Onboarding: basics for a successful process
The first days in the company are often decisive for how motivated new employees are to tackle their new tasks. A good onboarding process helps new colleagues feel comfortable quickly and work productively. In this article, we would therefore like to give you an overview of onboarding.
Onboarding: definition & meaning
The term onboarding is primarily known from human resources management. It is derived from the English "taking on board," which translates to something like "bringing new employees on board" or "training."
Onboarding new employees takes place on different levels. In addition to the technical level, a good onboarding process also takes into account the social and value-oriented levels. Consequently, the goal of onboarding is the systematic integration of new employees into the company on all these 3 levels. A professionally designed onboarding process makes it possible to specifically support new colleagues in every phase of onboarding in order to optimally integrate them into the company and make them productive as quickly as possible.
In contrast to onboarding, offboarding involves the professional handling of employees who are leaving the company.
Why is a good onboarding process so important?
What are the benefits of good onboarding?
Motivation
Productivity
Error prevention
Employee turnover
Employer Branding
At the same time, good onboarding also contributes to employer branding. A structured induction process underlines the professionalism of the company. As a result, employees become brand ambassadors and thus contribute to a positive external perception of the company. This in turn offers long-term advantages when hiring additional employees.
Phases of onboarding
Onboarding is a long-term process. In principle, it lasts until the person in question is fully trained. The exact period that onboarding covers varies greatly and depends, among other things, on
- the position of the person being trained
- the tasks of the respective position
- the structure in the company.
Onboarding is typically divided into 3 phases. In each of these 3 phases, various administrative and organizational tasks must be completed.
The 3-phase model divides onboarding into:
1. Preparation phase (Preboarding)
The preparation phase begins with the signing of the contract and lasts until the first day of work. This phase involves preparing for the start of work. This includes procuring the necessary equipment, such as a laptop, desk, and other work materials, as well as creating all the documents that are important for the start.
Preboarding should already be well organised, as you can give new employees a professional image of the company in this phase and show that you care about employee satisfaction.
2. Orientation phase
During the orientation phase, which begins on the first day of work and typically lasts for the first 2-3 months, employees are gradually introduced to their role and their future tasks. The aim is to get to know the company, colleagues and other departments as well as the basic processes.
3. Integration phase
Which people are involved in onboarding?
During onboarding, several people usually accompany the new employees. The specific people involved depend primarily on the respective onboarding phase.
The preboarding phase is primarily concerned with general questions and preparing for the start of work. HR managers are therefore primarily involved here together with the head of the specialist department or team.
For the technical integration during the orientation and integration phases, the specialist colleagues with whom there are regular points of contact are added. If there is a time overlap, the predecessors in the respective position should also be integrated into the onboarding as well as possible.
In order to ensure rapid social and value-oriented integration, new employees are often assigned mentors, also known as onboarding buddies. They help them to settle in and get to know the company and general processes better. The onboarding buddy serves as the first point of contact for all kinds of questions outside of the specialist area.
Onboarding concept and onboarding plan for successful implementation
In order to ensure structured onboarding that takes all aspects into account appropriately, it is advisable to develop an onboarding concept. The HR department is usually responsible for this. The team can also be expanded to include other employees from different hierarchical levels of the company in the form of an onboarding working group. There should also be a close exchange with the specialist departments with regard to technical induction.
The onboarding concept therefore includes a wide range of information, for example on
- known difficulties from the past
- frequently mentioned positive experiences
- Special features in your own company
- special requirements in individual areas of the company
- etc.
Based on the created concept, an onboarding plan can then be developed. The onboarding plan is significantly more detailed than the concept and represents a precise timeline of the individual tasks that need to be completed as part of the onboarding process.
Onboarding process & digitalization
As is the case almost everywhere, digitalization has also found its way into the HR sector. A variety of software solutions support HR managers, department and team leaders with the various onboarding tasks and thus enable the automation and optimization of the onboarding process.
The Corona crisis made a significant contribution to the digitalization of onboarding in many companies. As new employees also had limited access to the office as a result of the pandemic, there was a need for ways to enable new employees to have a professional and efficient remote onboarding experience.
- HR platforms offer a clear onboarding plan so that no tasks are forgotten.
- eLearning platforms enable clear knowledge transfer regarding processes and applications.
- Communication and collaboration tools ensure an efficient exchange, even if you are not in the same office.
With lendisOS, you can equip new employees with technology and furniture for their office and home office with just a few clicks. Your new colleagues simply choose the equipment they want, and Lendis takes care of everything else.