In many ways, onboarding is an undervalued part of the hiring process. Often, it’s the first significant interaction a candidate has with a new employer, serving as their first impression in an unfamiliar environment. As a result, it has a major impact on morale, productivity, and turnover, either setting the stage for success or increasing the odds of a misfire.
Many of the tried-and-true onboarding processes of yesteryear are cumbersome at best. Additionally, they don’t always perform well when it comes to engagement. Fortunately, there’s a better way. With the right HR tech, your onboarding headaches can disappear, ensuring a better experience for you and the candidate.
Here’s a look at common onboarding challenges and how the proper technologies can solve them.
The Mountain of Paperwork
One reason that onboarding is typically tedious is that it can involve a proverbial mountain of paperwork. Employees have to complete identity verification documents, provide personal and banking details, sign off on benefits options, and review lengthy handbooks.
In the end, the sheer volume of paperwork can be startling or even intimidating, particularly for a new hire that’s trying to get their footing in a new workplace. Plus, human resources employees typically have to take the documents and enter the details into a computerized personnel management system, creating extra work for your staff.
However, with HR tech, the process can become far more streamlined and involve much less paper. HR technologies can make your onboarding paperwork digital, allowing new hires to access it through a portal. Plus, their entries can automatically populate in internal personnel databases, eliminating the need for your HR team to type in the details manually.
A Lack of Engagement
In many cases, onboarding isn’t particularly engaging. Asking new hires to sit still for hours while an HR employee or manager reviews employee policies, discusses safety procedures, or otherwise lectures for hours gets dull quickly.
With HR tech, you can make that initial training and information-sharing far more engaging. You can add visual elements, multiple choice quizzes, interactive scenarios, and other features designed to keep engagement high. Plus, new hires can proceed at their own pace, making it easier to ensure knowledge retention.
Tasks Falling Through the Cracks
Onboarding requires action on the part of many departments. Facilities may need to set up a workstation, while IT might need to create a new user account and add the appropriate permissions. Payroll has to gather the right details, while security may need to create badges. Depending on your workplace, other departments might be involved, too, creating numerous opportunities for tasks to fall through the cracks.
With HR tech, you can reduce the odds that an important step is overlooked. Along with creating a standardized process, you can schedule notifications and reminders to ensure every department handles its part. Plus, by making it function as a checklist, you can monitor the progress from a centralized point, ensuring everything is dealt with seamlessly.
HR Creates Opportunities
Ultimately, HR tech creates opportunities to organize your onboarding activities while simplifying workloads. Plus, it can ensure critical steps are taken, all while boosting engagement.
At Essium, we help leading staffing firms bridge the talent gap to secure top-quality candidates faster. Our technology is specifically designed with the recruitment industry in mind, ensuring onboarding processes are as streamlined and effective as possible. Schedule a consultation call with us today!
