The golden rules of onboarding: How creating first-class employee experiences is more important than ever

I took part in an online webinar looking at how organisations have responded to the challenge following the Pandemic and the effects on the future of the employee experience.

I had the privilege of joining a knowledgeable, expert panel which comprised of: Lise-Lotte Helms-Olesen, Senior Director Global Employer Reputation and Engagement at McDonalds; Alex Onoufriou, Managing Director at InterQuest Solutions; Mark Thomas, Talent Acquisition and Development Director at Abcam; and David Mackay, Director at Rees Draper Wright who chaired the session.

We considered what the pandemic meant for us, both as employers and as employees, exploring the importance of employee communications, engagement and wellbeing. Although each of our organisations serve quite different industries and purposes, several common themes emerged:

Business response is crucial for future success

How businesses respond to the challenges of Covid-19 will either enhance or harm their reputation - not only with customers, but also whether their employees have felt valued and appreciated during an unsettling time. At McDonalds they have recognised the link between employer reputation and employee engagement; putting core values high on their agenda. By focusing on keeping teams informed and motivated, and adjusting their recruitment and rehiring materials, they can concentrate on what matters to their employees; their wellbeing and keeping them happy and safe.

Agility and resilience is key to ‘ride the bumps’

Having an adaptable, resilient workforce and being agile in deploying – and upskilling - employees where they’re most needed is key. Capita has beenable to quickly ramp up extra support for the office-based customer management teams whilst clients experienced a massive influx in calls and enquiries. Whereas at InterQuest, they worked on educating clients away from a predominantly face to face culture to ensure they felt comfortable making candidate decisions virtually.

Delivery must address and reflect local needs, roles and environments

The impact of the pandemic means global organisations have had to make decisions locally to adapt to government requirements – crucial for ensuring an appropriate, considered response which keeps staff and customers safe. This ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ approach applies to employees too, taking a flexible approach in order to meet the needs of home workers and frontline workers. From McDonalds employees providing a continuous service and/or adapting to takeaway only in certain countries, to InterQuest employees supporting clients on-site, to Abcam scientists needing to travel to laboratories to study coronavirus antibodies.

Employee experience reflects the customer experience

Whether it’s providing clear, consistent communications to ensure employees understand how to keep themselves and customers safe, keeping in touch with employees on furlough or ensuring those working from home don’t feel isolated, employee experience has to be at the heart of every consideration. This is why onboarding is important in order to engage and ensure that new staff feel a part of the team from day one. McDonalds concentrated on improving digital employee experience as they continued to hire and this is why they felt that they needed a single communications channel to ensure existing and new employees were all on the same page.

First impressions count when it comes to engaging your people

So why is onboarding so important? It’s the point at which employee engagement is won or lost. If your new recruit feels disengaged from your culture and values, or doesn’t have the knowledge - or tools - to carry out their role effectively, then it affects productivity and ultimately motivation.

The reality is that productivity truly depends on having an engaged employee who is excited to be there and knows how to do their job.

We considered ways in which organisations can ensure a successful onboarding experience:

1. Plan a comprehensive induction: A successful induction shares information about organisational culture, vision and customers, and considers how the new recruit can be made to feel part of the team. This could include bitesize digital training, meetings with stakeholders or being supported throughout by their line manager with the opportunity for two-way feedback.
2. Make it personal: It’s important not to ‘cookie-cutter’ the onboarding process – it needs to be specifically aligned to the individual and their role so they understand the part they play. The personal touch goes a long way.t for example, at Abcam, their chief executive officer personally welcomes every new employee.
3. Recognise returners: You may well have people returning to work – perhaps from furlough, maternity or sick leave. .Therefore it’s important to put plans into place to refresh their learning and help them get back into the flow or to reskill where their role has changed. The same rules around a successful induction apply here.
4. Consistency is key: Whether onboarding new recruits or re-boarding returners, communications about policies and procedures must be consistent. Although local details may vary, company-wide best practice principles should be applied to the quality, accessibility and dissemination of communications – easier to achieve if you have a nominated person with oversight across all onboarding
5. Don’t forget your outsourced candidates: At InterQuest, candidates take part in two inductions – one to ensure they understand the codes of conduct and values of InterQuest, the second to familiarise them with the culture and aims of the organisation they’re outsourced to, with both being critical to mobilising people quickly.

As the world continues to change at an accelerated rate and we consider our teams of tomorrow, it’s perhaps fitting to end on the words of Lise-Lotte Helms-Olesen: “We learn every day. But if we fail in onboarding we fail on the rest.”