[Interview] Onboarding as a key process to optimise HR management.

Onboarding is a key process when it comes to welcoming a new employee, and can even become the first hurdle when deciding whether or not to integrate a new profile. Primarily, onboarding is a reflection of a company's culture, but how do you make a good first impression and ensure that the new team member is here to stay? Aarón Cogolludo answers our questions.

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1- What are the consequences of inadequate onboarding?

Onboarding is a key process when it comes to welcoming a new employee so that he/she can incorporate, within a certain period of time, as many of the values, processes, methodology and culture of the new company as possible. In this sense, a bad implementation has a direct impact on the employee's performance and tasks, errors in the onboarding process and the lack of fluid and effective communication throughout the process have repercussions on the results of the team that incorporates the new employee.

For this reason, below we highlight the key points to bear in mind during the first weeks of work:

It's the little things that count

Punctuality:

At the start of the working day, you should show respect for your new colleague by also arriving on time. It often happens that a new colleague arrives at the office on time, but the person assigned to help him or her is still in a meeting for a couple of hours. To save your new colleagues the typical Monday morning chaos and have enough preparation time for yourself, simply allow them to start work that day an hour later than usual.

Welcome culture:

The welcome gift should be prepared before the new employee's first day of work (see above), and let the surprise effect work. From the very first moment, small gestures like this foster the new team member's sense of belonging, and become a memorable souvenir. Small gestures can have a strong impact.

Introductions:

To get off to a good start, we recommend that you organise a small introductory meeting. Of course, this does not mean that the whole company has to be waiting in the office for the new colleague on the first day. However, at the very least, the colleagues with whom he or she will be working directly in the same department and the mentor should introduce themselves and discuss their areas of responsibility. This will make it easier for the new person to establish contact and reduce any qualms they may have about asking someone directly for help.

Team feeling:

Having lunch with colleagues from the same department on the first day of work reinforces the sense of community and creates a basis of trust for working together in the future.

2- Why should the onboarding of new employees be "digitised"?

A digitised HR department gives the company a decisive competitive advantage, as it lays the foundations for efficient work processes throughout the company. For HR managers, this primarily means more time to focus on what really matters: their employees. Unfortunately, HR is still a department where decisions are made very slowly, especially when it comes to developing new processes, initiatives and tools. In this respect, the pandemic crisis has forced companies to implement the right technology to digitise their procedures, especially when it comes to onboarding.

Some important figures to consider:

• 88% of employees think their company does not have a good onboarding process.
• Only 30% receive internal training within the first 2 weeks.
• Only 50% receive information about tasks and processes.
• Only 60% find their workplace ready for work.
• 82% more staff retention can be achieved with a good onboarding process.
• 70% more productivity can be achieved with effective onboarding from day one.

Companies must understand that onboarding starts before day one and for a successful implementation we recommend the following steps:

Before day one:

• Greetings from the future team by mail.
• First day information (time, schedule, links to remote sessions).
• Inform current employees about the new team members.
• Prepare the designated partner to feel at ease.
• Write orientation plan.
• Make sure the new employee is familiar with video call tools, so as not to lose anyone during the induction sessions. Arrange separate calls and sessions to explain the tools beforehand, if necessary.
• Send the welcome package (technical equipment, keys, welcome gift) by post or courier.

During the first week:

• Communication is more important than ever.
• Email or short video message from the CEO to reduce personal fear about company health and personal job security.
• Make sure all technical equipment is complete, that all necessary tools and VPN are installed and that headsets are included for video calls. New members cannot go through the IT department to fix things quickly.
• A remote meeting tool (Zoom, Hangout, etc.) is essential so that new members don't miss their welcome session on the first day.
• Personal relationships help the welcoming culture.
• Structured onboarding encourages productivity.
• Regular check-ins give structure.

In terms of productivity, companies should consider implementing HR software platforms to reduce administrative tasks so that the HR department can focus on the most important asset: people.

Good onboarding requires:

• More than 50 different tasks.
• Done in the right order.
• By five different departments or employees.
• At the right time.

A structured onboarding process:

• Ensures a good start in the new company, already before the first day.
• Increases productivity and commitment.
• The use of software can simplify administrative tasks.
• Gives more time for appreciation tasks, such as Check In Coffees.

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3- Can you give us 5 tips for companies to ensure they implement a successful remote onboarding?

One of the most important challenges faced by HR departments in the face of the new normal has been to successfully address the onboarding of new employees remotely in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. In this context, HR professionals must focus more than ever on their employees, but to do so they must save time on administrative tasks, which typically take up 42% of the day according to a study conducted by the company in 2019. So is it possible to make onboarding processes warm and efficient at the same time? It is certainly a completely new landscape for which tools must be found to make the work easier.

One of the most important challenges faced by HR departments in the new normality has been to successfully deal with the on-boarding of new employees remotely, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

In this context, joining a team from home and creating a sense of belonging is one of the biggest challenges, as the new member will not be able to get to know the workplace and his or her colleagues personally. What can you do? Facilitate their onboarding with a well-structured remote onboarding process. It is therefore essential to take into account the following keys to ensure that the employee-company tandem continues to function in the new circumstances that accompany us:

1- Communication: for many employees, having to work from home due to current mobility constraints can be a tense situation. Therefore, in order to alleviate their fears, it is important that the HR team keeps in close contact with the new employees and informs them openly about the situation. To prevent them from worrying, it is best to anticipate the situation. For example, the manager or HR manager can send an email or a short video answering the most important questions and welcoming newcomers to the company.

2- Configure the equipment beforehand: in order not to overwhelm the newcomer, it is ideal that they receive the laptops with all the necessary software and tools (including VPN) already installed, as it will be more difficult to ask the company's IT department for help from home.

3- Organise training sessions: always ask the new employee, before the first day, if they are familiar with the most common meeting and chat tools such as Google Hangouts, Zoom and Slack. Organise training sessions before they start work so that everyone can participate in the virtual introductory meetings or create quick guides with the main functions of each tool. Not everyone has this knowledge.

4- Offer personalised on-boarding: encourage the exchange of information between HR, managers and new colleagues as often as possible. It should be borne in mind that introductions that used to be made in person are now made via laptop. It is therefore advisable to encourage contact with the team, whether over coffee, lunch or virtual beers. Tools such as Wellbeing Warrior can also help to promote cross-departmental contact. This tool randomly suggests colleagues with whom you can take a virtual lunch or break. Remember that communication is not only important to calm worries and fears at the beginning.

5- Appoint a mentor to maintain closeness: Personio has a mentoring programme, both remotely and in person, to welcome new recruits. Each new employee is assigned a mentor who will help them during their induction and make their advice, experience and skills available to them. In today's context, working from home, this figure becomes even more important. It is not only an emotional partner, but also the one who will be in charge of introducing the other teams and the company culture.

Times are tough for HR specialists and new team members alike, but a professional and well-tailored onboarding process helps to significantly increase employee productivity from day one and staff retention.