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4 Cs for a Well-Organized Employee Onboarding Process

Employees are probably the most requisite asset responsible for the growth of an organization. But, retaining employees isn’t easy, if they find a new and better opportunity, they will leave. To improvise employee retention, an organization tends to take crucial measures, but the first step to retaining them is their successful onboarding. Employee onboarding is the process where a newly hired individual is trained to acquire the required skill sets and knowledge to understand the functioning of the company and doesn’t feel isolated among his colleagues.

An effective employee onboarding program boosts employee engagement and helps them develop a connection with the company, eventually improving their productivity. This blog will help you understand the importance of employee onboarding programs, and the 4 Cs involved in the process.

The Importance of a Profound Employee Onboarding Strategy

When the employees are provided with the right mentorship and guidance when they join a company, they tend to perform better and get a hold of their job in less time than usual. Effective onboarding also saves a decent amount of money and time for the companies, because companies wouldn’t have to train their newly hired employees from scratch. Once the employees understand their role in the organization, it reduces unconscious stress for them and makes them comfortable with their new job. After their successful onboarding, they won’t think of leaving the company right away because they would attain a level of job satisfaction, and they eventually start enjoying their time at work.

Check out this success story on how to make onboarding interactive and engaging.

The 4 Cs Involved in The Process of Employee Onboarding

1. Compliance

All the basic rules, laws, paperwork, and policies of an organization come under the mandatory compliance category and are considered the first level of onboarding employees. Compliance training aims to keep employees aware of workplace safety, information security, and sexual harassment prevention measures. While onboarding the newly hired employees, all these things are made clear to them, so that they understand the ethics of the workplace and keep working in a healthy, safe, and productive environment. Successful compliance training ensures the employees understand and acknowledge the company’s work laws and act accordingly.

2. Clarification

As the name suggests, this second stage is all about clarifying the employees about their responsibilities for the role they have been hired for. Whether it is about their upcoming projects, daily deliverables, or their team collaborations. If the employees have a clear idea of what they have to do, they will put more work to develop the required skill sets to perform at their best. A confused employee might lose interest and engagement regarding their job and would go around looking for better opportunities. This will make the companies spend more time and money to hire someone new, and thus job clarity is a must for the successful onboarding of employees.

3. Culture

A company’s culture is something that makes it unique and stands out from others, and it’s necessary for an employee to comprehend that culture and adapt to it. It can either be the norms of the company, dress code or simply how they behave among each other on the premises. Newly hired employees can be given a small tour of the office to tell them where the basic facilities are available while they can get introduced to the other employees. They can also be provided with online training followed by microlearning assets like brochures or animated videos explaining the company culture and values so that they are aware of the organization’s work environment.

For example, some companies allow employees to call each other by their names, while others don’t. Another simple example, some workplaces only allow a formal outfit while attending the office, while some offices are open-minded enough to incorporate a mix of casual and formal outfits unless it’s too casual or not safe for work (NSFW).

4. Connection

This is probably the most crucial stage and the final stage on which the effectiveness of your employee onboarding strategy depends. It is self-explanatory that a company grows exponentially when all the employees have a positive relationship with each other and knows how to work in a team productively. For newly hired employees, it is extremely important to develop a good understanding with their coworkers whether juniors or seniors. Apart from formal team projects and meetings, it is considered a great addition if you can ensure the employees are involved in informal activities as well.

Small things such as having lunch together or going to the parking garage in a group would help them get to know each other on a personal basis. A senior mentor or a colleague buddy can be assigned to the new hires so that they get comfortable working on the premises, and they will always have someone to clear their doubts until they can talk to others freely. Implementing social learning within the organization can also help the employees build good connections among themselves and improve their ability to work in a team.

Wrapping Up!

Employee onboarding is one of the most crucial things an organization needs to take care of, or else their business would really be affected. The modern workforce is really dynamic, whether it’s their nature, learning preferences, location, or age group. The current workforce is sort of dominated by millennials followed by GenZs, and thus it is crucial to understand how to keep them engaged because they have low attention spans and flexible nature. To help you out, here’s a free eBook that will guide you to implement an effective onboarding process for the millennial workforce.

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