Companies cannot afford to lose time in lengthy onboarding processes today. They need their new hires to adapt to their job roles and company culture at the earliest. That's why most organisations adopt digital onboarding now. But, what is technical onboarding? Digital onboarding refers to the onboarding process that is completely done online. Thanks to the technical and security tools, onboarding can be done from anywhere at any time using any device with an internet connection. This article will cover some best practices for the digital onboarding of new hires.
Create a Standard Onboarding Process
Analyse the current onboarding process and look for areas which require improvement. Ask for feedback from staff to understand the issues that they faced during their onboarding. Paperless onboarding is more efficient as the training content can be repurposed.
Once the organisation understands what works for them and what doesn't, create a standard onboarding program using that information. Automating onboarding processes will be of great help to employees in their initial days. Companies can streamline the onboarding process using automation tools. This way, employees can easily fill out paperwork, provide digital signatures and follow training tutorials. It saves their time. It will also lighten the burden on the IT team. With a FAQ page in place, they do not have to worry about taking care of the basic issues that new hires will face.
Engage New Employees
Lack of feedback is one of the biggest concerns of organisations trying to develop an efficient onboarding system. Request both new and existing employees to give their feedback on the onboarding program. Analysing their feedback is important while designing the right onboarding program for the organisation. Ask them which tools they find user-friendly, which ones helped them understand their job role and organisation better and if they need any additional information. Then, use this information to simplify and update the onboarding system.
Personalise Onboarding as Much as Possible
Every candidate has their unique needs and so does their job role. Their learning style will also be different from each other. Customise their learning program based on these factors and give them the support they need in these early days. While some benefit from watching videos, others might need virtual meetings and digital documentation to understand better. Give them the freedom to choose which type of learning material and learning style they want to follow.
Assign a Mentor
Digitising onboarding doesn't necessarily mean instructors or mentors are of no use. Having a mentor is important especially if the company has hybrid teams or remote employees. New hires will have so many concerns and doubts about their job role and company in the initial days. It's important that they talk to an experienced person and clear their mind. Find a senior member in the organisation who is well-informed, empathetic and friendly to mentor the new hires. This mentor will then guide the new employees in their tasks and roles. They will also help them understand the company culture better.
Set Expectations and Track Performance
With the help of automation tools, companies can create a checklist or a timeline to complete tasks. Tracking the progress of employees is important to know where they stand. Make sure the timelines are clearly communicated in the onboarding process. There are several analytical and reporting tools that can monitor and analyse the activities of new employees. This way, organisations can understand how well they are meeting their expectations, what are their strengths and which areas they need to improve. Conduct weekly or bi-monthly meetings to check in on them and guide them to improve performance.
Key Takeaway
Any company looking to onboard its new hires remotely and quickly will benefit from the digital onboarding program. So, it would be a wise choice to invest in one without wasting further time.
To learn more about the role of technology in onboarding, visit Imarticus Learning.
