The Onboarding Solution: A Look Behind the Scene
Christen Uber October 26, 2007
Timing, as they say, is everything. In the October 2nd issue of Human Resource Executive an article written by Louis Greenstein titled Beyond Day One explores the benefits and ROI companies embracing and utilizing e-onboarding can anticipate. I say timing is everything because next week on Tuesday, October 30th while concluding our 4 part series on Bernard Hodes’ Employment Brand Index Bradley Savoy and I will be addressing retention factors that are impacted by a companies employment brand. One of those factors includes a company’s education and training specifically the onboarding process.
The article sites a 2006 study conducted by the Aberdeen Group in partnership with the Human Capital Institute and interviews with senior executives in the human capital management community. One of the findings indicated “90 percent of employees decide within their first six months on the job whether to stay at a company.” Our data supports a similar conclusion however; the perspective is slightly different since Bernard Hodes’ Employment Brand Index data is obtain from a companies most critical voice and lense – the employee. The data we collected from over 11,000 new hires within the last 12 months suggest as an employees’ tenure reaches six months of employment, education and training have a positive impact on their awareness of advancement opportunities. Coupled with our findings that career opportunities is the leading attribute attracting candidates to companies leads us to conclude; if an employee has followed and participated in an education and training schedule, i.e. onboarding, that not only are they further engaged in the company to have advancement awareness, but also further cemented skills needed to succeed in the current role and future ones. Ultimately this leads to longer-term retention.
During our webinar series segment focusing specifically on Branding and its impact on the candidate experience a participant submitted a question asking “Why do you think that the brand is strongest at 30 days and then decreases in tenure so much that only 50% is satisfied at a year? Ironically, the article poses a similar question to Brian Platz, Chief Operating Office of SilkRoad Technology regarding the dissatisfaction of employees within the early stages of the employment. Platz response was “Then they get the job and there’s a drop in interest.” Calling SilkRoad’s process “talent branding,” he says a new employee’s experience should match up with the expectations they had as a candidate. “You get the company pitches during the interview process, but then you start and reality hits,” he says. “[Comprehensive onboarding] is a way to bridge the gap.” Although, I agree with Platz, I feel there are additional underlining factors impacting an employee’s dissatisfaction or early disengagement ultimately leading to a gap between expectations and reality that a comprehensive onboarding may not be able eliminate. Companies should take a behind the scenes look at what caused the gap between expectations vs. reality. From the data the EBI has uncovered gaps between expectations vs. reality can be caused by:
• Recruiting Process Effectiveness: during the recruiting process hiring managers and recruiting staff can present inaccurate information setting unrealistic expectations. Additionally, recruiters sometimes don’t necessarily understand the skills necessary to be successful within a position and therefore can not accurately consult with the candidates to determine if their skills were the right fit for the job in the first place.
· Brand Impact. Job Brand holds the most strength over time. Employees can become quickly disengaged if the employer brand and attributes of the job were not accurately depicted in the companies messaging. These messaging needs to be consistent, regularly communicated and support by the necessary tools and resources throughout the employees tenure. Once this messaging becomes inconsistent employees could be at risk for attrition.
Overall, my experience in Human Resources has lead me to value the importance of onboarding as it relates to the long term success and retention of any employee. I believe it is an extension of many collaborative efforts across multiple functions within a company. However, I don’t not feel it is the major stand alone key to long term retention and believe there are more behind the scenes factors that sometimes go overlooked.
Posted in Human Resources Analytics, Employer Branding, Human Resources, Recruiting, Retention
