Onboarding is an integral part of the recruitment process to ensure a successful start for new employees. When organisations are looking to hire the best talent in a crowded market, it pays to prioritise the onboarding process. In this insight, we look at where onboarding responsibilities sit and the value of recruitment software for onboarding.
A structured onboarding process for new recruits is crucial to building engagement and sharing knowledge, values, and what to expect in their role. It is also beneficial for employers to build on the brand and EVP a candidate has experienced to date, mitigate the number of no-shows on day one and improve the retention of new starters over key short-term milestones.
Does one size onboarding fit all?
Onboarding can be a generic process for all new starters or for more complex organisations that recruit for many different business areas or across different geographies; you may opt for multiple onboarding processes, each aligned to the business area, role, location and so on.
It helps to define where your onboarding process starts and where this responsibility sits in the business. For some organisations, it begins at the point of making an offer.
Who owns onboarding?
Is it the Recruitment Team, HRBPs, Hiring Managers, HR & Payroll, or a dedicated Onboarding Team? Well, all have a role to play in the process; much of it depends on the size and structure of an organisation. An example might be:
The recruitment team would make each offer of employment as they had engaged with the candidate throughout the recruitment process.
Hiring Manager would follow up with a congratulatory welcome call, or email to make the new starter feel valued. If the new starter had a notice period, the Hiring Manager might make regular contact to check in before joining.
Once a new starter joins, the onboarding process can split into multiple areas of ownership –Payroll, HR/L&D and the Hiring Manager.
Whatever your onboarding process and ownership throughout the stages, it’s an employee’s first impression of your company culture and a significant opportunity to help new recruits settle in.
Applicant Tracking System onboarding
Automating and streamlining the onboarding process with technology means you can manage the entire onboarding process online. From automated reference collection and compliance checks to offer acceptance and document signing. Securely collecting and fully encrypting information when gathering financial and other sensitive info is a benefit of using an applicant tracking system with effective protection and security control.
With paperwork taken care of well in advance, successful hires can enjoy their first-day stress-free and get the right impression from the off!
Tip: Candidates may not have all the information to hand when online onboarding, so check your recruitment ats allows information to be saved and completed later, even on mobile and tablet devices.
Your recruitment software or applicant tracking system (ATS) should be agile to support single or multiple onboarding processes, giving you ownership to design what you need and make changes to the process when you need to (without paying extra). Flexibility is the key.
Read: Mencap’s flexible candidate journey
Automated onboarding with recruitment software doesn’t need to be impersonal. Automated emails can be engaging and on-brand. Onboarding videos help guide new starters through the process, making the journey smoother and reducing new starters contacting you for help. Recruitment ats systems should also be able to gather new starter feedback too.
Successful Onboarding
Done right, onboarding helps to:
Reduce losing candidates at the first hurdle
Speed up the offer acceptance process
Reduce no shows
Reduce turnover
Help an employee to integrate into the organisation quickly and understand the company culture
Take a look at a quick guide to what is possible with onboarding
And a case study of how Wren Kitchens achieved some pretty amazing results with recruitment software.
Eploy Recruitment Software Case Studies - Retail | Eploy ATS
