As an HR Specialist, have you ever faced difficulties in timing your tasks when onboarding a new employee and getting them done by the respective teams seamlessly? Or, felt lost in the middle of planning your onboarding workflow every time there’s a new hire orientation?
If yes, then the possibilities are --- maybe you that enables your employee onboarding isn’t really helping you combat your onboarding challenges. Or, maybe you are a little too far away from measuring your employee onboarding ROI because of the irrelevant choice of the employee onboarding technology that you made.
In the worst-case scenario, you’ve not identified the rationale behind needing one.
Remember, an employee onboarding solution can only catalyze the whole process, it can’t simply replace an HR or any equivalent roles for that matter. Also, With the advent of HR tech, there are a plethora of affordable employee onboarding solutions in the market. This page will help you understand if you really need one for your organization. If yes, then you will understand how and what you should be looking for during the evaluation of choosing your employee onboarding software, etc..
People might ask what’s the challenge in employee onboarding as it’s seen as one of the underrated/monotonous tasks in a hiring workflow. But, employee onboarding as such is a process by itself. Your employee onboarding program can make or break your employer branding based on how you optimize it. Yes, your new hires are going to feel disengaged and leave without clarity on where they are heading thus spreading bad word-of-mouth about your employer brand. Subsequently, the goal for which you hired someone is going to be at risk as this person can turn out to be less productive or provide mediocre output. Optimizing comes with a lot of planning and organization. Given that your onboarding is meant to be time-bound, you only have a considerable amount of time to win your new hires’ heart.
Here are some of the questions you might have aka the steps you need to follow when you realize your company needs an employee onboarding software too.
The key to identifying the right onboarding solution for your company is to first write down two things in terms of your onboarding program.
By doing this, you’re listing down all the downsides and potential pitfalls to your existing onboarding workflow.
Let’s make this easier for you. Answer this question:
Remember, your employee onboarding software should substantiate your reasons to start using one. The following could be some of the reasons why you’re looking for an employee onboarding software:
And the list goes on.
The key is to BRAINSTORM. As much as you can. Seek help from your Business leaders, Finance specialists, IT operations manager, and whoever you think can help you identify the roadblocks in your existing onboarding workflow.
And hey, don’t forget your existing employees, okay?
Because they need an Employee Self-service portal, they’d know it better :) After all, you’re shelling out money on an onboarding solution just to make them happy.
You could have various reasons to purchase an onboarding software, but, remember, the crux of all of these ideas is to streamline the onboarding process for better retention and human resource utilization.
If you have reasons beyond what we discuss in this article, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to help you figure things out :)
Where exactly have you faced difficulties until today? What’s the list of things that got you furious when you had to juggle every time there was a new hire onboarding? Understand the drawbacks of the existing system and jot down your existing onboarding workflow.
Done?
Now, sit back and recollect your moments of frustration and circle back to them to understand what exactly do you need to get them fixed. Once you identify this, you can now bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
Now, this brings us to the third step.
Note: This Is exactly why we asked you to follow the steps under question 2.
You can go ahead and approach the vendors if all the below mentioned boxes are checked.
Your employee onboarding software should also be compatible with other applications and platforms for you to enable your employees to perform other tasks post joining. Some of these include e-signing documents, integration with Gsuite, online survey/feedback platforms, calendar, notes, etc,. If your onboarding software isn’t flexible enough, your process can’t be either. Make sure you invest in just one right tool to avoid confusion that might otherwise be caused due to the usage of multiple tools.
If your onboarding software isn’t flexible enough, your process can’t be either. Make sure you invest in just one right tool to avoid confusion that might otherwise be caused due to the usage of multiple tools.
Before demoing the products that made it to your vendors-of-interest list, check for all the review sites namely Software Advice, Capterra, Pcmag, etc.. , customer testimonials on the websites, and other forums like Quora, Reddit, Spiceworks, etc. Check for the comments below. Check their social presence to see how actively are they responding to customer queries.
Yes, check with every possible solution that satisfies all your criteria. Gain a complete understanding of how the solution works and don’t forget to explain the Pre-sales person on the other end about what you want to accomplish. Ask them how you’d benefit from the solution and how it will help you bridge the gap.
In the pursuit of selecting an employee onboarding software, don’t let the Pre-RFPs intervene as this might hinder you from doing some deep analysis and might as well confine your thought process.
Ideally, your RFP is a detailed employee onboarding software requirements document. Send this to your ‘vendors of interest’ and tell them the functionalities and features you’re looking for and why. Explain to them the roadblocks that you’re facing right now with your current system.
Some questions you can ask yourself before writing down an RFP:
What is your budget?
Why are you looking for a new onboarding solution? What prompted your decision?
Will your Onboarding solution need to include any external features?
What technical platform will the Onboarding solution be on?
Do you have an implementation plan? Do you have a team in place?
What training is included, security controls, and what reports can be generated from the system?
Differentiate your “must have’s” vs “nice to have’s.”
Mention a deadline given for vendor responses.
Overview of your organization and need for an employee onboarding software
IT and system specifications
Required or desired system features
Information required from vendors:
Company overview, including financial viability, market share, strategic partnerships, industry leadership, number of employees, years in the business
Description of the solution, including standard and optional features, functions, and modules
Other talent solutions offered and any benefits of bundling those solutions
The product roadmap for the next 1-2 years
Customer base and retention rate
Representative clients within your industry
Integration capabilities with your HCM, HRIS System, or other softwares
Customer Support model - Is it email only or do they have live phone support?
Solution architecture
Technology security and data protection
Customer references
Implementation approach and timeline
Cost proposal, including all licensing fees, training, customer support, and implementation
Instructions and deadline for submitting proposals
Point of contact for questions.
Successful onboarding is not just about the new recruits; the current workforce should be satisfied with the speed of hiring, the quality of candidates, and how informed they are on Day 1. After all, you’re doing all of this to keep them happy and keep them with you. So, watch out for:
Positive feedback from new hires: Are your new hires happy with how they’re onboarded? If yes, then it should be reflecting on the surveys that you conduct. Happy employees always leave positive feedback. Hear them out carefully. Especially the negative ones. This also ties back directly to your employee retention rates. From your analysis you can verify the following:
Are new hires raising queries on topics or items that you thought were built into the program design?
Do they have access to all the platforms needed on a day-on-day basis?
Are recruits making errors in essential tasks such as compliance, disturbing workflows as a result?
Initial Productivity: Percentage of new employees who meet their first performance goal. Check with their respective managers to know how they are performing and getting up to speed. Track their learning curve.
Saved labor cost and staff hours: Compare the number of hours and human resources you’ve been utilizing previously to what you’re doing now. Automation means saved time and resources. So watch out for that. Now tell me, Is your employee onboarding software helping?
Or do you need us? Happy to help :)
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