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Using research to connect onboarding processes with employee satisfaction
The early stages of onboarding are crucial to establishing a lasting bond between employees and the company. Alice Snell, vice president of the research division of talent management solution company, Taleo, outlines the methods organizations can use to maximize contribution and avoid the pitfalls of the onboarding process.
AS RECRUITMENT PROCESSES HAVE progressed, the term onboarding has come into regular use in HR. However, are companies really adopting best practice onboarding methods, or just the terminology?
Increasing focus is being placed on the importance of employees within organizations and selecting the right candidate. However, for a company to truly benefit from the attributes and skills recognized in each new employee, it's essential to support them through a comprehensive introductory process.
Getting the onboarding process right
Onboarding can be described as the direct bridge between the promise of new employee talent and the attainment of actual productivity. The onboarding process and experience, though, can vary widely. Onboarding a new hire can either be a well-managed and speedy path to employee contribution, or an inefficient and costly entry into the organization.
Although onboarding appears to be purely a transactional activity, it can be a strategic process that improves your bottom line. How? Remember that new employees start out as "liabilities" before they learn how to use their skills and experience to make a positive contribution. The more quickly employees get up to speed, the sooner they can begin contributing to your bottom line - regardless of their role or department.
Acting upon research findings
Companies that don't support a comprehensive introduction phase for new employees not only risk losing productivity generated by the employee but also losing their interest in the company. This is critical for employees at all levels; 64 percent of new executives hired from outside the company will fail at their new jobs1 and the average CEO is in the job for less than four years.2These are worrying statistics and highlight the importance of creating the right experience to optimize productivity and retain employees.
All new employees go through a learning curve during which they perform below the level of a fully productive employee. Employee learning curves represent the length of time required for...