You only get one chance to make a good first impression.
This popular truism applies to many aspects of life, but nowhere more so than the start of a new employee/employer relationship. While many people assume the emphasis is on new employees to impress in such situations, the reality is that the door absolutely swings both ways.
In today’s job market, finding the right person for the job can be a costly and time-consuming exercise, so the last thing organizations want is for new hires to have second thoughts about their position after just a few days. Avoiding that scenario requires effective onboarding, with particular emphasis on delivering a positive day one experience. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
What your new hires want from you on day one
Starting a new job is always a nerve-wracking time for an employee. New hires may have left the safety and comfort of a previous position, they may be returning to the workforce after a period of absence, or they might even be entering it for the first time.
While most will have been through multiple rounds of interviews and communications with their new employer in the leadup to accepting a job offer, the first day in the office marks the real start of this new relationship.
Many employers use day one as an opportunity to begin the onboarding process, but there is often a big divide between what new employees want from onboarding and what employers choose to focus on.
According to a recent study, the top onboarding priorities for new employees include:
- One-on-one time with their manager (72%)
- Receiving clear expectations for their role (67%)
- Building relationships with coworkers (56%)
- Understanding company culture and values (54%)
- Feeling welcomed as part of the team (51%)
When these expectations are met, the benefits can be significant. Not only are employees 3.4 times more likely to rate their onboarding as successful, but they can also feel up to 18 times more committed to their new employer as a result.
Unfortunately, too many employers view day one onboarding as little more than an administrative exercise, eschewing culture building and one-on-one time with managers in favor of laborious form filling and data processing.
In fact, research by the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) found that 58% of organizations still focus onboarding on processes rather than people, while a similar study by TalentLMS found over half (52%) of onboarding programs today prioritize paperwork and compliance.
Maybe that’s why just 12% of employees today say their organization did a good job of onboarding them.
Excellent employee experience starts long before day one
What organizations don’t realize is that many of these administrative onboarding tasks can (and should) be completed well in advance of a new employee’s start date. In most cases, they simply lack the technology needed to do so, instead relying on HR teams manually juggling numerous spreadsheets and emails, which inevitably leads to a poor employee experience.
Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of automated HR workflow solutions, which are purpose-built to streamline key aspects of the onboarding process and help get new employees up and running fast.
For example, the Nintex Platform enables HR teams to create standardized onboarding workflows that can be initiated at the click of a button long before day one. Once initiated, new employees automatically receive key information, can digitally sign/submit forms and contracts, request IT equipment, and even complete virtual inductions prior to their first day, with everything tracked via a centralized HR portal. Even traditionally complex tasks like email account setup and initial password creation can be completed ahead of time, helping to eliminate sources of frustration and ensure their first day in the workplace is one to remember … for all the right reasons.
While nobody remembers their 55th day in a new job, almost everyone remembers their first. The day one onboarding experience plays a fundamental role in shaping every employee’s outlook towards their new company, team and individual role. Getting it right creates highly committed and motivated employees, but getting it wrong can have them quickly looking for the door. Automating key HR workflows helps eliminate uncertainty surrounding the onboarding process and ensures a consistent, streamlined experience every time. Because when it comes to first impressions, you don’t get a second chance.
Learn more about how to enhance the employee experience with Nintex.
