Un-Boarding: 5 Ways Companies Get Employee Onboarding Wrong

It’s estimated that 46 percent of newly-hired employees fail within 18 months, according to a 2008 study by Leadership IQ. An effective employee onboarding program, however, can significantly reduce this number – along with costs associated with turnover and/or on-the-job mistakes due to lack of training.

Effective onboarding decreases the time it takes for a new hire to reach the minimum expected productivity level on the job. During these tight economic times, it has never been more important that companies work to ensure their new hires’ ability to thrive at an organization. When taking assessing or creating your employee onboarding program, avoid these common mistakes.

1. Onboarding is Treated Like Orientation. Unlike orientation programs, onboarding programs are not one-time events but long-term processes.  According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a good onboarding process should take about a year – that’s about how long it takes for a new employee to experience an organization’s entire business cycle and become assimilated. And after all, you can’t possibly expect an employee to absorb everything he or she needs to know in a year in only the first few weeks.
2. The Process Starts Too Late. Onboarding new hires needs to begin with the interview process. Interviewing is vital to retaining employees as it both sets an employees expectations about the culture of the company and can lead to poor hiring decisions if improperly executed. According to a 2008 study by Leadership IQ, 82 percent of managers reported that, in reflection, the interview process could have been handled more effectively. They say they would’ve avoided certain mistakes had they taken the following steps: been more focused on the interview itself; listened more and talked less; spent more time on the actual interview; and had stronger interviewing abilities and experience.
3. There’s No Measurement for Success. Onboarding programs should operate like any other business process – with metrics that cover time to productivity, new hire retention/termination rates, new hire error rates, new-hire referrals, and program ROI, according ERE.net’s Dr. John Sullivan. You need to figure out a way to measure the success of your onboarding program and find ways to enhance it – otherwise, what’s the point? One of the best ways to measure success is to administer surveys to both employee and supervisor - to assess how well the employee is adjusting, strengths and areas for improvement – periodically throughout the first year.
4. Managers are M.I.A. One of the main reasons employees either leave or thrive in an organization is a direct result of their relationship with their manager. Research shows that 56 percent of Americans say their relationship with their boss as a direct impact on their work-life happiness.  Taking the time to greet new employees in person and show them the ropes makes a critical first impression and is not something that can be delegated, according to Karen Lawson, author of “New Employee Orientation Training.”
5. There’s No Onboarding Program to Speak Of. Onboarding programs communicate to new hires how important their personal success is to your organization, immediately fostering a sense of both confidence and loyalty. Furthermore, a strong investment in employee training and development may also have quantifiable value to the organization’s bottom line: A recent study from the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) provides evidence to suggest that organizations that invest more money and effort in employee training may produce greater revenue per employee than those that invest less in this endeavor.

What does your onboarding program look like?  Any ‘mistakes’ you’ve learned from at your organization that you’d like to share?

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