*By Paulo Oliveira
Integration is a critical part of the employee's life cycle, after all, it is through it that the professional will decide whether the company matches his professional expectations. A well-structured onboarding process can effectively introduce employees to their organization's culture and prepare them for their future at the company.
HR professionals today have a wide range of communication tools and practices that they can use when onboarding new hires. However, it is important to ensure that these digital HR tools are used effectively and integrated with other communication channels, ensuring more agility in the inclusion processes.
How digital tools can help with employee onboarding
Traditionally, the onboarding process has involved face-to-face interactions that can take place between the manager, the newly hired employee, and the rest of the team. The process may involve educational sessions about the company, filling out documents of various types, and interacting with organizational leaders and other employees.
However, these traditional processes are not only consuming a lot of time and financial resources for corporations, they are delaying the HR professionals responsible for onboarding and the employee who recently joined the institution.
With the increase in the number of companies that adhered to the home office, HR managers began to introduce digital onboarding. The purpose of virtual integration is to ensure that professionals who work remotely also go through a welcome process, as well as in the face-to-face model.
Digital tools make the onboarding process more economical and agile. If the employee is already well inserted in the environment and has already learned about the guidelines, the technology itself can point to the next step, optimizing the time of the employee and the area manager. Another essential point is the recording of activities: all information is being made available online, allowing for easy sharing with HR managers.
Digital integration must be done in a standardized way for all sectors of the corporation, this makes onboarding processes more accurate and organized, avoiding possible errors.
What are the benefits of digital onboarding?
Retention
According to a survey conducted by Panopto, companies that offer formal onboarding to employees have an average retention rate of 86%.
Onboarding is essential in building a pleasant and welcoming climate for new employees, and this climate must be maintained throughout the employee's life cycle.
Time
Another important point is time. HR professionals spend hours dedicating themselves to the new employee onboarding process. This work can be done virtually and in a standardized way, avoiding repetitions and ensuring that the HR team is dedicated to the organization's most strategic issues.
Knowledge
One of HR's biggest challenges is to provide the necessary knowledge to new members in an assertive and practical way. With the digital tools used in virtual onboarding, this process can be optimized, ensuring that new employees have access to teaching materials throughout their life cycle.
Building effective digital integration
Virtual integration aims to optimize the experience of each employee, but it is a mistake to think that the inclusion of the employee should be done solely and exclusively by technology.
The onboarding should also address the main doubts, frustrations and the period of anxiety that the new employee will face at the beginning of the job. It is true that the inclusion process must be built to ensure maximum efficiency and productivity, however, leaving the employee only with technology is a mistake.
It is essential that managers, HR managers and teammates do this follow-up together so that the employee is actually welcomed and assisted by the company.
*Paulo Oliveira is Apdata Marketing Manager
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies