In this blog post, we provide you with a free client onboarding process flow chart. We aim for you to use this as a free tool to guide your onboarding process.
In our flow chart example, we demonstrate the client onboarding process for commercial and domestic cleaning companies.
We will follow up on this introductory blog post with a series of dedicated posts. Each post will guide you through the individual stages of the onboarding process. Delving deeper into the processes involved to perform the task:
Your onboarding journey
Your first experiences with a company stick in your memory. Just like when you had a first date, a first job or a first time at a concert! Moving from unchartered territory to the known is where your feelings around the experience are strongest – and your intuition! That gut feeling confirms when it feels right or gives warning signs that something is off.
The onboarding process is your opportunity to make it as comfortable and reassuring to the client as possible. Making their first experience with you a positive one to remember.
What is client onboarding?
The goal of an onboarding process is to assure your client that your organisation will carry out all the agreements made during the sales pitch.
Importance of creating a seamless onboarding journey
Creating a seamless client onboarding journey from start to finish is essential to instilling confidence and reassurance in your client’s decision to choose you over the competition.
Do not miss out on the important step of client onboarding. Here’s why:
Helps clients with their decision to take on your service
Client onboarding is a major step for the client in deciding whether to accept your services or not.
User Guiding describes the onboarding process as “More high-touch, more smooth, more important than a lot of other things you are relying on to escalate your customer experience.”
Reduces customer churn
Price, product, state of business and lack of value are all the things that cause customers to stop using your product or service.
When you create a clear and seamless onboarding process, you can pre-empt if client churn is about to happen. This is because the onboarding process helps clients understand what to expect and receive from their services with you.
The third most important reason for customer churn is poor onboarding found by the Customer Onboarding Benchmark Report 2021.
Happy Clients
Creating a clear message about what clients can understand and the options available to them allows them to make informed decisions. The supportive and informative process of the onboarding experience will reinforce the positive client journey.
A positive experience will lead to repeat business with the client and positive company reviews. A huge 86% of customers are more likely to stay with a company with access to welcoming onboarding content post-sale.
Makes the service easier to implement
SalesForce Research found that 74% of people are more likely to take their business elsewhere if the purchasing process is too hard to complete.
What is a client onboarding process flow chart?
A client onboarding process flow chart is a visual representation of the stages a client needs to go through to register and start using a service.
Itseen as a map of the client journey using your services from start to finish.
The onboarding process covers everything from the initial quotation to paying and using your services.
Using a flow chart to represent the different stages in the onboarding process makes the process as frictionless as possible.
Importance of a client onboarding flow chart
A visual representation of your client’s journey is beneficial to both you and your clients. Here’s why:
- Gives clear guidance on what to expect and an opportunity to change anything that isn’t what they want.
- Enables a client to see which stage in the process they’re at easily and to give clarity on what’s happening.
- Acts like a checklist for clients to check off and keep up to date with your process.
- Gives the client a smoother transition into your services.
- Makes you look more professional and organised.
- Provides the client with an easy place to find their account details.
- Keeps clear and concise communication.
The steps for the customer onboarding process
Acquiring new clients is a process that requires multiple documents to be shared in a given sequence. This begins with the quotation, then the service agreement and finally the client onboarding document.
-
Quote
-
Service Agreement
-
Client Onboarding Document
Let’s look at each of these in more detail.
Quotation
When you are onboarding a new client, it’s necessary to send a quotation. This is for the client to see and accept pricing in advance for the service being carried out.
A quote should include
- Details of the required service
- A pricing breakdown (separating one-off costs from recurring costs)
- Information about the service provider
- Testimonials from similar clients
- Supporting documentation, e.g. Health and Safety Policies, Insurance, Accreditations etc
We recently wrote a blog post on the difference between a quotation and an invoice. You will find helpful information on the quotation to invoice process. It’s worth a read!
Find out more about the quotation for cleaning services here.
Service Agreement
Next for the onboarding process is the service agreement document.
A service agreement is a legally binding contract. Upon signing the contract the client and service provider are agreeing to the terms of the business relationship and duties owed to one another.
Usually, a standardised form is used to serve each customer going through the onboarding process. With minor tweaks and changes to suit the nature of the individual client and their needs.
What is the meaning of service agreements?
Service agreements are a way of ensuring that both parties adhere to the agreements put in place for the service to take place. If any changes or disagreements occur throughout the process, the service agreement is a way of backing up the original agreements and ensuring either party remains consistent with the contract they signed.
This includes
- Details of the contract and business relationship.
- Liabilities to each other detailing the SLAs (Service level agreement is the customer’s expectations on the level of service from a provider).
- SLA details can include:
- the standard of service expected to perform.
- Permission for the service providers to enter the home to perform their cleaning task.
- Whether keys to the property are allowed in the service provider’s care, and what the expectations are if keys get lost (e.g. get new keys cut, where the keys should be stored, who has access to the keys etc).
- How payment is to be made etc.
Read here for more detail on what to expect out of an SLA: How to write a Service Level Agreement for a cleaning company.
Client Onboarding Document
The client onboarding document is a seamless way for your company to request information from the client to carry out the service.
When the agreement is signed and returned, an onboarding document is sent requesting information from the client about
- Standing Order Details
- Accounts contact information
- eSignature
Onboarding tips
Have a people-focused strategy
When you focus on a people-first strategy you build your organisation around your client’s wants and needs.
To do this effectively be aware of your client’s expectations and what they want from you.
If their expectations are different from what you can provide- it has a high chance of leading to disappointment. Increasing the chances of scope creep. (Scope creep is dissatisfaction occurring due to differing expectations on what services you can provide).
Therefore, before you start your services, ensure you have the same expectations and goals as your client.
Inspire confidence
When you are onboarding a new client you want to instil confidence in them.
Make them feel as though you’ve done this a million times before while giving them the flexibility to meet their individual needs.
Introducing a simplified client onboarding process flow chart simply does it well.
Having a visual representation of the process, allows clients to digest the process easier. According to the world of learning, we transmit 90% of information to the brain visually.
Build deep client relationships
When you begin your relationship with your customer with clear goals and a well-thought-out onboarding process, you’ll have a better client relationship.
With deeper client relationships, retention rate and growth are improved.
Move fast
When you improve your customer response time you build trust and customer confidence.
To improve your customer response time, take a look at a past post of ours here.
Use technology
Utilising an onboarding tool is one of the best ways to ensure your onboarding is easy, smooth and successful. Technology has been found to transform the customer’s expectations of how companies interact with them according to 77% of B2B clients.
Benefits of using technology to improve the onboarding process:
- Enables automatic sending of documentation.
- Allows for digital onboarding.
- Clients can quickly complete forms and not exhaust themselves from filling out lengthy forms.
- Speeds up the onboarding process for clients and organisation
- Reduces scope for human error
- Client mapping is used to see how long a client engaged with a document, following mouse clicks.
Benefits of using DocFlite for onboarding clients
Docflite is a digital tool for managing document processes. DocFlite is created around managing quotes, invoices, proposals, contracts, feedback forms, onboarding and much more.
Here are the benefits of using DocFlite for your client onboarding:
Automation of document creation and sending to the clients
When you onboard a client with DocFlite, you can create a workflow. Once a quote is sent and accepted by your client, a service agreement and or any other document can be automatically sent in response. If the document first needs to be approved by your manager, you can workflow that too.
Heat mapping- mouse clicking
DocFlite allows you to track the client’s usage of their documents through heat mapping and mouse clicking.
This is a major benefit as anticipating the client’s thoughts is essential to help move along the process if the client is delaying. By gaining insight into where your customers spend their time within your documents, you can adjust your documents accordingly.
Salesforce Research found that if a customer’s needs weren’t being anticipated by a company they will take their business to a different company.
Capture all details fast
Tools like DocFlite ensure the clients fill out all the necessary fields, capturing all the data required in one step.
In the traditional way of sending documentation, many companies would report frustration with how clients often fill out forms. Often sections are skipped out entirely, extending the process of sending forms back and fore.
With the DocFlite system, you can design it so clients can’t submit documents without filling out mandatory fields.
E-signatures
The DocFlte system supports e-signatures, creating a much faster and more seamless onboarding system. Documentation is available to be processed digitally and remotely.
Feedback forms
With the ability to create ANY type of document, DocFlite could be used to create feedback forms. This is essential for developing strong client relationships and improving the customer experience
File Uploads
With the ability for your clients to upload their files directly in your documents, this valuable feature removes the often frustrating need to chase up for missing information.
DocFlite- Client onboarding process flow chart
Below we’ve created a free Client onboarding process flow chart using the DocFlite system for cleaning companies.
As you can see our tool is a simple short process that’s clear and easy to understand. Onboarding your clients needn’t be a complicated or drawn-out process.
Using our system reduces any resistance to the onboarding process. Making it quick and easy for both you and your clients to use.
For more information on how to improve your onboarding process and use this flow chart contact us here.
You can also find out about the Employee Onboarding Process here.
Some other blog posts that may interest you:
How to start a cleaning business from scratch
Pros and Cons of starting a cleaning business
