Most employers understand the value of a great induction / onboarding experience for new starters, and there is plenty of research data to back up the benefits!
Source references [1][2]
However, there's still plenty of bad onboarding practices, and that was even before the pandemic hit!
- Six in 10 Australian managers have had a new employee resign during their probation period due to poor onboarding processes.
- Nearly half (43%) say they have even lost an employee during the first month because of it
[3]
Hopefully if you're reading this, you understand that a great onboarding experience is really important to your new starters and you probably acknowledge that it's not easy. The reason it's not easy is because it consumes time and requires a structured program or system to deliver it efficiently, and that doesn't have easily-measured, tangible benefits when you need to justify funding for it.
Now throw in a pandemic, where there's no opportunity for your new starters to meet you and your team in person, and the challenge has just quadrupled and time and funding are likely more stretched than ever!
Here are some onboarding best practices [4] and how you can leverage Simplify LMS, the best low-cost, powerful learning management system, to deliver these:
1. Reach out to new hires before their start date
"You never get a second chance to make a good first impresssion" so you don't want to give your new starters the silent treatment between them signing the contract and their first day. Also known as "pre-boarding", making contact with your new hires and providing information so that they can learn about the organisation, flexibly, on their own time, if they wish, is a great way to both make them feel welcome, and get a head start on them learning about the culture.
With Simplify, you can create an appealing Pre-boarding Course with some short welcome videos from key leaders, helpful information about the organisation structure, values, etc. and your new starters can work through this on any device, before their Windows and email accounts are even created (which, let's face it, is not usually done prior to Day 1!)
It's a great way to get your new starters looking forward to that first day and letting them know you've got a structured and effective onboarding program, and easy-to-use systems.
2. Make their first day memorable (and a positive experience)
OK, no system can do this alone, but it can certainly help the Leader do it more efficiently! And let's face it, as a Leader, your calendar is not going to magically become free on your new starter's first day, and it doesn't need to if you've invested a little time to systemise this - making it a win for your and your new starter.
Here's what we recommend:
A Day 1 Onboarding course which has:
- Welcome videos from the CEO and senior leaders
- Information about the tech - how to log on remotely, which systems are used for videoconferencing, where files are stored, how to log helpdesk tickets, etc...all the stuff which will help make their remote working seamless, and minimise any teeting issues
- Information about the organisation - structure, locations, ways of working - all the logistical stuff which a new starter will want to know
- Clarity on what's next in the program - key people to meet, compliance training to be completed, etc.
- A brief assessment to help ensure that the key information was retained and provide a sense of accomplishment to the learner
- A brief feedback survey so your new hires can tell you right away how it's going and any issues they may be facing
Of course, we also recommend a welcome package shipped to their home with a bunch of company goodies (e.g. coffee mug, shirt, etc.) to round out the welcome, and a live videoconference session with the whole team with some fun ice-breakers to really make this an awesome first day.
3. Keep their schedule tightly structured (at least to start)
First day completed - tick!! Let's not stop now though, you want to make at least the first week (or fortnight) structured and Simplify can help make sure that this happens, with minimal effort from you.
Our recommendation:
A Complete your Onboarding course which has:
- Additional information about the organisation - stuff that they need to know but wasn't important enough to be included in the Day 1 Onboarding course
- Forms which the employee will need to complete, as part of finalising payroll setup, tax, super, etc. which they can download and send through or better still, complete online. Managing this efficiently can save a lot of administrative burden.
- Information about the technology / systems in use - the next level of detail to what was covered in the Day 1 Onboarding course, such as how to request leave, claiming expese reimbursements, best practices for document management (e.g. SharePoint sites), etc.
- Information about the policy compliance courses they'll need to start working through and the timeframe for these
- A slightly longer feedback survey so you can learn about what's working well and what could be better for your new starters
Of course, this course would have the Day 1 Onboarding course set as a pre-requisite so that the learning content is delivered in a structured manner.
The Complete your Onboarding course should be completed within 1 week of the start date and of course, Simplify facilitates automated notifications to help remind the learner that they have X days to complete their course, etc.
You won't want to wait until the end of the first week before your new employees start their compliance training, so those courses should be provisioned to the user as soon as they commence their Complete your Onboarding course, and again, Simplify automations can have these courses automatically assigned to the learner so that the absolute minimum of administration is required.
Summary
So, to recap, we recommend three courses to help turbocharge your new employee induction / onboarding program:
- Pre-Boarding
- course which is optional and engages the learner before their first day
- Day 1 Onboarding
course to help make their first day fun, informative and productive
- Complete your Onboarding
course to round out week 1 and help them really hit the ground running
These courses can be easily-created with Simplify and will deliver tremendous benefits for you and make a huge difference in welcoming your new starters - especially during these challenging times.
We're hear to help - get in touch to learn more
With Simplify LMS, we become your learning partner to help solve the challenges you face and help make your business operate more profitably, and offer the best LMS (Learning Management System / online learning platform) for small to medium businesses with local service and support right here in Sydney, Australia.
Contact us to learn more or set up a free demo or trial
Phone: 1300 100 168 Email: Info@SimplifyLMS.com.au
Bibliography