New Employee Onboarding: The Roles and Responsibilities of HR and Management Beyond Handbooks, Benefits, and Photo IDs

OVERVIEW

Whether you call it New Employee Onboarding, Induction, Enculturation, or New Employee Orientation (NEO), the process used to welcome and train your new employees while capturing their excitement of a new job and reducing their new job jitters is critical to their success.

NEO is not a one day event, but rather a process that begins after their acceptance of the job and extends through the first year of their employment. Studies show that the new arrival's primary concerns are three things--my job, my boss, and my coworkers. Dealing with new employee jitters and uncertainties is a high priority in orientation programs. How long this mental mayhem lasts may depend a great deal on the organization and department orientation. It’s been said that new hires have about 90 days to “prove” themselves in their new workplace.

According to the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), 500,000 Fortune 500 managers change jobs every year while, overall, managers change jobs every 2 – 4 years. Non-management employees may change jobs even more frequently. The process of orienting new employees to their new position, their new work environment, and their new colleagues takes time and if not done effectively, the new hires leave and go elsewhere.

New employee onboarding is the process that welcomes and integrates the new hires into their new position and workplace so they become engaged and committed to their role in assisting the organization in reaching its mission.

Onboarding is a strategy and a process that extends well beyond the first day on the job. It is a critical process to get the new employees off and running in their new environment, their new position, and with new colleagues enabling them to enjoy their work and their employer. New employee onboarding needs to include fun activities, using “buddies” to streamline the new hire’s experience, beginning from the point of the job offer. It is one of the most important elements an employer should invest in.

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND

A comprehensive new employee onboarding process plays a pivotal role in catalyzing your new hire’s engagement into their new role, responsibilities, and the organization. The new employee reaches productivity a full 2 months sooner, function as a team member quicker, less likely to quit, and more likely to be an active member of the organization. All of this equates to huge financial savings on the part of the organization. By 45 days after a new employee begins their job, 20% quit! By 7 months, 50% have quit.

Forty six percent of new hires fail within 18 months, and only 19% achieve success. The exodus of these new hires costs the employer approximately 20% of each employee’s salary. Considering the percentage of employees who never engage with their new job – the costs are enormous.

If those employees engaged, research shows that the stock value will have higher earnings per share, and the business will experience 22% higher profitability, 21% higher productivity, 10% higher customer engagement, 25% to 65% lower turnover, 37% lower absenteeism, 28% lower shrinkage (theft), and 48% fewer staff safety incidents.

AREAS COVERED

• Sample checklists for the manager/supervisor, HR, and the Buddy are provided
• Tips on orienting the virtual employee
• How to evaluate your onboarding process
• To discuss importance of checklists for what to accomplish the first day, first week, first month, and the first 90 days.
• To list suggested lists and topics for the onboarding portal
• To examine onboarding portal systems
• Tips on how to select and utilize a Buddy
• Orientation evaluation forms for the new hires, HR, the buddy, and management
• Tips on the manager-new hire “expectations” discussion

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• To identify HR, the supervisor, and the Buddy’s roles in welcoming and training the new employees
• To discuss the new hire’s role in her or his orientation
• To differentiate between the orientation to the organization and the orientation to the department
• To assess, develop, implement and evaluate your employee onboarding strategy
• To examine onboarding best practices
• To explain gap analysis, force field analysis, and SWOT analysis in assessing your organization’s onboarding requirements
• To assess, design, and develop, implement, and evaluate your department’s NEO strategy
• To describe new-hire web-based onboarding portals

WHO WILL BENEFIT

• Human Resources Professionals
• All Director Supervisors and managers of departments or units in any industry

SPEAKER

Dr. Susan Strauss RN Ed.D. is a national and international speaker, trainer and consultant. Her specialty areas include education and workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying; organization development, and management/leadership development. Her clients are from healthcare, education, business, law, and government organizations from both the public and private sector.  Susan conducts bullying and harassment investigations, works as an expert witness for education and workplace harassment and bullying lawsuits, and coaches those managers and employees that need assistance in stopping their harassing or bullying behavior.