With many companies contending with high wait periods before taking on a new hire thanks to longer notice periods and stricter regulatory standards, it can be difficult to keep new hires excited about their role. Unfortunately this period is more important than ever and it’s vital that companies don’t lose momentum and keep spirits high.
With more flexibility than ever and a competitive jobs market putting top talent in the driving seat, those that don’t utilise this period are at risk of losing their best hires even before they start. Onboarding needs to begin well before the first day to keep them engaged otherwise they may start to wonder if they made the right choice and back out before they even step into the role.
That’s where SuccessFactors customer AGCO struggled before taking on the Onboarding module. As existing clients they had already seen the transformation that SuccessFactors could bring when they took on Talent Management. With a centralised system for managing employee hiring, training and development in place they had already laid the foundation for a revolutionary onboarding process. Implementing SuccessFactors Onboarding was the next logical step.
Onboarding can reinforce the company culture and the benefits of joining the team so they know they’ve made the right decision for themselves and for their career. During this critical period it’s important to give the most valuable experience possible, and it’s not just new hires that benefit. Companies can look forward to improved retention rates and increased productivity by giving their new employees the warm and informative welcome they deserve.
Onboarding is also important even if candidates aren’t successful during the hiring process or probationary period. They can walk away feeling they had a good experience and are a valued individual who would still recommend the company to others. Onboarding is about more than taking on new employees, it’s about becoming the company you want to be.
With that in mind, AGCO wanted to aim high with their onboarding process.
Create a pre-boarding experience with a personalised welcome portal. Provide information that reinforces what makes your company great and what new hires have to look forward to, whether its your thriving social activities or amazing chill-out zones. Additionally, provide information to get them excited about their career such as the various career paths available and even case studies from successful leaders within the company.
The welcome portal can also provide essential information for the first day. Not only can this help to calm nerves and again maintain excitement, but it’s also vital to helping them hit the ground running for day one productivity. Provide an itinerary for their first day or even first week, a list of important people like line managers and mentors plus other resources and contacts so they can get answers to questions and find out more about their role.
Cloud capabilities and a smart digital experience help keep everyone on the same page and ultimately reduce admin and onboarding times. Easily track candidates through their onboarding process and with the help of DocuSign you can quickly arrange for important forms to be completed and signed off from any device. Alerts can help nudge managers and other important stakeholders to complete their responsibilities so new hires can get on with getting settled in. This is all part of giving all candidates and hires, successful or not, the best possible experience.
In combination with SuccessFactors learning and development modules, you can incorporate training into your onboarding process and connect employees to mentors to kick-start careers. Create a personalised onboarding plan for each new hire with courses and training relevant to their role along with leaders and mentors to guide them along the way. This can include compulsory training to ensure compliance for each role and industry as well as development courses in line with the new employees chosen career path and goals so they can start working towards that promotion.
With your onboarding and hiring data all in one place you have everything you need at your fingertips to look at what’s working and what isn’t so you can plan for success in the future. Data driven decision making is vital to making the right moves for your business and your employees so everyone can continue to grow.
Want to see what SuccessFactors Onboarding could do for you? Book a demo with us today and let us take you through the SuccessFactors process, from hiring and onboarding to analytics for decision making.