What Your Onboarding Says About Your Company
A decade ago, you might have been forgiven if you thought onboarding was just the mandatory stack of HR info provided to new hires on the first day. As society has moved toward a consumer-first environment where Amazon delivers what you want the same day and intuitively knows what you might also like, employees, especially top talent, expect an onboarding experience that mirrors that ease, not a soul-crushing pack of paperwork. They’re accustomed to that delightful and effortless shopping experience from the comfort of their couch and mobile device of choice. Anything else feels foreign and cumbersome.
The thing is, onboarding isn’t just a new hire’s experience – it’s a reflection of the whole company. If your onboarding is a lousy experience, your new hire (who you likely spent a ton of time and resources to find) is inferring a whole host of data about your company.
If your onboarding is…
A relic of the 80’s: They’ll assume your company is tied to old processes and slow to change.
Manual: They’ll think your company is inefficient.
Non-standardized: They’ll be disappointed when they learn no one scheduled a team lunch for their first day but did for a different colleague.
Paper-based: They’ll worry about the security of their personal information.
Devoid of character / dull: They’ll think the company has no culture, soul, or spark.
First impressions are powerful, and as your onboarding process is the first experience your new hire has as an employee of your company, it speaks volumes. Blunders at this stage are amplified in the minds of your employees and paint a picture of your company colored by their perception.
Take the time to do an audit of your onboarding process and view each step through the eyes of a new hire. Make sure this experience reflects how you want your company to be perceived, i.e. a modern, inclusive, and data savvy company that values its team members and wants them to have the tools, resources, and support to be successful from day 1.
