Exploring the Advantages of Onboarding Software for Business Growth

Bhumi Patel
11 minutes read
April 24, 2023

Starting off on the right foot is essential for new employees—during their first three months, they lay down a foundation and get an insight into whether or not this job will be the perfect match. Companies can make all of the difference here, as a great onboarding experience gives them confidence to stick around!

According to a study, new employees with good onboarding experience are 18X more committed to their employer. And on the same note, businesses that have an organized onboarding software in place, have a 60% increase in a year’s revenue. It’s a win-win for both employees and employers when the onboarding is successfully streamlined.

The onboarding process can be an integral part of any organization, so it’s worth taking the time to understand how it works and why a software solution may benefit you.

What are the 4 common phases of Onboarding?

Phase 1: Pre-Onboarding:

Once a candidate has accepted your offer, the pre-onboarding stage begins – an essential time that can often be filled with uncertainty. During this period between acceptance and the first working day, it’s important to create an inviting atmosphere for new employees so they feel welcome even before their official start date.

Help the new hires complete all their paperwork during the pre-onboarding phase. Give them plenty of time, as they may be finishing up exit tasks at their previous employer. Check to see if they require any assistance in finding a new home in case they are moving. Additionally, you could send them a video or document that provides a brief overview of your organization’s operations and their first day.

Phase 2: Welcoming new hires:

In many cases, the second phase of onboarding is dedicated to welcoming new employees and providing them with an orientation to help with acclimatization. Keep in mind that they won’t know the teams’ routine and may not have met anyone in your company yet. This is why it’s important to give them a clear understanding of your company before they start working. However, as the majority of new hires will be eager to start, it is preferable to limit this phase to less than a week. Some quick tips:

Make the first day as easy as you can.
During orientation, show them how your work practices are in line with your organizational culture and help them better understand it.
Discuss payroll policies, attendance, medical insurance, and time off.
Provide them with directions to cafeterias, medical facilities, and parking spaces if necessary.
Introduce your new hires to their coworkers and other stakeholders after this.
You can arrange a brief meeting with your new hires at the end of the second phase to ensure that they are happy and adjusting well. Do this after a week or so.

Phase 3: Training

One of the most crucial parts of onboarding is training, and how well new employees do at their jobs is directly related to it. According to a study, around 92% of employees said that well-planned employee training programs positively affect their level of engagement.

Your employees might not know what it takes to succeed if they don’t receive formal training. As a result, they may develop a sense of discontent, which may result in a high rate of employee turnover. So, a well-written training plan for new hires will show employees that you care about their growth and make them feel welcome. Some helpful tips:

Help employees familiarize themselves with your Learning Management System as the first step in the training process. They shouldn’t feel overwhelmed when looking at the application if you offer online courses.
Your new hires will be able to choose the learning style that best suits them if you try out a variety of learning methods like blended learning, self-paced learning, and microlearning.
Any resources for training should be kept accessible on a dashboard that employees can easily find and return to.

Phase 4: Transitioning

The final stage of onboarding is designed to assist employees in making the transition from being new hires to full-time employees. Your managers should be encouraged to clearly communicate their responsibilities to their new employees. Smart goals are preferable because they help people visualize success, quality, and productivity. You could conduct a performance review after two months or a quarter to acknowledge their efforts so far and assist them in improving their performance (if need be).

Benefits of Onboarding Software for Your Business

Creates a great first impression:

The old adage still holds true: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”.

An onboarding software helps you make a good first impression on your new employees. It allows you to customize each new hire’s onboarding experience & make them immediately feel like they are a valuable member of the team.

Make a digital welcoming kit that contains documents and videos to help your new hires learn more about the business. Packed full of informative documents and videos, your staff will have everything they need in one place. For extra convenience, create a special dashboard for each hire that contains key information about their job role, manager details, and health insurance plan. A welcoming introduction like this can help make sure everyone is ready to hit the ground running!

Simply put, you can provide each new employee with a bespoke experience that will leave a lasting and positive impression on them.

Consistent employee and HR user experience:

An onboarding software ensures a consistent experience for both new employees and HR managers involved in the process. It offers a streamlined experience for both HR managers and their newest employees – allowing an efficient and organized transition to new roles. It streamlines the process by organizing tasks, providing access to important documents, tracking progress, and sending out reminders for any necessary information required for the onboarding process. All of this makes the recruitment of new staff smoother and ensures that all team members have access to relevant information, so everyone feels informed from day one. Onboarding software is an invaluable tool in making sure HR departments are operating at their best while also making a tangible difference in how employees transition into their new positions.

Smooth Onboarding will allow the new employees to begin their new position with clarity, and the confidence that they are valued. Because employees frequently share their experiences via online reviews, social media posts, or word-of-mouth, this consistent experience can also act as a recruitment marketing strategy. Your brand image is likely to get a boost and job seekers may be enticed to apply if they witness positive experiences that are similar to their requirements.

Manage onboarding activities on a single dashboard:

Keeping your new hires up to date on their new job responsibilities, company policies, and other important details is an important part of the onboarding process.

You can control all of these things from a single place with an employee onboarding software. To ensure that everyone is on the right path, you can create checklists and guides to walk your new hires through specific tasks. Your onboarding software can also be used to create databases of information that your employees will need throughout their employment. In one place, you can keep track of employee information like their strengths and performance reviews. Similarly, your employees won’t have to look for the information they need because they can access it all by logging into their onboarding software.

Most people on their first day of job know what to accomplish! The onboarding process gives you the chance to make clear underlying assumptions, address concerns, and provide comprehensive answers before they become safety hazards or productivity drains. From ensuring that workers have access to the tools and equipment they require to creating the foundation for a lasting relationship with management and leadership, everything falls under this category.

Compliance without complications:

An onboarding software can simplify a lot of the compliance issues that may arise when onboarding new employees. HR must conduct eligibility checks, run background checks, and get tax documents signed. Some new hires might have to sign non-disclosure agreements, complete specialized training, or provide evidence of their work experience.

Many of these basic verification tasks can be completed digitally with the onboarding software. To make sure that all of the necessary information is in one place, HR can create new hire kits that include all of the special requirements for each role. The documents can then be kept safe in a single dashboard. This makes it simple to keep accurate, up-to-date records for each employee.

Reduced turnover and recruitment costs:

According to SHRM , the total estimated cost of replacing an employee ranges from 100-300% of the employee’s salary—We’re not just talking about paying recruiters or running ads as when a worker leaves, other team members have to step in to fill the gaps. This results in further consumption of the company’s time, energy, and extra resources.

An effective onboarding process can help employees stay excited and engaged, which can prevent turnover. As a result, businesses ought to focus on how their onboarding process is viewed and keep on making some improvements.

Automating your onboarding process makes it easier for departments to work together. As a result, it helps eliminate the inconsistencies between departments that are associated with a conventional onboarding procedure. Additionally, it fosters productive team collaboration and communication.

Reduced hiring costs:

Did you know that if the onboarding process goes well, 69% of employees would stay for at least three years?

This is noteworthy since, according to SHRM, it generally costs $4,700 to fill a vacancy in a position. Employers believe that it can cost up to three to four times an employee’s compensation to replace them, however that is an average across all positions.

By promoting a better onboarding experience that results in improved retention, onboarding software can assist your firm in managing these costs. When their onboarding is smooth and they are prepared for their role, new hires are much less likely to hunt for another job.

Integration with existing software:

Your business probably already has processes in place to handle tasks like payroll, time off requests etc. These systems should not be disrupted if a new HR software is introduced for onboarding.

The best onboarding software seamlessly integrates with your existing applications. This means that you can quickly and safely transfer employee data from one system to another, reducing the amount of time required to do so manually.

Less data entry errors:

As new hires are introduced to various systems, HR teams spend a lot of time entering the same information over and over in different softwares. Any manual task that must be done multiple times, is indeed time-consuming and prone to errors.

Data can be transferred digitally—thanks to onboarding software’s ability to integrate with other programs. This results in fewer errors and less time spent manually entering data. When working with personal information that is highly sensitive, such as Social Security numbers and banking information, it becomes a significant concern. The onboarding software does it all for you without making any mistakes.

No paperwork required:

Hiring involves a lot of documentation! If you have ever handled multiple hirings, you are aware that there are numerous paperwork and tasks to complete.

Automating these tasks and documents with employee onboarding software saves you time by eliminating redundant paperwork. You can automate tasks like creating welcome letters, setting up payroll, and creating an employee handbook with employee onboarding software—It also lets you use digital forms instead of paper ones. This not only helps you avoid errors but also saves you time.

Consistent employee engagement:

An onboarding software is a great way for businesses to boost productivity and engagement among their workforce. In fact, organizations with strong onboarding processes increase new hire retention by 82% and improve productivity by 70%.

But how does an Onboarding software sync in with employee engagement?

An employee’s level of emotional commitment to their job, company, and coworkers is known as employee engagement. It basically comes down to how happy, productive, and motivated your employees are at work.

There are a number of ways that employee onboarding software can increase employee engagement. It may contribute to the development of an onboarding procedure for employees that is more personalized and effective.

An employee onboarding software equips the manager with automated personalization. For instance, you can integrate your onboarding software with your ATS, and quickly launch new hires into the correct onboarding experience for their location, designation, department etc.

Making this part of onboarding a cakewalk, your managers should also be able to quickly customize & send pre-written, personalized welcome messages or instructions.

Builds strong company culture:

When people assess job opportunities, company culture acts as a huge deciding factor—46% of job seekers believe the same.

Onboarding software can be an invaluable tool for building strong company culture. It provides personalized onboarding processes tailored to each individual employee, which builds trust and increases engagement. It can bring team members together, share common goals, and provide clear communication and organizational alignment – all important aspects of a successful corporate culture. Through this insight into the company’s values, expectations, training materials and team resources, employees are better equipped to build relationships with their colleagues and adopt the company’s standards. A truly integrated onboarding software is essential for creating a unified corporate culture that helps ensure that everyone strives towards the same objectives.

Here’s how to use your onboarding plan to build a positive work environment –

Communicate your core company values that describe how all employees can expect to be treated and provide guidelines for employees to collaborate with mutual respect.
Set the standard for diversity, inclusion, and belonging. Members of your team should feel like they belong. You could, for instance, incorporate a DI&B learning session into the onboarding procedure for all new employees to learn about employee resource groups and company standards.
With constructive feedback, you can build trust. Because it helps people grow and improve, effective feedback is essential for workplace communication and employee engagement. By asking new hires for feedback, you show that you value their input and encourage them to ask for what they need. On the other hand, giving feedback to new team members helps them learn and feel comfortable in their role because they know you will tell them if they’re doing something wrong.

Takeaway…

Onboarding is a window into your company’s values and beliefs. Its effectiveness is what decides a new hire’s association with your firm.

Establishing a successful onboarding process requires forethought and committed effort, but it can pay tremendous dividends in the long run. With Auzmor Hire on your side, you’ll be able to tailor an all-encompassing software specifically for your company’s needs that will take care of every stage of recruitment—from job requisition through to hiring. It is our mission at Auzmor Hire to help organizations attract top talent and create strong relationships between employees and employers alike!

Ready to take the first step towards your success? Click here to get a demo- a firsthand experience of how we can help you reach your full potential. For queries, reach out to our expert.

FAQs:

Why should you use an onboarding software?

A good onboarding software makes new hires feel welcomed, instills them with confidence, and makes a good brand impression. In addition, an onboarding software lets everyone collaborate and learn—from the HR professional juggling their responsibilities to the new team member learning about their new role.