Top 5 employee onboarding challenges - SOLVED!
The onboarding process is a critical stage in the employee lifecycle, as it sets the tone for the entire employment experience. New hires are excited and eager to learn about their role, the company, and its culture. As an HR leader, you have the responsibility to ensure that the onboarding process is effective, engaging, and sets the stage for a successful and productive work experience. However, onboarding new employees can present a number of challenges for HR leaders, which can impact employee engagement, retention, and overall productivity.
Challenge #1: Integration with Company Culture
One of the key challenges that HR leaders face when onboarding new employees is ensuring that they are effectively integrated into the company culture. Company culture is a critical component of the work experience and can have a significant impact on employee engagement and job satisfaction. It is important that new hires understand the organization’s values, mission, and goals, and how they fit into the overall company culture.
Solution: Provide Cultural Orientation
One solution to this challenge is to provide new hires with a cultural orientation program. This program should provide new hires with an overview of the company culture, its history, and its core values. It should also provide them with an opportunity to meet their colleagues and learn about the company’s mission, goals, and objectives.
Client Case Study: A global logistics firm realizes that their onboarding program is not effectively communicating the company’s culture and values to new hires. We revised their program to include interactive modules that highlight the company’s vision, mission, and values and provide real-life examples of how employees are contributing to these goals. New hires are more connected to the company culture and feel more invested in their role, resulting in better job satisfaction and employee retention.
Challenge #2: Time and Cost
Onboarding new employees can be time-consuming and expensive, especially for large organizations with a high volume of new hires. HR leaders must find ways to streamline the onboarding process and minimize the time and resources required to get new hires up-to-speed.
Solution: Implement Technology-Based Onboarding
A solution to this challenge is to implement technology-based, bite sized onboarding trainings. Also, online onboarding platforms can automate many of the administrative tasks associated with onboarding, such as completing forms and tracking compliance training. This can save HR leaders time and resources and ensure that new hires receive consistent and comprehensive information.
Client Case Study: An HR leader at a fast-paced financial company realizes that their onboarding process is taking too much time and disrupting the productivity of new hires. We introduce a virtual onboarding program that provides new hires with all the necessary information and training materials in a streamlined and efficient manner. Employees are able to complete the program on their own schedule, reducing the impact on their work productivity.
Challenge #3: Ensuring Compliance
HR leaders must ensure that all new hires complete required compliance training and meet all legal requirements before they can begin work. This can be a challenge, especially for organizations with a high volume of new hires and a complex compliance landscape.
Solution: Automate Compliance Tracking
A solution to this challenge is to automate compliance tracking. Online onboarding platforms can be configured to track compliance training and ensure that all new hires complete the required training before they can begin work. This can help HR leaders ensure that all new hires are in compliance with legal requirements and reduce the risk of non-compliance.
Client Case Study:
An HR leader at a financial services company is tasked with ensuring that all new employees receive training on the company’s regulatory compliance policies and procedures, but is struggling to get new hires to fully engage in the training and retain the information. We switched from a traditional lecture-style training approach to an interactive, gamified onboarding program which has a status tracking system to monitor each new employee’s progress and also rewards them for having completed all necessary compliance training. The gamified training approach not only makes the training more enjoyable for employees, but it also helps the HR leader meet regulatory requirements and ensures that the company remains compliant.
Challenge #4: Providing Comprehensive Information
HR leaders must provide new hires with comprehensive information about the company, its policies and procedures, benefits, and job responsibilities. This information can be overwhelming, especially for new hires who are just starting their employment journey.
Solution: Create customised training – one size never fits all
Provide a customized, role-specific onboarding experience to new hires which focuses on their specific needs and job responsibilities.
Challenge #5: Onboarding Remote Workers
HR leaders must find effective ways to onboard remote workers and ensure that they have the necessary tools, resources, and support to be successful in their new role. This can be a challenge, especially in the current remote work environment.
Solution: Virtual Onboarding Programs
One solution to this challenge is to implement virtual onboarding programs that can be accessed by remote workers from anywhere in the world. Virtual onboarding programs can include online videos, virtual tours, and interactive quizzes that provide remote workers with the information they need to do their job. Compatibility testing of these trainings is crucial as employees may be accessing them from platforms of their choice i.e. Desktop, Mobile or Tablet and those may not be on the latest operating system. Also make these trainings easy to access and embed them or their quick links at relevant pages of the company website for quick reference.
In conclusion, the onboarding process is critical for HR leaders, as it lays the foundation for the new employee’s experience at the company. By overcoming the challenges discussed and few others that we didn’t cover in this blog such as managing inconsistent processes, lack of engagement, lack of personalization and resistance to change etc. HR leaders have the superpower of creating “super heroes” that can shape the future of any company. Anemative is one company that is leading the way in creating interactive onboarding training that employees love, and HR leaders should consider working with them to create a highly personalized and engaging experience for their new employees.
