What is onboarding? Myths Around Onboarding New Employees

The onboarding It is a practice that has been adopted by various companies to improve the new employee experience and their integration into the work team. The Human Resources platform, BUK defines it as “the process of falling in love with a company”, which starts from recruitment and extends to the first days in the organization.

According to an analysis by Udemy, the onboarding well implemented can increase retention of new hires by up to 82% and increase productivity by more than 70 percent.

However, there are some myths surrounding this process, one of the most recurrent is thinking that its implementation is the sole responsibility of Human Resources or that it is a simple induction.

According to Meta4, the most common myths surrounding this talent management process are:

» It is the exclusive task of Human Resources

The human capital departments are important for the successful integration of a new collaborator, but not everything depends on them, an active role is required from the rest of the employees.

“A good onboarding it’s a concerted, company-wide effort to welcome new hires and give them the tools, information and network they need to be successful. It requires collaboration and time on the part of people from different departments to contribute to the mission of the newly hired person”, highlights the HR platform.

» Start the first day of work

The moment between the acceptance of the job offer and the first day of work is a crucial phase that should not be neglected, especially in a remote work context.

“These new ways of working mean less reliance on people-to-people interactions and holding events that bring everyone together in one office. So see the incorporation process as a step-by-step communication plan, to be implemented from the moment the new hire accepts the position, it is a great way forward.”

» It is not essential

In many cases it is thought that the onboarding It is not a primordial process and it is only a welcome kit, that explains why the necessary time is not invested in it. But the reality is that this onboarding strategy takes time and planning, as well as the input of multiple people.

A well-structured incorporation is not something optional, it is essential for the business because it helps new collaborators become efficient in the new position quickly and adapt to the organizational culture.

To these myths, the firm icorp points out that one of the most frequent mistakes is to think that it is a one-way process where the new collaborator is only a receiver of information.

“In order to achieve a process of onboarding successful, we must encourage feedback and participation of the new collaborator, this will help us to know if the message is transmitted effectively and will drive continuous improvement. It is essential to design processes in which they can participate and not only receive information”, points out Rita Becerril, People Experience coordinator at icorp.

Is it the same as an induction process?

In addition to this, through his Onboarding Guideat the BUK company warns that this process should not be confused with an induction, something that often occurs. The difference is in the objective of each strategy.

The first is a long process that extends to the employee’s first days in the company and seeks a progressive integration both in the workplace, the forms of work and coexistence with colleagues.

On the contrary, an induction is a shorter process and it is only carried out in the first days in order to inform and detail to the person the transcendental issues for the organization, such as the organization chart, regulations, benefits, schedules, among others, as well as the delivery of work tools.

“One of the main advantages that the process of onboarding to an organization is the value that is given to each collaborator who enters the company and the value that is also given to the employer brand. If you really want to create value, then the process must be very strategic and involve various areas to be as effective as possible”, indicates BUK.