Onboarding new employees: how do you do that?

With the right onboarding of new employees, you bind the new staff to your company and work towards a cohesive team. This is crucial, in our opinion! The 'war on talent' is making it increasingly difficult to retain good employees. When you have found a suitable candidate, there is no guarantee that this person will stay with your organization. 1 in 3 employees goes to another company after one year. And that is problematic for your organization. Did you know that replacing an employee costs between 50% and 150% of an annual salary? So, you want to prevent this from happening frequently and substantially. And that can be done! Namely through successful onboarding. In this blog, we explain what the ideal induction period for your new colleagues should look like.

Onboarding of new employees

But first, what does "onboarding new employees" actually mean?

Onboarding new employees literally means: getting on board. It describes the process in which a new employee learns about your organization and the work they will be doing. The goal is to fully integrate your new employee into your company. Some companies take up to 8 months to do this!

According to the research by The Undercover Recruiter good induction program results in impressive outcomes.

With a good onboarding program:

• 91% of employees feel connected to the company;
• 89% experience a strong connection with the team;
• an employee is 30 times more satisfied with their job;
• the chance that an employee will stay long-term is 18 times greater.

A good induction program therefore plays a significant role in job satisfaction. This means it has a lot of influence on retaining employees. Besides the meaning of onboarding, you also want to know how to integrate it. The following tips will help you.

1. Digital onboarding of new employees

Many people think that onboarding begins on the first day of work. But no, that is not the case! You can actually start onboarding as soon as someone has signed their contract. Seize the opportunity to welcome your new employees early on in your company. This is also called pre-boarding.

However, many companies make a mistake here. Often onboarding still takes place in a classroom or face-to-face. This is not necessary at all.

You can also provide essential information digitally to your new colleagues. This will allow them to show up well-prepared on their first day of work. Work instructions, rules, and information about the dress code are examples of such essential information. And what about experiencing company culture? That can also be done perfectly online. You can integrate a company film into the digital onboarding program. Or have your colleagues introduce themselves to each other in an e-learning with a profile picture!

Try Pluvo if you want to digitalize your onboarding

What is the goal of online onboarding?

Digital onboarding means that an employee appears prepared on the first day. It gives your organization more room to make a fantastic impression on the first day. It also ensures that new employees get to know the work immediately. In addition, a new employee can take in the information at their own pace with an online training program. Some things are probably quickly absorbed, while other things may take more time. By having control, the employee can spend more time on parts that require more attention. Another advantage of online onboarding is that information is always available. An employee can always reread information. The program can also be used again by every new employee.

So, not much time has to be invested! Finally, thanks to today's technology, it is possible for your employee to even work on the train. How easy this is, depends on the software you use to realize your digital onboarding program.

Most companies need a Learning Management System, or LMS for short. This software lends itself very well to these kinds of goals, because you can use all kinds of learning methods. Think of e-learning, manuals, or opportunities to chat with other employees.

This way, your entire team has a central place to find information.

When choosing a suitable LMS, make sure it is optimized for mobile phones, so that every train journey can be spent usefully ;-) Would you also like to have a clear example of a successful onboarding program? Then also read: Example of an onboarding program.

2. A 'basic' onboarding process:

Bepaalde zaken gelden voor iedere nieuwe werknemer. We noemen dat de harde onboarding. Hieronder staan enkele voorbeelden van zaken die vaak voor iedere Certain things apply to every new employee. We call this the hard onboarding. Below are some examples of things that are often important for every new colleague

• A key
• Wage tax statement
• Opgaaf loonheffing
• A phone

In other words, things that need to be arranged as standard. If these are not arranged on the first day, it leaves a bad impression. Therefore, make a checklist for yourself that you go through when a new employee starts. Of course, you can also outsource this to human resources.

Make sure you do this before the employee starts. This way, you have some leeway if something unexpected happens.

3. Offline onboarding

Alright, your new employee's first day of work has arrived. Fortunately, all matters have been taken care of. The employee has gone through the digital pre-boarding and is ready to get started. What does that mean for now? Start with an introduction round. Plan a few (online) meetings with the supervisor and immediate colleagues. Possibly with someone from senior management.

This is how your new colleague immediately gets to know the company and the people behind it.

Always make sure that you have a task package ready for your new employee in the first few days!

Someone feels more welcome right away when there are planned activities, at least on the first day (or week). Your new employee will then feel that you have thought about them! It's annoying if they have to figure things out for themselves. And why not make something special out of onboarding new employees?

You're already trying to make a great impression. For example, put a welcome gift on your new colleague's desk or organize a special welcome lunch. This is the perfect moment to let your creativity run wild ;-)

4. (On the job) training

For many jobs, training is an essential part of the onboarding process. It ensures optimal work performance. This includes not only small training sessions, such as explaining the software for time registration, but also more extensive training on the meaning of processes in your organization, for example.

For a new employee, it's nice that these training sessions can be followed at their own pace. And this is where e-learning within your LMS comes in handy! With Pluvo's LMS, for example, you can design your own training or have them made for you. E-learning has many advantages, including that it often ensures that information is remembered well. This is because e-learning can provide a good balance between theory and practice. Read more about e-learning benefits here.

Personal contact might be important too. Jou could therefore consider offering a blended training, which alternates online theory with offline practical exercises. This ensures that an employee actually learns to apply the knowledge to practice.

n addition, new personnel often remember more when new knowledge is offered in small chunks. The first few weeks can be very overwhelming! Therefore, also consider the possibilities of microlearning for your onboarding.

5. Feedback during onboarding

It's always good to integrate one or more feedback moments into your onboarding. This creates a moment in which the employee and the manager can discuss how things are going. Here, both parties can express any uncertainties. This is also the perfect opportunity for the manager to gauge how working in the organization is being perceived. In addition, it's nice for the manager to get to know the new employee. Both parties can now decide if the new employee really fits into the company.

Don't wait until the first half-yearly review, because your employee may have left by then.

6. Onboarding (n)ever ends

An onboarding process doesn't end after a few days or after the first week. Onboarding means that new employees should be able to perform optimally. And that's not something you can set your watch to. You will be continuously working with your new employees to see how they're doing and whether they like their work.

An onboarding program can therefore last up to 8 months. When the process is completed often varies per person.

7. On to a (new) onboarding process!

We hope that these tips have been helpful for you. Some things are real quick wins and you can apply them right away. Other things may take a little more time.

Maybe you want to get started with digital onboarding right away. Or maybe you even want to set up an LMS. You can always ask us questions via chat. Or create a free Pluvo environment if you want to get started right away.