding experience. A recent survey by paychex, a payroll and recruitment services provider, found that the onboarding experience impacts how quickly people leave a company after being hired.
The survey of nearly 1,000 Americans conducted by Paychex and released last month found that half (50%) of new hires plan to leave soon.
Splitting the Paychex survey into remote and onsite workers, 63% of remote workers said they would be leaving soon, compared to just 29% of field workers. In other words, remote workers are more than twice as likely to consider quitting soon as office workers.
“With a good onboarding experience, employees are more confident about taking on jobs and are more likely to envision themselves building a long-term career within their organization,” said Jamie Cohn, research director , HR, Gartner. Thus, a good onboarding experience certainly has an impact on long-term retention. »
“Another thing to note is that there was absolutely no difference whether the integration was done remotely or onsite,” Cohn said. How you board is virtually irrelevant,” he added.
88% of remote workers who said they were likely to leave their current job quickly found their recent onboarding experience unpleasant, 78% described it as confusing and 74% described it as a failure. Frontline and hybrid workers fare better. Only 36% of respondents described the onboarding process as confusing.
The survey found that remote workers are most likely to feel disoriented (60%) and devalued (52%) after onboarding.
According to Allison Stevens, HR Services Manager at Paychex, a poor onboarding experience can lead to confusion, a feeling of lack of training, and ultimately high turnover. Effective onboarding is therefore critical to maintaining a company’s employee value proposition. .
Stevens points out that without a streamlined support process, employees can become frustrated, and a new employee’s first experience in a new position can be confusing and affect employee morale.
“It’s important for managers to deliver immersive and informative experiences that align with company culture and values,” Stevens told Computerworld. Remote employees, in particular, are less educated and more likely to feel disconnected. Therefore, the company highlighted the need to improve its remote onboarding process to provide new employees with a meaningful connection and help them feel valued and valued quickly.
Pa Merat, vice president of technical training and certification and the future of work at Cisco, said Cisco has made a number of efforts to improve the onboarding experience over the past three years. , especially given the growing number of remote/hybrid workers.
One of the ways Cisco has tried to improve the new-hire process is to assign a senior employee as a mentor who can help the new employee feel comfortable.
Merat said a good onboarding experience is critical to long-term job satisfaction at Cisco, and even a bad one can affect the company’s reputation.
Citing job review sites like Glassdoor as an example, Merat said, “How important is a company’s brand? What do candidates think of the interview process, whether they pass or fail? Word of mouth spreads quickly, so the whole process is important.
In its own research, Paychex recommended that employers “reinstate” new employees who have been on the job for a while. Reintegration is about making sure employees feel comfortable in their new position, feel connected to their organization and colleagues, and understand the company culture.
71% of Paychex survey respondents indicated that they would like employers to reinstate their businesses. “Employees who receive reinstatement increase their sense of belonging to their employer,” Stevens said. Thanks to the reintegration, the employee retention rate increased by 43%. »
He added that reintegration is especially helpful for remote employees who lack training and tend to feel disconnected.
“It’s the employer’s responsibility to evolve their onboarding process to meet the demands of the remote/hybrid world we live in today,” Stevens points out.
Paychex research found that employees who went through the reintegration process were more focused (47%), more energetic (42%), more productive (34%) and more efficient (33%).
Gartner’s Cohn suggested that companies could make improvements to the onboarding process:
- Don’t delay starting the onboarding until someone starts working. Companies should begin the process of creating a sense of belonging when a job offer is accepted. People feel anxious before going to work for the first time after accepting a job. I don’t know if accepting the offer was the right decision. You need to introduce the new employee to the team they will be working with and see what will interest them.
- New employees need to feel connected to the values of the company as well as to the work they do. Most organizations communicate their values to their employees, but don’t demonstrate them in action. For example, it is not enough to simply say that community outreach is important to an organization. New employees need to see other people, including managers, supporting community outreach.
- Organizations need to create networks that go beyond an employee’s direct work team. Connecting with colleagues across the organization gives employees a better perspective and the ability to ask more people.
Another onboarding challenge arises when organizations view the onboarding process as a “one-way experience,” according to Cohn. In other words, it teaches new employees how to work with the company without creating a bond.
“You need a two-way connection where the onboarding experience is tailored to the employee, as the employee gets to know the business and the business gets to know the employee,” Cohn said. In the process, the company also recognizes the contributions of new employees. New employees are much more effective if they understand the team and the manager who recognizes their strengths and contributions. »
editor@itworld.co.kr
