ENSURING A SEAMLESS AND PAPERLESS EMPLOYEE ON-BOARDING EXPERIENCE

Posted by: Gunjan Singh, Head of Technology

The On-boarding Shift

As the pandemic raged on, organizations were forced almost overnight to carry out on-boarding activities for new joiners in a never-before online only format. With the personal touch and connect of in-person new hire joining being snatched away, organizations were left scrambling for tools and technologies to assimilate their new hires seamlessly into their ecosystem. Finding the right technological aid became critical, especially because on-boarding is not just limited to welcoming a new employee, but involves a variety of government-mandated statutes such as form filling and new joiner formalities, leading to a lot of data being collected, generated and stored. Hence, it is critical to uphold data privacy and security while scouting for the right tool. Over and above these logistical hassles, remote joining of employees meant faceless communication and isolation. 

Some ways to ensure a seamless and paperless on-boarding of the Employee are as follows:

1. Design the process with right purpose: To design an on-boarding process, leaders must ask themselves a few core questions, such as “What impression do you want new hires to walk away with at the end of the first day?”, “What do new employees need to know about the culture and work environment?” and “What kind of goals do you want to set for new employees?”. This will help HR understand the overarching purpose and define the objective of having an on-boarding program in the first place.
2. Enable operations online: Many on-boarding activities will need logistical revamp from an HR Operations perspective. HR must start with making a checklist of activities, from converting any hard copy training manuals, contracts, employee handbooks, and policy and procedure packets into digital files. Companies would do better by investing in an employee portal that hosts an on-boarding module. 
3. Ensure access: Out of sight need not be out of mind. In fact, emerging technologies are far from out of sight. Virtual collaboration tools such as digital conferencing; file sharing, messaging apps etc. confer great power to bring together people virtually. But while designing the modules, HR must remember that access is not just about making connections; it entails enabling access to resources, access to people and access to tools and information that can bring people up to speed to perform in their roles. 
4.  Adhere to compliance norms: New hire activities include many government and statutory mandates such as employment forms, payroll data, etc. This piece of the on-boarding system must be designed to have all necessary checks and balances from a compliance perspective. Process workflows must flow as per quantitative and qualitative mandates, with both automated and human checks every step of the way.
5.  Enable two-way dialogue: An on-boarding system must not be a one-way information giving mechanism, it must enable two-way dialogue and discussion. For example, setting up virtual connects of the new team member with leaders is a great way towards inclusion. Holding one-on-ones with new hires helps offer timely and valuable support. A virtual buddy program can help establish a fun, informal connect. 
6. Encourage regular feedback touch points: Virtual connect should work in reverse direction too i.e. feedback gathering from the new hire. HR technologies that enable new hire surveys, one-on-one meetings, and goal and performance tracking software can help create these multiple feedback touch points.

Clearly, it is in the interest of the organization to prioritize on-boarding as a key HR process, and leaders must proactively invest in seamless on-boarding technologies. This is especially true for today’s hybrid workforce, where driving a seamless paperless on-boarding workflow can create a ‘wow’ experience from the first employee touch point onwards and set new employees up for success.