Not Your Grandma’s Onboarding

First, we had orientation, then we had onboarding, now we have preboarding and offboarding. It turns out that the more we improve this, the better results we are getting. We are seeing the positive effects of wooing in candidates and supporting them as they enter our culture. That said, there is more we can do, and much of it can be made easier with technology. Yes, I’m bringing in AI to the conversation, but it’s exciting how it is making things better, easier, and faster. In the talent attraction game, those three things are critical to our company’s ability to get the best talent and keep it.

Streamlining Preboarding

Preboarding starts when they learn about your organization. Does your website showcase why people want to work there? Chatbots can greet visitors and answer some basic questions. Believe it or not, candidates like this feature. We might think it doesn’t feel personal, but the results are in. If done well, candidates may go on to apply to that job.

Customize your communications and wow your candidates using AI to write compelling emails. Candidates crave communication. They universally believe that humans are not reading their resumes and that AI is screening them out. The reality is that recruiters are busy, and they often don’t have a system for communicating personally with the hundreds or thousands of applicants. Set up automatic replies that go out upon receipt of the application saying that the application has been received. Use templates in your ATS to share the next steps with candidates. Even if you are rejecting them, you are gaining credibility if it’s done in a respectful and timely manner. 

Set your recruiters up for success by giving them the tools to connect and engage. Consider bridging that divide from recruitment to onboarding with introductions to team members, welcoming new hires with communications to celebrate them and help them hit the ground running. This is the time to remove any barriers so they to show up the first day with excitement.

Old Orientation is Out

If preboarding is conducted well, that first boring day of signing documents doesn’t have to be a total yawn. Use technology to automate the paperwork and make this day full of opportunities for relationship building. The more people and relationships that your employee has early on will create more “stickiness” to the organization and quitting early will be less likely. Consider assigning a peer mentor, culture ambassador, or buddy who will greet them on day one and shepherd them through their first days and months. Make sure to have them meet people who aren’t in their departments and set up opportunities where they will engage with them in conversation versus a quick walk-by introduction.

Onboarding Doesn’t Mean Boring

It’s all about personalization. AI can tailor onboarding procedures to suit each employee’s unique experience, learning pace, skill set, and growth plan. 68% of organizations in the USA are already using AI in their hiring and onboarding processes, according to Appical, experts in onboarding. As we get more comfortable with AI, there will be more data and predictions from that data.

Use AI to create an onboarding process by having it help you write content. This includes your learning management system to introduce employees to their benefits, the company history, products, services, and standard operating procedures.

Gamification and virtual reality make learning and onboarding more fun than sitting in a cube reading thick manuals. If you don’t have a learning management system, you can still create content with AI much faster than before. For example, make a bingo board or game that employees can do to earn points or complete part of their onboarding.

Communicate early about how you take care of the whole person. Promote any mental health benefits that your company offers, fitness programs, financial wellness programs, onsite concierge services. Share if you have a “walk it Wednesday” or monthly birthday celebrations or lunches.

Remote workers need to be cared for similarly but with even more attention to “face-to-face” contact. Make sure they have the technology and tools to do their job on day one. Consider an office expense allowance for them to make their office space special. Schedule virtual meetings with key collaborators and leaders in the company. Perhaps have your remote employees in for the first week and celebrate them with a dinner with the team. Managers should prioritize a daily check-in until they are up to speed, and then at least one check-in per week.

Offboarding with Care

A lot more thought and effort must go into this part of the employee life cycle. All too often, we mess this part up. Make sure that employees feel that they can be open about wanting a different opportunity, working part-time, seeking more of a hybrid arrangement, or phasing into retirement. If there’s a performance issue, and you need to part ways, take care of the employee with outplacement services, severance, and a respectful exit. Former employees may go away and come back later with new skills. Make them want to come back or be proud to refer family and friends to your organization.

Offboarding isn’t just about an exit interview. It is about showing appreciation for the work they’ve done. It is also indicative of the culture and can help maintain good relationships and boost a company’s reputation. Employees who feel they were treated well, are two times more likely to leave a positive review.

Throughout the employee lifecycle, it’s important to:

• make it personal
• communicate often
• showcase company values
• build trust
• build relationships
• demonstrate empathy
• make people feel seen and have a sense of belonging

Whether you use technology to help make it happen or do it the old-fashioned way, think through these phases and see where you might kick them up.

By the way, no disrespect to Grandma with the title of this blog. Grandma knew how to make people feel special and welcomed, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

We can help you review and revise your preboarding, onboarding, and offboarding procedures. Reach out here!