Introduction:
Pre-Onboarding is the time between the date of offer acceptance and the date of joining. PreOnboarding is a period of time that presents a unique opportunity for the employer to welcome new hires and introduce them to their future colleagues. It will help make their induction period easier and keep them motivated while they’re working through their probation period. Studies have indicated that this interval is crucial to recruitment and further retention of employees. Yet, it remains an extremely overlooked aspect of Human Resource Management. If this aspect is implemented strategically, a company can reap huge benefits out of it and maximize the productivity of its new hires. It’s that last point often at the root of employee dissatisfaction – and good communication between the new hires and HR should start even before joining and beginning of work. Many times, the key of effective preboarding period leads to best of onboarding period.
Best Practices to be followed during Preboarding Phase in 2021
1. Reinforce your employee value proposition:
Your new hire probably accepted your offer because they found your employee value proposition appealing. So use the pre-boarding period to reinforce this. Not only does this show you’re an organization that fulfills its promises, but it also demonstrates that managers care about their employees: the phrase two birds, one stone springs to mind. Simply asking the new hires for their feedback about the hiring process also goes a long way in strengthening their impression of what kind of company you are. Speaking of showing employees you care, you could include company-branded swag as part of your pre-boarding strategy (if you have the budget). You could even take this a step further by including extra merchandise for their spouse and kids (if they mentioned them in their interview). This is a straightforward yet effective way of drumming up some excitement and making new hires feel a welcome part of your organization.
2. Help them with administration tasks:
New hires have to endure a ton of bureaucracy. They have loads of forms to sign, namely tax forms and direct deposit info. That’s in addition to accounts to set up and software to get familiar with. So, guide them through it. Trust us; your new hires will thank you for that! Digital Onboarding: 5 Best Practices in Preboarding phase for 2021 One of the things you could do for them is to set up their new company email address. That way, it’s ready for them from the get-go. All you need to do is confirm their preferred first and last name before going ahead and creating an email account.
3. Treat them as part of the organization, even before they have joined:
When a new hire has accepted to join the organization, they have made a certain level of commitment to themselves and the organization. Often there is a period of radio silence where the new hire is expected to join on a date and the hiring manager is keeping his fingers crossed. The best practice is to accept them and treat them as part of the organization. Some simple strategies like sharing the names and getting phone calls from their hiring managers, mentors, and buddies go a long way in making them feel welcome. Provide them with an email id and social media account. Having a working e-mail and internal social media account shows them that they are part of the team, and it makes them easier to connect with.
4. Pre-Onboarding Gamification (Leaderboards):
Gamification is the most trending trend going on in the HR Onboarding landscape nowadays. Gamification is nothing but an old video game concept introduced in various phases of the new hire onboarding journey. Gamification may vary from phase but the utmost reason behind using them is to attract talent force and make them feel part of the organization from day1 or even before joining by various task and communication models.
5. Office/Facility Tour, VR Tour of Office:
New Hires often want a chance to view their new office and how their workspace looks and feels like. You can provide a Digital Tour of its offices across India using engaging content like videos, 360°office office tours, and pictures. You can also give an option to candidates to view all the facilities: Nearby Hotels PG Information Eatery Outlets Hospitals Metro Station Parking Space Cafeteria and much more. In the time of pandemic and even beyond that when everyone is working from home Virtual tour is something very specific and required.
Why Preonboarding Phase is important:
- Reduce Administrative cost
- Helps in Prediction of No-Shows in an organization
- HR and new hires get more time for the Onboarding phase
- Lower Retention Rates
Some important Checklist for 2021:
1. Preonboarding Engagements & Formalities
Digitalized documentation
Gamified Preonboarding tasks
Complete an automated Background check
Review and check the Job description and other important documents digitally
2. Onboarding phase
Buddy Program
Microlearning
Cultural tour
Introduction to Management
Asset Allocation
E-orientation and Induction Digital Onboarding
30-60-90 days Onboarding plan
3. HR perks –
Track new hires performance and tasks
Complete visibility to candidate onboarding journey
People Analytics to create better reports and analytics
Conclusion:
For the majority of us, starting a new job is pretty stressful — a unique environment to get used to, wondering whether you’ve made the right decision, meeting new people, and so on, and so forth. In fact, studies show changing your line of work is even more stressful than a change in residence or a foreclosure of a mortgage or loan! But, with the right pre-boarding process, you can make this period of change much easier for your new hires. And more importantly for you, you’ll boost the engagement, loyalty, and productivity of the recruits from the get-go. In the long run, your pre-boarding process could even encourage recruits to stay with you for longer. So, suffice to say, this is certainly worth investing some time and energy into. Trust us; you’ll be glad you did!
To know more visit: www.myjoining.in
