In today’s competitive age, hiring and retaining the right talent forms a major function of the HR department. Employees are the most valuable asset of an organization and involving them in repetitive and manual tasks is a deterrent to the growth of the company. Providing an exceptional Onboarding process speaks volumes about the company’s policies and values. It boosts employee productivity and takes retention to newer heights. Onboarding new employees is a tedious job that involves a lot of time and resources. Automating this entire process makes the system more quick, satisfactory, and effective.
Research by Glassdoor found that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82 per cent and productivity by over 70 per cent.
This is one of the major reasons why your organization should adopt a standard onboarding process that does not rely on unnecessary manual tasks. Automation has been a critical part of various areas such as Sales, Marketing, Customer acquisition, etc and now the foray to remote work has made its mark in the HR department as well. When you are manually onboarding employees there are several tasks that demand attention such as putting up job vacancies online, arranging CVs and finding potential candidates, scheduling interviews with relevant department heads, collecting feedback, and extending an offer if the candidate fits into the job role. However, the process is hardly over. After this, the HR department has to assess new hires individually, assign them a mentor, design training sessions, help them settle in, organize orientation programs, train them about company policies and culture, complete paperwork and other necessary documentation. The entire process is long and demands the utmost precision to be executed successfully.
This is why automation is necessary and a much-needed advantage in today’s world. Not adapting to the changing times means that companies lose out to their competitors and are left behind. Automating your onboarding process provides a systematic approach that is error-free, efficient, and benefits all, from the top management to the employee. This further helps the HR department save time and concentrate on devising strategies that are employee-focused and furthers organizational success.
Here are the major benefits of automating the Onboarding process:
- Saves time
58% of organizations say their onboarding program is focused on processes and paperwork.
Automation is a great time-saver as it reduces a truckload of manual tasks that otherwise consumes huge time and drains energy. It takes a toll on those involved with the process and is especially difficult with organizations with small HR departments generally helmed by one or two people. When manually preparing documents, organizing systems and credentials, introducing to teammates and leads, devising training schedules, and getting them up-to-speed is quite intimidating and daunting. With an automated system, the HR department is relieved by creating an error-free workflow that is quicker and efficient. This not only eases the process but also makes the experience more pleasant for the new hires and the HRs.
- Reduces errors and ensures accuracy
Less dependency on manual tasks ensures that work is generally error-free. Automating onboarding workflow increases precision and the quality of the entire process. With every stage of onboarding automated, there is less chance of error or missing anything. The key to long-term success is ensuring that the process remains consistent and delivers each time a new employee is hired. The set parameters in an automated system reduce the chance of inaccuracies by a large margin. This in turn reduces the stress of the HR department which has to keep double-checking their work for potential faults.
- Provide better employee experience
Delivering a heightened employee experience at the beginning of the employee’s journey with the organization is very important. It depicts company culture and shows how the organization values each employee. An onboarding that is quick, efficient, without hiccups, influences perception and makes the employee trust the organization more.
A negative onboarding experience results in new hires being 2x more likely to look for other opportunities.
With a user-friendly process, organizations can boost retention and have a solid market reputation. A good onboarding experience pumps confidence, motivates employees, and makes them stay longer at the job. Strong onboarding is vital to building a team that thrives at every part of the job.
- Saves costs
The average U.S. employer spends $4,000 and nearly five workweeks onboarding a single new employee.
If the employee decides to leave due to a negative experience, this means the entire time and money invested in the process goes down the drain. Instead investing in an automated system clears out technical onboarding details, reduces stress, and also allows organizations to cut hiring costs. Onboarding automation reduces redundancy associated with never-ending paperwork and standardizes the exercise. Additional hidden costs often associated with time spent by administrators manually processing tasks leads to astronomical amounts causing a dent in the company’s finances.
- Set employees to a good start
The goal of a good employee onboarding program is to set employees on the right foot and set them up for success. While onboarding, it is essential to provide employees with all the right set of information that helps them in meeting task requirements without wasting time, in an efficient manner. Set them up to speed with information about peer contacts, task list, company policies, training programs they should attend, company mission and vision statement, compliance documents, etc. This improves employee retention and helps employees become more engaged in their job from Day 1!
- Provide intuitive reports
With an automated onboarding process, you can gather employee information more efficiently. Tracking onboarding manually can be highly painful and time-consuming. However, using an automated system helps track new hires, their journey, on a real-time basis with minimum effort. The system also generates insightful reports at every stage of the process, giving the organization a better idea of how the process is faring. These reports are highly valuable in designing employee engagement programs and improving the system further to remove any roadblocks. The system is also more secured as it deals with sensitive employee information. An automated system or software ensures that data remains safe and secured at all times.
- Centralizes data
A manual system often lacks organized data that can be referenced when required. With an automated onboarding process, data is centralized that can be accessed anytime by the stakeholders easily, reducing dependency on the HR department.
The average new hire onboarding experience consists of 54 activities.
It also simplifies the paperwork associated with onboarding. Information can be stored online, employee information integrated that reduces the need for subsequent paperwork. Employees can e-sign documents, and neither parties have to be bogged down by never-ending paper-based processes. In the modern age, these redundant practices can greatly harm your organization.
A strong onboarding process is essential to keep your workforce engaged and happy. Having an excellent system in place helps orient the employees successfully. It sets them up for success and increases their trust in the organization. The key to achieving this is ensuring to implement a modern, robust, and user-friendly system that understands the demands of the modern workforce. 2020 witnessed a sharp rise in virtual onboarding, and experts claim that this trend is here to stay. While implementing software, ensure that it allows for smooth virtual onboarding and makes the process easy for remote workers. This eases the burden on the HR department and saves valuable time and money. Don’t let a poor onboarding process sink your company’s credibility and market value.
About Paylite
Get new employees up to speed with Paylite’s Onboarding Module. Paylite® Human Resource Management Software is an end-to-end HRMS system that meets the ever-growing needs of modern-day workplaces. It makes your HR process streamlined, smart, and swift, replacing the age-old legacy systems with system-driven workflows. It offers world-class security features that keep your valuable data safe and secured at all times. Paylite® uses state-of-the-art technology from Microsoft to make your organization run smoothly and save valuable resources.
The top modules of Paylite HRMS are Core HR, Payroll, Employee Self-Service, Attendance System, Recruitment Management, Performance management, Onboarding, PRO, along with Mobile Apps for both iOS and Android platforms. To witness the capabilities of the software, book a free demo today https://www.paylitehr.com/request-demo.html