Workplace Trends: Onboarding using Web-Based Technology Improves Retention

A recent article released by Aliah D. Wright on the SHRM website discusses the change in orientation and onboarding that is occurring with advancements in technology. With the days where employees joined a company and stayed there throughout their career gone, companies are striving to find ways to keep employees engaged and happy. One of the big reasons for the increase in employee turnover is easy access to job postings through sites such as CareerBuilder and Monster as well as salary information. This allows employees to constantly be searching for a better opportunity with the resources available to quickly follow-up when one comes up.

One way to combat this is to make the onboarding experience more effective. By integrating this process with online technology, employers are able to provide all employee information(Paperwork, Contacts, and Policies) in one place.

According to a study of HR and business unit managers released in February 2008 by the research company The Aberdeen Group:

• 86 percent of organizations surveyed agreed that newly hired employees decide whether or not to stay with their employer within the first six months of their employment.

• 68 percent of best-in-class organizations surveyed describe their onboarding systems as partially automated or fully automated.

• Of the remaining 32 percent, more than half plan to adopt technological tools to automate their onboarding efforts over the next year.

Compare that to a 2006 SHRM survey:

• Although 83 percent of companies reported the use of a formal orientation (or onboarding) program for new employees, only 11 percent of companies conducted orientation programs using a computer-based format, preferring instead to use group-based and individual sessions.

For more tips and resources regarding employee onboarding, visit the HRSentry website or visit the Blog.