Today the majority of the job seeking and hiring process is online, whether it’s the virtual resume on Linkedin or the personalized job board site like Indeed or ZipRecruiter. The main reasons for this is the convenience and efficiency. Employers and employees can cast a wider net and cut down on time spent cold calling and searching for the right fit. It’s no surprise that this mentality has started to be extended to the onboarding process.
With the wider net comes a wider set of employee backgrounds which means some may not be able to attend on site orientations or meetings as easily as others. Especially since compensating for that travel is a huge undertaking but every employee deserves the same opportunities those crucial initial meetings provide, employers have looked to online resources to provide an equal and bettered opportunity. Here are the top 5 reasons, for both employer and employee, why online onboarding is the next step.
1. Easy and Effective Preparation: The process becomes streamlined for the employer as each employee goes through an established and ultimately automated prep process. Online appointment availability tends to be much more plentiful for both employee and employer as it takes less time and provides more flexibility. Each role can be more easily and specifically catered to, making a more effective onboarding process. Scheduling is easy and as you work within an established time frame, with more flexibility on the when for the employee, time is saved.
2. Easy Optimization: Content is quite easily prepped and delivered, or even changed if necessary. Employees can be provided easy access to necessary tools or resources and if it turns out that there is a better alternative, pivoting is made easy with 100% less photocopying. Online onboarding also levels the playing field in that reaching out with questions is encouraged and can be done with more flexibility, not just when new hires are able to get on site and into the HR’s office. Additionally, any questions that do come up frequently can be incorporated down the line.
3. Data Gathering: HR can monitor and learn from a constant stream of data from these automated processes, gaining a better understanding of what they need to provide new hires for the best outcome. Not to mention it’s an easier system of checks and balances as it’s clearly established whether an employee has completed a necessary step or not.
4. Personalization: Losing company culture and quirks may seem like a concern but with the increasingly personalizable formats, copy and processes available for online onboarding, what makes a company unique can actually be even more expressed and established.
5. Paperless and Proactive Document Signing: Thanks to online signing, all of the above points apply to a component of the hiring process that can be time consuming and risky when not completely organized - paperwork. With online signing, important employee documents such as a Non Disclosure Agreement, W2, I-9 Verification, Benefit forms and more can be signed easily and verified well ahead of any other enrollment. This improves the experience for both the employee who has more time and flexibility in reading over the documents, and the employer who can easily verify and gather necessary information all with less paper and before beginning any other enrollment processes.