As in most aspects of daily life, the job market looks significantly different today versus before the COVID-19 pandemic. With 10 million open job positions in the U.S., even as thousands leave their jobs for better opportunities, why are companies struggling to keep employees? The fact is that the rules of the employment game have shifted dramatically.
According to 2022 trends, more people are leaning toward looking for new opportunities or remaining with employers that emphasize and promote digital transformation, hybrid workplaces, upskilling and reskilling and learning and development (L&D). With priorities changing, employees expect transparency and consistency from their new employer throughout the onboarding processes.
Just because a successful hire has been made and is scheduled to go through the onboarding process, doesn’t mean the new hire is completely “hired.” New employees still want to experience a smooth onboarding process without gaps that could drive them to jump to another opportunity.
Employees seek a level of personal consideration that outdated technology platforms struggle to provide. If applicants experience what appears to be a broken or outdated onboarding process and have received various job offers, they might jump ship. Let’s explore how technology can help.
Modernizing Technologies for Onboarding
Many organizations are struggling to find quality candidates in this war on talent. Due to the new employment climate created by The Great Resignation, now coupled with the fear of losing talent to competitors, employers need more than ever to adopt a comprehensive, streamlined technology platform to support onboarding.
Employers need a sufficiently flexible, intuitive and integrated platform that will enable them to rise to meet new hire expectations. They need technology that expedites the process versus doubling down on manual or awkward information transfers. Far too often, employers rely on technology that use too many windows and too many disjointed log ins that force them to jump back and forth between programs. Much of this tediousness can be eliminated via a seamless onboarding platform that supports and automates key parts of the process.
When a candidate accepts a position, most onboarding practices require dozens of paper forms to be submitted for compliance purposes. Paperwork such as I9s, background checks, drug screenings and more can slow the onboarding process to a snail’s pace — increasing the risk of losing quality talent. On the other hand, flexible onboarding automation and compliance management can help directly streamline the process. Delivering easy-to-complete forms to candidates can save employers from being stuck doing busy work and instead help them secure the talent they worked hard to obtain.
A software program that includes an onboarding module can enable the ability to manage the onboarding process seamlessly at scale. Customizable by job type, organization, industry and more, onboarding programs can keep users up to date with their progress at every step of the hiring process. From scheduling first-day chats to ensuring all required paperwork is signed and attached to the contact record. With everything organized, recorded and visible to every stakeholder.
Automation will never be a substitute for the human touch, but it can provide the dexterity to scale, meeting those increased candidate expectations. Technology is advancing, and quality tech infrastructure fosters a more efficient and productive process for both the employees and staffing professionals. Organizations of all types must automate away tasks and processes that are valueless to focus on maintaining the human connection needed to sustain relationships and retain valuable employees.
Moving Forward
With new technologies emerging in the world of work, employers do not have to go about onboarding alone. Adopt an up-to-date streamline technology with automation to help create an engaging experience from the start. This can help retain new hires before day one.
In today’s competitive job market, onboarding is a valuable step in an employee’s job cycle. Onboarding should not only focus on orientation and training, but on fostering a human connection. By automating certain tasks, employers can alleviate work from their shoulders, providing the time for them to make a connection with new hires.
The moments before a new hire’s first day are just as essential as the days after. The onboarding process begins the minute they accept the offer. Instead of fumbling with time consuming and disjointed technology, employers must adopt a streamlined platform that will enable them to secure and retain new hires from the start of the relationship.
