Any job opening that you post probably receives hundreds of applications. To be more accurate, according to a Glassdoor survey, on average, each corporate job offer attracts 250 resumes.
The study also goes on to say that of the 250 candidates, 4 to 6 will get called for an interview, and only one will get the job.
Depending on the current market scenario and the type of job, the number of applications you receive could be much higher than average. And once you’re sure of the person you want to hire, there are four important things to check off your task list:
Selecting the right candidate from all of these applications and sending out the job offer letter to them almost feels like the end of a triathlon, doesn’t it?
They say “Success is a journey, not a destination”
The same could be said about hiring as well.
Sending out the job offer letter means that you’ve just set the ball rolling, and you’ll need to prepare for somebody’s lifelong career with your company. That’s no easy task, but it’s not herculean either.
To begin with, let’s split your tasks into two sets of processes: Pre-boarding and Onboarding
Not clear, on the difference read Onboarding Vs Pre-Boarding a beginners’ guide to employee centricity
In most cases, there’s a gap of at least a few weeks from the time they accept the offer to the time they join you. In this time, your candidate might get a job offer letter from other companies, or might have second thoughts about joining you.
It’s a gap that could prove to be an expensive mistake if you don’t take measures to make sure the candidate is convinced about joining your company.
That’s what Pre-boarding is designed to do. It’s the process you begin once the candidate has given their confirmation to your offer letter and it comes to an end on the date of their joining.
After all the effort and time put into hiring the right person for the job, it makes sense to proactively communicate and be in touch with the candidate until the day they join. This communication period can be used to get them more familiar with several aspects of your company, such as:
One of the best ways to bond with the candidate is by familiarizing them with your company culture. You can show them your brand values, and get them excited to come work with you. There are very simple but meaningful gestures that you can accomplish this with.
The new employee is going to be surrounded by people they don’t know, working with them right from the get-go. Understandably, this could cause a lot of anxiety for them. An easy way to put them at peace? A simple round of introductions.
According to a recent study by Tydy, 81% of new hires want to receive details about their new role in the preboarding stage. And given that Millenials are more likely to stick with a job where they can create an impact rather than a high-paying job, it’s a good idea to show them the sort of growth plan you have in store for them.
Pre-boarding is an excellent way to reduce employee churn. It’s a retention process that begins before day 1, and it truly pays off.
But once the employee begins their first day with your company, you need a process that’s much more detailed. You need an onboarding process.
We’ve all experienced awkward first days at work—it’s a weird combination of wanting to get started with an all-important project right away and the feeling of not knowing where to begin at all. Despite a good preboarding program that makes the employee feel welcome, they still have a lot to learn with regards to how their new team functions, and how the company on the whole functions. An onboarding process helps the new employee make a smooth transition and integrate with their work efficiently.
To put it simply, onboarding is the process you set in motion once the candidate starts their first day at work. You train the employee with the necessary knowledge required for their growth in the company.
A study by the Aberdeen Group found that the top companies in the world ensure that 62% of their new hires achieve their first milestone on time, and 91% of those employees were still part of the company after their first year.
In contrast, the worst-performing companies only had 17% of their employees meet their first milestone on time, and only 30% of them remained at the end of the first year. This is proof that a good onboarding process has a direct impact on your retention rate. A good onboarding process covers the following aspects:
First things first, clarify all company policies and perks to the new hire. This includes:
Make the paperwork as streamlined and easy as possible, and make sure you clarify all of their questions before moving to the next step.
Dissatisfaction at work is major because the employees feel like they are not challenged enough or are unable to create an impact. There are easy ways to tackle that:
The perfect role consists of equal parts of these two things—responsibility and accountability.
Too much responsibility with little accountability can lead to misuse of their position. Whereas when you don’t trust them with enough responsibilities but hold them accountable for too much, it leaves them powerless and ineffective.
When you train your new hires, make sure you trust them enough with important tasks, and reduce micromanagement. Consider their suggestions seriously and alter their training process accordingly. After all, a workplace where no mistakes are allowed is one where there is no learning.
Though they may be familiar with their team’s functions, it’s important for them to know how other teams in the company work as well. This helps in building more empathy and better relations between departments. A demo from the heads of each team can go a long way in improving the way the new hire works with them.
The duration of an onboarding process maybe a week or a few months. There is no “one size fits all” approach to these processes, be it pre-boarding or onboarding. It depends on many factors like the size of your company, the org culture, your budget, and the type of industry you operate in.
These are simple measures that you take to ensure that your new hires feel comfortable and are able to be their most productive selves. You can use a combination of these steps, or come up with your own ideas. Either way, it certainly helps to have these measures in place to reduce your churn rate and have a happier workforce.
Arpit Mishra