8 Do's to Upgrade Recruiting and On-Boarding
By Catherine Eberlein Pfister
On-Boarding Done Right Equals Higher Engagement
Many studies, including one from Hewitt Associates, show that companies with the highest levels of employee engagement are those that invest the most in resources and time into the on-boarding process. It just makes common sense to invest time, money and effort into preparing employees to become productive as quickly as possible and to be successful. The next five do's will help you investigate your on-boarding process and determine the smartest strategies to bring it up to speed to meet the needs of a competitive market for top talent:
4. Do be brutally honest about the current condition of your on-boarding and orientation programs. Find what needs to be fixed and fix it.
As they say, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Your on-boarding process will help further develop your employees' view of your company's culture (a perspective they began developing before you ever brought them in for an interview, by the way).
Does your on-boarding process meet the level of professionalism you'd expect throughout the rest of company operations? Are they haphazard and sloppy? Or are they well-organized, thorough, state-of-the-art? Do they inspire new hires or snuff out their enthusiasm?
Look at the on-boarding process through the eyes of your new employee. Best-practices companies continually ask new employees for their feedback on how to make the process more user-friendly and to effectively address new employees' needs. Again, ask for input from human resources, management, front-line supervisors, recently hired employees and current employees.
Think about on-boarding and orientation programs you've personally gone through, either with your current or past employers. What information helped you when you didn't know what was going on or who to ask for help?
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