Onboarding – a crazy HR invention?
Onboarding is not a crazy HR idea – on the contrary. Receiving a new employee in a good way is profitable for both the employee and AGRO.
The task of receiving and integrating a new employee in a good way can, if handled properly, is reflected directly on the bottom line. Greater loyalty, stronger commitment, improved staying power and, not least, a shorter period from the first day at work to full performance are just some of the benefits.
Figures show that an average of 30 percent of all externally recruited employees have left their place of work within two years. 22 percent of the new employees that quit their jobs do so within the first two months of employment. Added to this is the fact that a new employment costs 75-150 percent of the employee’s annual salary. These figures show clearly that onboarding is a must.
Onboarding begins with the signing of the job contract
It is a good idea to have an organised introductory process that gives the new employee a feeling of being ”the one and only”. Onboarding starts when the chosen employee signs the job contract. The section secretary then sends the first welcome email with information about a contact person and offers of help with regard to finding accommodation and so on.
A second email will be sent one to two weeks after employment starts. This one will contain information about the buddy and introductory programme for the first period. For foreign employees there will also be information about Danish conditions. When employment begins a range of materials will be handed out. These include information about the department, colleagues, and section. These welcome emails and handouts create the groundwork not only for a satisfactory first day at work but also a good first month or two and hopefully a long term employment.
Onboarding is ongoing
AGRO has prepared a handbook that comprises checklists for pre-employment, the first day of work, and the time thereafter. The list includes topics and tasks that are distributed among HR, section secretaries, buddies, section leaders and the closest leader or supervisor.
One of the topics that I find is extremely important is to harmonise expectations between the new employee and the leader after 2.5 months of employment. We must ensure that we have hired the right employee and that the employee really wants to be part of AGRO.
Offboarding of employees
Offboarding takes place when an employee leaves. In this case there is also a checklist. When an employee leaves then AGRO must ensure that the process is handled legally and ethically correct.
It is also important to remember that when an employee leaves AGRO important knowledge and skills also go away. This is expensive for AGRO and frustrating for the staff who remain and take over the tasks. If possible, the preferable situation is for the management to have a successor on hand.
Onboarding was introduced to AGRO with effect from January 1, 2017. We therefore still have little experience with it. One wish that we in STAFF do have is that the section secretary is notified as soon as the ink is dry on the job contract in order to begin the onboarding process at the appropriate time.
Onboarding/offboarding has come to stay and we must therefore help each other to ensure that it is a success.
