Many people working in recruitment will recognise spending a lot of time and effort in finding the right candidate for a job. After countless interviews, you’ve found the right person, and their first day has finally arrived. Everything seems to be going fine, but after a few months, things change and maybe they’ll leave you and your client behind in disappointment! Its a waste of efforts on both sides. Choosing the right candidate is hard enough, but integrating and retaining new employees proves even more difficult.
Ensure that new employees are properly integrated
Successful onboarding is essential in a world where talent has their choice of jobs and are regularly switching employers. It is also the first stage in beginning the employee journey at a new company. As an organisation, you want to kick-start a successful employee experience right away, and the best way to do that is with a solid onboarding program.
Would you like to know how JobnetAfrica can help you with your employee engagement and integration? Contact us on contact@jobnetafrica.com.
What is an onboarding program?
Onboarding is the process in which new employees get acquainted with their role, their team and the organisation. Proper onboarding helps employees become part of the organisation and makes an active shift towards the contribution to organisational goals. In other words, it influences the process of integrating newcomers to the company, turning them into inspired and productive employees. It starts when the organisation says “yes” to a candidate and stops when the new employee is fully up to speed. This process may take up to 8 months.
What does a good streamlined onboarding process look like?
A solid onboarding process has a positive effect on the satisfaction, engagement and performance of new employees. Without proper onboarding, negative effects can arise:
- 5% of new employees quit immediately after a disastrous first day
- 20% of new employees will leave within the first 45 days of employment
- Almost one in every three new employees will leave the company (voluntarily or involuntarily) before the end of their first year
A good onboarding process leads to faster integration of new employees while decreasing costs. Replacing an employee costs on average an organisation between 50% to 150% of the departing employee’s annual salary!
Successful onboarding also has a positive effect on employer branding. In the first weeks of starting a new job, friends, family and former colleagues will ask who the new employer is. As an organisation, you want this first impression to be the best. With proper onboarding, new employees will immediately share a positive impression of the company, within their direct network.
The result
A positive effect on employer branding: Make your employees, brand ambassadors
- As an organisation, you are more attractive to talent
- You help new employees quickly contribute to organisational success
- Organisations recognise the signals of premature development, on time
- Insight into the effectiveness of your onboarding policy
3 Important Aspects of Integrating New Employees
There is no clear-cut process for successful onboarding. Onboarding programs may vary by organisation, for example depending on size and culture. However, we want to outline three main elements that are shared amongst the most successful onboarding processes:
1. Operational: Make sure that new employees have the right materials and knowledge (such as clarity and business jargon) to do their job well
2. Social: Make new employees feel welcome, build and promote valuable relationships with colleagues and managers, and feel part of the organisation
3. Strategic: Ensure that newcomers know the organisation (structure, vision, mission, goals, key developments, culture) and identify with it
If you would like to read more about 3 important aspects of integrating new employees, check Effectory.
Check JobnetAfrica for international jobs in Africa and if you have any questions, contact us at contact@jobnetafrica.com.