Onboarding process: Three most effective onboarding strategies

Published by Andrea Day on

Onboarding process: three most effective onboarding strategies

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The best onboarding process is one that guarantees the best new employee experience. Successful onboarding experiences should guarantee employee retention, and improve productivity. 

Companies suffer considerable financial loss if they lose a new employee early on. The cost of turnover for each employee is estimated to be around 100-300% of an employee’s salary.

This is due to the expenses involved in recruitment and training. For these reasons,it’s vital for a company to have a well-defined onboarding strategy. 

A good onboarding strategy continues over a long period of time. It needs to be approached in a similar way to employee upskilling, and it needs to use the best onboarding tools. Engaging onboarding tools and a well-planned strategy are the keys to an effective onboarding process.

Define a clear onboarding strategy

Another essential quality of a great onboarding experience is organisation. The onboarding of a new employee should be a clearly defined process. Therefore, onboarding begins before a new employee’s first day of work. 

The employee should be given an idea of what to expect on their first day in advance. This involves having prepared what training the new employee needs to undertake during their initial days and their tenure with the company. It’s also important to define how their success will be measured.

Create a plan for your new hire’s first day, week, month, and even year. Consider what milestones you expect them to reach, and provide them with realistic goals. This will benefit both the employee and the company. Your new hire should be motivated to work towards something. Ultimately, this results in more productive employees for your company.

woman joining office for new job onboarding

A good onboarding process is a long onboarding process

A good onboarding process lasts well beyond the first couple of weeks for a new employee. It should be a strategic and lengthy process, and can even last up to a year.

Employees are regularly subjected to upskilling and more training so that they have the most up-to-date knowledge within their industry. Onboarding should be treated in much the same way. It’s important to have a continued refresh of vital company information, as well as  job-specific information.

To understand how learning works, you need to take into account behavioural science. Behavioural science tells us why people behave in certain ways. It can help us understand and tailor learning so that it can be best received by the individual.

The spacing effect is a learning principle and strategy that involves spacing out learning over a period of time. It’s backed up by the idea that the largest quantity of information can be retained in long-term memory through the spacing out and repetition of learning. Therefore, the most effective learning methods are ongoing processes.

team at laptop for digital onboarding process

The process plus the best onboarding tools

The best onboarding process requires the best onboarding tools. This is another key component of a successful onboarding strategy. The best tools will be the most engaging ones for their users – your employees in this case. The more engaging the tools, the more productive an employee will be.

According to Business News Daily, a company that has a structured onboarding process retains 50% more new hires than those who don’t. These numbers emphasise the importance of having a good onboarding strategy and good onboarding tools. 

Digital experiences are extremely immersive and engaging onboarding tools. This makes them very effective in maximising employee productivity. The more an employee is engaged during their onboarding process, the less likely they are to quit their job early on.

Digital experiences show you rather than tell you. They offer scenario-based learning, where employees can learn by carrying out tasks, rather than reading about them. This is what makes them so engaging.

At BAD, we know behavioural science and we know digital. By combining these, we can help you create the best digital onboarding process for your employees. Through digital experiences, we can help you maximise your employee engagement and productivity.

Get in touch today to find out in detail how we can help you improve your onboarding strategy.

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Categories: Onboarding