Hiring managers often ask us why the employee onboarding process is so important in the first place.
That’s a reasonable question. The hard part of the hiring process is the search and recruitment part, right? Well, sort of.
It turns out that onboarding can play a pivotal role in the overall employee retention strategy. This is especially true for remote workers.
The opinion leaders over at HubSpot point out the importance of onboarding in a recent article:
(Talent Acquisition Director) Ariana Moon agrees that hiring is vital for long-term retention — as is onboarding.
She told me, “Many industry surveys have shown that over 85% of new hires make the decision [to stay or leave] within the first six months of employment. That number can be traced back to the onboarding experience. 69% of employees will stay for longer than 3 years if their onboarding experience is good, while 1 in 5 will leave within 45 days if it’s bad.”
That’s a pretty jaw-dropping percentage.
It’s also a great reason to have a trusted partner that has a comprehensive understanding of your business, your industry, and your culture to identify candidates that will have excellent retention rates.
At Patel Consultants, we specialize in a wide range of Recruiting and Staffing Solutions in the pharmaceutical sector. We probably have great candidates looking for great employers just like you right now. We can help you with all of your recruiting and staffing needs. Call us today at 908-964-7575.
In this post, we’re going to discuss four essential items to include on your onboarding checklist for remote workers:
- Provide the new hire with an onboarding checklist, including all documents
- Provide training sessions for new employees on company policies, procedures, and work performance expectations, with a team-lead resource
- Offer regular feedback sessions throughout the year so that employees can express concerns or ask questions.
Let’s get started with the basics.
1. Signing and executing employment documents isn’t the entire onboarding process.
But human professionals know that it’s still a big part of the process. Make sure you have a comprehensive list of documents that must be completed and signed by your new employee. Set up a virtual introductory call between the HR department and the new hire to cover this early in the process.
The more electronic documents you have online in your employee resources portal, the better. It’s critical that all documents, including compensation and benefits plans, employee agreements, contracts, 1099’s, etc., are fully understood, executed, and accepted by the company and the new hire.
Onboarding document mismanagement is still a significant problem in human resources departments. Try to make sure document execution takes place within the first two weeks of employment.
2. Provide structured training sessions for new employees on company policies, procedures, responsibilities, and expectations, with a team-lead resource.
According to the onboarding experts at Bambo HR, of the 31% of employees who leave within the first six months, “…a total of 23 percent of employees cited leaving because they wanted clearer responsibility guidelines and 21 percent because they wanted more effective training.”
The new employee will feel respected and valued when someone from their leadership team takes the time and effort to discuss company policies, culture, and work expectations with them. It’s also good to make the team lead the new hire’s go-to resource for questions and comments during the training period.
3. Offer regular feedback sessions throughout the year so that employees can express concerns or ask questions.
A team lead has provided clear guidance and direction on company expectations for conduct in the virtual workplace and job expectations from your new employee.
Now it’s time to create an open environment for ongoing training and feedback.
Employee suggestion portals and anonymous surveys are two great ways for you to gauge employee satisfaction and well-being on an ongoing basis.
Always be looking for ways to improve your company’s overall employee experience, retention, and intrinsic value. This starts with an excellent onboarding process. Satisfied, confident employees are the fundamental building blocks of highly successful companies.
A recruiting firm that understands your career goals can streamline the hiring process by helping you find the optimal group of candidates to interview.
At Patel, we practice what we preach. We are proud of the fact that a large number of internal Patel consultants are nearing ten years of employment with us, and we recognize the value of employee retention as a long-term business benefit for employers and employees.
When we place a candidate for one of our clients, whether it’s a direct-hire, temporary, temp-to-hire, or contract position, we are meticulous about placing the right candidate for our client’s needs.
Are you a hiring manager or human resources professional with a job search, or searches, underway? Are you looking for workforce management solutions?
Maybe you just have some questions about how we can help you with your staffing needs?
At Patel Consultants, we help clients just like you find that perfect candidate every day!
Call us today at 908-964-7575, or get in touch online. Our expert recruiters are waiting for your call.
