HR Onboarding: the entry into the company of new hires is often an underestimated moment, sometimes even not planned at all. Let's see together 5 examples to successfully implement it in business organizations.

Corporate onboarding: how does it work?

There is often the risk of believe that the recruiting process is completed once the most suitable candidate has been identified. This is wrong:  in fact, completing the process requires not only to sign the employment contract and validate all the necessary documentation to formalize the entry into the company of the new employee, but also taking care of his/her actual insertion.

The entry of a new colleague generates the need for companies to equip themselves with an onboarding plan: whether it is still traditional or, better, digital (we have analysed here the advantages of digital onboarding), the organizations have to structure this process phase to ensure that the candidate experience is up to the expectations of the best talents and that their inclusion in the organization meets expectations to quickly turn them into loyal, satisfied and motivated employees.

HR onboarding: 5 examples to follow

Let's see together 5 examples that make up corporate onboarding from which to take inspiration to implement an effective procedure in your company:

• Digitize the process

The advantages of digital onboarding are various and consistent. Bureaucracy is eliminated, time is saved, a simple and intuitive user experience is offered, being accessible from any device. Digital onboarding is the most innovative way to successfully conclude the selection process, managing all the procedures for signing the contract and formalizing the hiring in a technological way, creating a digital archive of employees, quickly accessible and without any problem in terms of physical space;

• Organize the welcome in the company

A good practical example for implementing effective onboarding is to present the new colleague to employees. You can either choose a live presentation, or go for a welcome email on the company Intranet or create a post on social channels: the essential element of this step is timeliness. In the same way, the new employee has to be able to get to know new colleagues and reference figures in the different areas as quickly as possible: a company presentation or a virtual tour can be the right solution to speed up the entry and integrate the person in the team;

• Create a welcome plan

The first days in a new workplace (being it physical or digital) are essential for building a sense of belonging to the company and for integration with the environment and colleagues. It is important to create an induction plan that includes logistical (or virtual) indications about where to find information, courses to learn rules, regulations, company policies and organizational design policies.

On the IT side, it is advisable to prepare in time all the tools and user accesses that the new colleague will need, in order to allow him/her to become as soon as possible operational and effectively "connected" to the rest of the organization;

• Define an induction plan

The first days of work in a new company can be decisive for the employee. Defining in advance a detailed induction plan that allows the new hire to get to know the reference people in the various company areas and main organizational processes, is essential to ensure that the person can familiarize with colleagues and quickly understand the organizational dynamics, immediately feeling useful and gratified. Then choosing to entrust the new hire to a tutor can be a very important element to ensure that the employee does not feel alone but he/she can get a point of reference, in addition to his / her direct manager, to whom to address any doubts and requests.

• Spread the culture of feedback

It is essential that HR actively listens to its employees. New hires see the company with new eyes: this is a perfect opportunity to collect objective feedback on company culture and work environment and to be able to gather any suggestions on the aspects to be improved in terms of Employer Branding. At the same time, the culture of feedback has also to be promoted and spread by intervening promptly with clear indications if the new employee  finds him/her self in a difficult situation or even in conflict due to lack of knowledge of internal dynamics.

HR onboarding: the importance of the first 100 days

Through the virtuous behaviours that we have just read, we can understand how crucial it is that the first 100 days of an employee in the company promote the creation of a good relationship with colleagues and with the working team, the perception of a corporate culture in line with the expectations and the establishment of a genuine sense of belonging. Without these factors, together with compliance with the contractual conditions and working methods as discussed in the job offer, the statistics show that the tendency to resign is very high.

A well-structured corporate onboarding, such as that proposed by Glickon Onboarding solutions is the best way to implement a winning retention policy and to increase employee engagement, to offer a unique and unrepeatable Employee Experience.