According to Gallup, employee turnover is costing businesses a whopping one trillion dollars on an annual basis. That’s not all, though. Additional insight from Gallup reveals the work and efforts that businesses have to employ to replace workers is extremely costly. This is a cost you want to avoid when possible.
As it turns out, one of the best ways to avoid employee turnover is by having a good onboarding strategy. The right employee onboarding strategy helps you find the right people to work for you; it also helps you retain these employees, saving yourself time and money. Organization onboards are also something to keep in mind as well.
Like many things in business, putting together a good onboarding strategy and onboarding program takes time and effort. However, the return on investment (ROI) is undeniable. Understanding what the ROI of a good onboarding strategy entails is critical for the long-term success of your company. All employees, HR professionals, and others in similar positions should understand this.
In far too many cases, there are businesses that rush through the hiring process; this is especially common when time is of the essence and the demand for new staff is high. However, in the long run, this decision lacks the ROI innately attached to a good onboarding strategy. It also prevents new hires from having a positive onboarding experience.
A good onboarding strategy involves training, integration into the company’s workplace, and direct interaction. This process ultimately allows the people working for your business to truly become acclimated. As a business owner, this can only benefit you.
When employees learn about the business and get properly integrated, they’re in the best position to work well for you. In turn, this work leads to more productivity and overall engagement. The value that truly great employees bring to a company cannot be overstated.
The right and effective onboarding strategy give employees an idea of the environment, expectations, and tasks associated with their work. As worker productivity and engagement grow, your business can subsequently follow suit.
Customers can make or break your business. Furthermore, if your business involves your customers interacting with your employees, you want the latter to be as prepared as possible. Employees who are well-equipped to deal with customers are another major ROI from a good onboarding strategy.
This is where the training part of onboarding makes a huge difference. An untrained worker may become a deer in the headlights when interacting with customers; however, a trained worker will know how to assist customers and make their experience with the business as pleasant as possible.
Customers leave reviews online; they can also give word of mouth to others in their communities regarding your company. As a business owner, you want feedback from customers to be positive. This task becomes immensely easier with properly trained staff working for you.
Believe it or not, weeding out the bad apples during onboarding is important. It’s a major ROI because it can save you long-term headaches. For starters, your company’s onboarding process will show whether or not a new hire is cut out for the job.
If they are not, knowing sooner rather than later is best. As a business owner, this puts you in the best position to cut your losses. Furthermore, weeding out bad apples during onboarding softens the blow of turnover. Without a good onboarding strategy, the wrong person could be with your company for months, rather than weeks.
Every business wants good, qualified employees. However, when it comes to truly getting an ROI from onboarding, this is merely a baseline. Of course, qualified staffers who are good at the job are important; however, the true ROI comes when your staff is truly loyal to your company. This automatically helps you increase retention rates.
Harvard Business Review likewise notes the benefits of loyalty amongst your staff. Loyal employees generally stay with the company. They also positively contribute to the overall reputation of your business; this is always a huge deal, especially when it comes to customers and partners.
The world of business is innately competitive. If turnover is something your competitors are struggling with, this is all the more reason to have a good onboarding strategy. As the world of business gets more complex and integrated with technology, staying a few steps ahead of the competition can never hurt.
Proper onboarding gives you a leg up against competitors in several ways. For starters, it saves you the time, monetary, and emotional costs of turnover. Secondly, employee retention sends a message that employees enjoy working for you. It’s a very well-established fact that employees who love the work they do are likelier to stay with the company longer.
When running a company, sometimes a huge ROI simply involves avoiding the traps your competitors have fallen into. In many cases, this means making sure your employees’ experience with the company pays off, as competitors struggle to retain workers.
The right onboarding strategy can determine not just the quality of your business, but also its longevity. This is something to keep in mind not just during the onboarding process; it’s also worth remembering when determining what your onboarding process will entail.
To a particular degree, there are certain stressors associated with running and owning a business; however, cutting back on these stressors is important. Too much stress can adversely impact your work and the ability to keep things running properly.
When onboarding is done properly, it gives business owners peace of mind. As a new employee goes through the onboarding process, you’ll be able to see them learning the necessary details, procedures, etc. to properly do their job. Ultimately, you want a new employee to become a good employee.
Observing the onboarding process also gives you insight into how your new hires deal with pressure, challenges, etc. All of that makes a huge difference; it can certainly let you know whether or not these new employees are a good fit.
Having the peace of mind in knowing that your business is in good hands makes all the difference in the world. This is a great ROI because it allows you to direct your energy towards other aspects of the company that may require attention.
As your business grows and expands, the time could come when it’s time to make new hires. With that said, you want to attract the best of the best people to work for you. When it comes to the people working for you, quality always trumps quantity. Not only do you want to attract new workers; you also want the workers who are right for you.
Some potential new hires may inquire about the nature of your onboarding process. Many workers want to know they’ll be given the proper training and tools necessary to succeed in what is their full-time job. By having a good onboarding strategy, you can show prospects they’ll have the necessary guidance and feedback if hired.
As you might have inferred from the seven ROIs listed above, a good onboarding strategy is quite crucial. This is true whether you’ve been in business for 12 months or 12 years.
Depending on the particulars of your business, the various aspects of your onboarding process may vary. As you set up and implement your onboarding process, keeping the ROIs mentioned above in mind is always a good idea.
However, here’s the bottom line: the right onboarding strategy can only add value and benefits to your company. Before making any (new) hires, making certain that you have the best onboarding process in place is worth it. With the best onboarding process in place, your business will be in the best position to grow, expand, and stay ahead of the competition.
Author Bio: Raya is the CEO and co-founder of ezClocker, a time tracking, and scheduling software for small businesses. She is passionate about customers and building products that change the way people run their businesses. She is also a big supporter of the startup community and helping people achieve their dreams