Beyond Orientation: Onboarding For The Win
More than just one day.
Onboarding vs Orientation
Onboarding and orientation are distinct processes that organizations utilize to integrate new hires into their workforce. Orientation is an initial welcome given to the new employee, while onboarding is a comprehensive process that starts even before the employee's first day on the job and continues until they are fully adjusted to their role.
Although orientation is an essential part of onboarding, it is only a tiny fraction of the process. Effective onboarding ensures that new hires are well-informed about the organization's distinct structure, culture, vision, mission, and values. It also helps them understand how their daily duties contribute to their productivity goals.
How Long Should Onboarding Last?
According to HR experts, at least three months are required for onboarding new hires, and some companies extend the process to a year to reap the maximum benefits of increased retention and engagement.
An effective learning and development strategy should include a comprehensive and engaging onboarding process. If you do not have an in-house learning and development department, you can enlist the assistance of a professional instructional designer to assess your current onboarding process, identify gaps, and collaborate with you to enhance it.
Why Onboarding Matters
Onboarding sets the tone for a new employee's experience and helps them integrate into the company culture. It provides them with the necessary information, resources, and support to understand their role, responsibilities, and expectations. Effective onboarding can lead to higher employee engagement, productivity, and retention.
Onboarding Increases Employee Satisfaction by 70%
Explaining your organization's vision, culture, mission, and values helps new hires understand and connect with the company. Investing in training and setting clear expectations boosts employee confidence and job satisfaction. This leads to increased productivity and retention.
Set the tone with comprehensive onboarding.
Onboarding Increases Productivity By Over 70%
Strategic Onboarding enables those employees to ramp up to full productivity more effectively. Gallup found the average productivity increase to be over 70% — an absolutely stellar return on your upfront investment!
Onboarding Improves New Hire Retention by 82%
According to Bamboo HR, new employees who have a positive onboarding experience are 18 times more likely to be committed to their employer, while those with a negative experience are twice as likely to look for other opportunities. Recruiting and hiring new employees is expensive, and it costs an average of 6-9 months' salary to replace an employee.
Not only is onboarding good for employees, it’s good for your company. And, when done strategically and effectively, it saves you money!