Improving Hiring Efficiency with Virtual Onboarding
There is no denying that the pandemic has compelled almost all kinds of businesses to look at their usual processes in a whole new light. And the hiring process is undoubtedly one of them. Since safety and physical distancing is of paramount importance in the current scenario, even though vaccination drives are on, virtual onboarding has grabbed a lot of attention. It is essentially based on online onboarding programs that make use of modern technologies like bite-sized modules, gamified learning, mobile check-ins, and more, to onboard a company’s new hires remotely. Since remote work is on the rise and many businesses have large but widely distributed workforces, the need for implementing a seamless onboarding process that employees can complete from their home, cannot be ignored.
5 reasons why virtual onboarding improves hiring efficiency
Virtual onboarding has the potential to completely disrupt the existing hiring process and how new hires are onboarded at a company. The pandemic, followed by all-new working conditions, has especially made it essential to try virtual onboarding. It is something that companies have begun to appreciate since 69% of employees who have a great onboarding experience end up staying with a company for more than three years. Going virtual has 5 major benefits if your organization is looking to improve the onboarding process. Here they are:
Enhances employee engagement Creative onboarding programs make the whole onboarding process exciting and appealing for new employees. Rather than drowning under a ton of information on the first day itself, employees can choose their own pace to complete the joining formalities. This keeps them engaged throughout the onboarding process as they don’t have to sit through boring training sessions at the office, carry loads of documents for verification, or wait for long to complete all the joining formalities. Bite-sized content and gamified learning can make the onboarding process especially fruitful as they will not only keep the employee engaged, but also improve retention. That is because employees get to complete exciting modules paired with quizzes at the end, which helps them assimilate information better. In a survey conducted by NovoEd for L&D professionals, it was found that 79% of them believed online training to be more beneficial than in-person training.
Saves time and money Traditional onboarding processes can be too costly for many small and medium enterprises. Physical in-person onboarding requires all the new hires to gather at one place where a trainer provides them with some basic initial training and then other processes are completed. This method of onboarding for new employees demands adequate physical infrastructure, which can be beyond the budget for some companies. On the other hand, virtual onboarding happens online and can be completed from anywhere. Businesses can thus save expenses on onboarding as no physical room needs to be booked for new hires. Similarly, there is no need for hiring a trainer again and again for multiple batches as everything is integrated with the virtual onboarding solution.
Eliminates geographical barriers Businesses that employ traditional hiring and onboarding processes are limited by geographical barriers when it comes to finding new employees. Online onboarding programs eliminate those barriers and connect the company with the best candidates no matter where they are. It also opens the door for young startups as well as established businesses to have a brilliant team that is spread all over the globe.
Ensures employee productivity from the beginning One of the biggest benefits of having an online onboarding process for new hires is that they can become productive quickly and start contributing from their first day. Most new hires find themselves overwhelmed by instructions, documents, meetings, and whatnot on the very first day of joining. Not only does this dampen their enthusiastic spirit, but also takes a significant amount of time to complete before the employee can officially start working. Virtual onboarding platforms try to space out all the information and pre-joining tasks over a couple of days or weeks so that the new hire can complete all those processes calmly and in their own time. A research by Glassdoor revealed that a strong onboarding process improves employee productivity by 70%. With virtual onboarding, the employee becomes familiar with the company culture even before their first day, which makes them productive right away.
Increases the efficiency of hiring and onboarding Manual processes are prone to errors. Inaccurate data collection, inconsistent employee records, and miscommunication among hiring professionals can lead to an inefficient hiring and onboarding process. This can affect the repute of the company and make for a disastrous hiring experience, even forcing new employees to quit on their first day itself. Creative employee onboarding programs that use virtual tools and software perform most manual tasks efficiently and with better accuracy. By embracing a virtual onboarding solution, hiring professionals can eliminate any unnecessary errors while onboarding new hires and create an efficient workflow.
Also Read: Best practices for New hire Onboarding
Conclusion
To wrap up, while virtual onboarding still has a long way to go before it replaces in-person hiring and becomes mainstream, it is quickly gaining prominence, thanks to the plethora of benefits it provides both employees and hiring professionals. With remote work becoming increasingly popular in different industries (nearly 70% of US employees are working from home), the way businesses hire is also bound to change.
If you are looking for a virtual onboarding solution that fits your company profile perfectly, is effective, and doesn’t cost the earth, get in touch with us for a demo.