Sustaining Engagement for Long-Term Employee Success: 10 Key Points

How long does onboarding take?

Most HR experts agree that the training period for new hires should last at least three months. However, extending onboarding throughout the employee's entire first year can positively influence and increase employee retention and engagement.

While onboarding processes vary from company to company and even industry to industry, there are some general guidelines that can help improve employee engagement and retention and increase onboarding success.

A standardized onboarding process increases new employee retention by at least 50%. And when a company offers a great onboarding experience, 69% of employees are more likely to stay for at least three years.

But despite the benefits of an employee-focused onboarding process, many companies fail to deliver a good experience. Most new hires expect to complete more than 50 tasks as part of their onboarding process, with an emphasis on paperwork and administrative hurdles for new hires. This is consistent with 58% of companies whose onboarding programs focus on processes and paperwork. And the length of most onboarding programs? Only 37% of companies say their programs last longer than 30 days.

Developing an effective onboarding strategy and schedule takes time and effort. But it's worth it to retain new employees and high-performing employees on your team. Read on to learn how long onboarding should take and ten tips to make it worth it.

Pro Tip: Offer on-demand support with employee self-service tools

Even the best induction plan cannot anticipate all questions. That's why more and more companies are turning to self-service tools that enable new employees to find the answers they need, any time, any day.

Employee self-service tools offer a modern alternative to printed manuals and time-consuming meetings. Instead, you can collect electronic signatures, distribute welcome packets for new employees, and create personalized onboarding plans - all in one app that new employees can navigate independently.

If you're looking for ways to improve onboarding, IceHrm can help. Our award-winning software allows HR professionals and hiring managers to create onboarding templates that deliver the best onboarding experience - without any prior technical knowledge. This means you spend less time onboarding and more time on the meaningful training new employees need.

Streamline steps with onboarding technology

Onboarding technology can help your company streamline the onboarding process.

Automated software tutorials and onboarding prompts are a great way to use onboarding technology. These digital options can help new employees move through the onboarding process more quickly and become familiar with more areas of the company and specific software in less time.

Technology can also be used to reduce the time spent on transactional onboarding procedures such as paperwork, issuing approvals, opening accounts, and more.

But don’t think of software as a replacement for in-person or human-led onboarding. By automating repetitive tasks, you free up time that can be better used for team building or in-person, role-specific training.

Share company policies

Your onboarding program should always include information about specific company policies.

Self-service platforms provide new employees with a great way to access your employee handbook, PTO information, dress code, and other important documents - in a resource center that is easily accessible during onboarding and throughout the employee's time with your company.

Offer on-demand onboarding videos

Videos can help streamline the onboarding process and provide an engaging experience for employees.

Onboarding videos also promote social and formal learning. They are also a cost-effective way for companies to onboard employees. For many of the topics that need to be discussed during induction, such as: For example, health insurance, PTO, dress code, benefits, and more, a one-to-many approach is appropriate.

During the first six months

Create cohorts of newcomers

An effective onboarding process connects multiple new employees together and ensures that the new employees can go through the onboarding experience together from the start.

Collaborative learning provides an immersive experience that encourages new employees to connect with their colleagues, share experiences and better understand their role in the company. Since employees receive most of their work-related knowledge from their colleagues, learning together gives them the opportunity to learn from others who have more experience and thus improve their skills.

You can create collaborative learning opportunities by onboarding new employees together and involving existing employees from different departments in the onboarding process.

Help new employees build relationships

When it comes to onboarding, the focus should be on having an onboarding buddy and an onboarding mentor for every new employee.

Relationship-focused onboarding means nurturing and welcoming new employees so they can do their best work. In parallel, your onboarding program should support new employees, assign them clearly defined responsibilities and set expectations for their new position. Helping new employees build solid relationships with their colleagues and managers can help new employees adapt more quickly to your company's culture and accelerate their learning process.

When a new employee is assigned a mentor during the onboarding process, you can ensure that the new employee receives additional information and training that cannot be included in a standardized onboarding process. Mentors can help network with other employees in the company and learn about the company culture by shadowing their mentors during work hours.

Onboarding buddies are more likely to be random connections. An onboarding buddy can help give new employees the opportunity to ask questions they may not want to ask their manager, or to ask the many random questions that fall outside the scope of orientation or training.

Complete the core onboarding process

Employee retention increases when the onboarding process extends throughout the new employee's first year at your company. Still, your onboarding process should anticipate key points and get new employees up to speed within the first six months.

A solid onboarding program helps employees become more productive, feel comfortable in their work environment, know who to turn to if they have questions, adapt to the company culture, and build better employee relationships.

While it may seem that getting new employees through the paperwork and training quickly can get them started faster, this isn't the way to go for employee productivity and contribution. Find the right balance between an onboarding program that integrates new employees so they can quickly start contributing while providing opportunities for further training.

After the first six months

Reuse onboarding checklists for reboarding

Onboarding isn’t just important for newly hired employees. Transitioning internal employees into a new role within the company is just as important as onboarding a brand-new employee.

Depending on the company, the culture of one department can differ significantly from that of another. Transferred employees don't want to feel like newbies in a company they've been working for years.

Instead, look for ways to transform your new employee onboarding process into a reboarding process that provides internal employees with the training, feedback, and socialization they need to succeed.

Conduct regular surveys to measure employee engagement

Companies that view onboarding as a transactional process and fail to connect employees to the company will fail to engage their hearts and minds.

When employees feel fully connected to their company, they enjoy their work, are committed to their company, and put more effort into their work. Enthusiastic employees are more productive and create a positive work environment for everyone involved.

Provide expanded learning opportunities

Additional time in the onboarding process also allows for higher level learning.

Because employees have more time to absorb basic information, there are more opportunities to help them acquire more advanced skills over the course of the first year. Once they've mastered the bare minimum, don't stop training them.

Continuing training during the first year of employment allows employees to improve their skills and bring greater value to your company. Targeted training in both social and technical skills offers employees more opportunities for advancement and gives them a career path and a vision for the future.

Monitoring employee retention

The length of your onboarding program can have a significant impact on how long your employees stay with your company.

When new employees experience a positive onboarding program, they are 18 times more loyal to their employer. This is crucial when you consider how much disengaged employees cost companies every year - between $450 billion and $500 billion. Consider onboarding new employees during their first year to increase their engagement and retention.

In summary, fostering long-term employee success hinges on a well-crafted onboarding process. IceHrm's innovative solutions offer a seamless onboarding experience, incorporating self-service tools, technology streamlining, and continuous engagement strategies.