In today’s article, we’re going to explore how to create an employee onboarding process flowchart.
Settling into a new role can be quite overwhelming. Without a proper welcome newbies can easily feel out of place and feel the role isn’t for them. The Wynhurst Group found that a huge 22% of staff turnover happens within the first 45 days.
These scary figures highlight the importance of an effective onboarding process for your new hires.
BambooHR proves this through their findings from their study. – An overwhelming 91% of employees who receive effective onboarding and welcome feel connected to their workplace.
Employee onboarding sets the tone for how new hires perceive and experience the company they are joining.
Integrating new employees into a company’s culture and operations is an important process. It can have a major effect on employee retention and productivity.
Studies back up these claims too. With an effective onboarding process, employee performance is increased by 11%. While improving retention by 25%.
Therefore, streamlining the onboarding process is essential. This will help new employees feel welcomed, valued and confident. Successful onboarding will give employees the confidence to hit the ground running.
An effective way to do this is by using an employee onboarding process flowchart.
What is Employee Onboarding?
Employee onboarding is the process of integrating new employees into an organisation and its culture. It starts as soon as an employee accepts a job offer and continues for several months following their start date.
Effective onboarding helps new hires feel welcome, comfortable and prepared to contribute to the business’s success.
Providing a clear understanding of job duties and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the onboarding process.
On the first day, providing a comprehensive orientation helps new hires feel supported. It also establishes a strong base for their success in the business.
Importance of Streamlining the Onboarding Process
A streamlined onboarding process is essential for several reasons.
Sets the tone
It sets the tone for the employee’s entire experience with the company. With a chaotic or disorganised onboard, the new employee may feel undervalued or unprepared to perform their job duties effectively.
Employee retention
The onboarding process is critical to employee retention. Studies show that employees who experience a positive onboarding experience are more likely to stay with the company longer.
More effective workforce
a streamlined onboarding process helps employees to become effective much faster!
What is the Employee Onboarding Process?
The employee onboarding process typically involves several stages, including pre-boarding, orientation, training, and integration. Pre-boarding includes several activities.
- Communicating with the new employee.
- Providing them with information about the company and the work environment.
- Setting expectations for their first day.
Employee Orientation involves introducing the employee to the company’s culture, policies, and procedures.
In the orientation they receive training. Training is about teaching employees about their job duties. It involves giving them the skills and knowledge to do the job properly. – Integrating them into the company.
Integration involves helping employees feel comfortable and connected to the organisation and its culture.
The HR team plays a critical role in ensuring that the onboarding process is effective. They are responsible for providing new hires with the necessary information, resources, and tools to perform their job duties effectively.
HR teams should strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment where new hires feel valued and supported.
What is a Poor Employee Onboarding Process?
A lousy employee onboarding process is one that is disorganised, confusing, or incomplete. It may leave new employees feeling undervalued, unprepared, or disconnected from the organisation. This can lead to employee turnover, reduced productivity, and a negative company reputation.
You can spend weeks recruiting a new hire, with additional weeks effectively onboarding them into their new role. If they suddenly quit after all that time and money spent, it can leave a sour taste in your mouth and holes burnt in your pockets.
AppLearn found that the main reasons for people leaving their new roles are due to:
- Unclear guidelines for their responsibilities
- Ineffective training
- Unfriendly colleagues and boss
- No acknowledgement of their contribution
- Lack of managerial attention
Why a Good Employee Onboarding Process Matters
Feeling welcome and supported
Starting a new job is an exciting and nerve-wracking experience for anyone! That’s why having a good employee onboarding process matters. It’s the responsibility of the HR team to ensure that new hires feel welcome and supported from day one.
Sets the tone for their role
An effective onboarding process can make all the difference in how an employee starts their new job. It sets the tone for their entire experience with the company. A thorough onboarding process helps new hires feel prepared, engaged, and motivated to contribute to the business’s success
Positive employee experience
A good employee onboarding process is vital for creating a positive employee experience. New hires feel more prepared and motivated to contribute to the business’s success when they receive help. This ultimately benefits the company.
Speeds up the settling-in period
It takes an average of 8-12 months for new employees to be as experienced as their colleagues.
Business productivity takes a considerable hit in this teething stage where new hires are finding their feet in their new roles.
However, an effective onboarding process helps to speed up this initial settling-in period. Resuming or even improving the efficiency of output.
Benefits of Using an Onboarding Process Flow chart
When used correctly, a flowchart improves the onboarding process dramatically.
Continually improves the onboarding process
An onboarding process flowchart helps identify potential gaps and inefficiencies in the process. This can be extremely helpful in refining and improving the onboarding program over time.
Speeds up the onboarding process
With the flowchart, HR teams can easily see where the onboarding process is lagging or where new hires are getting stuck. Allowing for solutions to speed up the process, making it more efficient and effective.
Keeps team members on the same page
Another advantage of an onboarding process flowchart is that it keeps team members on the same page.
Everyone involved in the onboarding process can see their roles and responsibilities. Such as the steps required to onboard new hires, who is responsible for each task, and when it should be completed.
This can be a huge help for new hires, who can feel overwhelmed when starting at a new organisation. With the flowchart, they can clearly see what to expect and who to contact if they need help or guidance.
Consistency with the onboarding experience
Finally, the onboarding process flowchart helps create a welcoming and inclusive environment for new hires. By providing a structured and consistent onboarding experience, new hires feel valued, respected, and part of the team from day one.
How to Create an Employee Onboarding Process Flowchart
Creating an employee onboarding process flowchart may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.
Identify key steps
The first step is to identify the key steps in the onboarding process, such as paperwork, training, and orientation.
Map out the flow chart
Next, map out the process flow from start to finish. Including all the tasks that need to be completed at each step. This will help create a visual representation of the process that can be easily understood by all team members.
Review for accuracy
Once the onboarding process flowchart is mapped out, it’s important to review it for accuracy and completeness.
This includes making sure that all the necessary steps and tasks are included, and that the flowchart is easy to read and understand. It’s also important to identify any potential bottlenecks or inefficiencies in the process and make changes as you need.
Communicate to the whole team
Finally, it’s crucial to communicate the onboarding process flowchart to all team members involved in the onboarding process. Including the HR team, managers, and new hires themselves.
This ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands what’s expected of them at each step in the process.
Use the 7-Step Process Flow for Onboarding
One effective way to structure an employee onboarding process flowchart is to use a 7-step process flow. These steps are:
Application
When an applicant expresses interest in a cleaning role, an Application Form is sent requesting more details of the applicant including the right to work and identity details.
Interview
When the form is completed and returned, it is verified by HR. If all the supplied information is appropriate then an Interview is conducted.
Pre-boarding
On a successful interview, and before the new employee’s first day, there are a few activities to complete.
Therefore the applicant is sent an Employment Contract.
Communication with the new employee is essential. Providing them with company information and setting expectations is also part of this process.
Orientation
This stage involves introducing the employee to the company’s culture, policies, and procedures.
Covering paperwork and documentation
When the contract is signed, a series of policy documents are sent. These include:
- vehicle policy (if required),
- health and safety policies,
- risk assessment,
- lone working policy and more.
These policies must be read and in some cases acknowledged and signed.
Training
Training involves teaching the employee what their job duties are. It also involves providing them with the right skills and knowledge to do the job well.
A training manual can be sent to the employee for them to have as a copy.
Integration
This stage involves helping employees feel comfortable and connected to the organisation and its culture. Meeting their colleagues and getting familiar with the areas they’ll be working.
Follow-up
Follow up with new hires with ongoing activities that help them continue to feel valued and supported. Regular check-ins and feedback forms are an effective way to do this.
Create an Onboarding Process Timeline
Creating an onboarding process timeline can help ensure that the onboarding process is completed in a timely and efficient manner.
Create a timeline that includes key activities in each stage of onboarding. Include the expected completion dates for each activity.
The timeline should be reviewed with stakeholders to ensure that it is realistic and achievable. Try it out yourself before you involve any new hires. This will give you an idea of how long it may take.
Tools and Resources for Creating an Onboarding Process Flowchart
Creating an efficient onboarding process flowchart is much easier when you use tools designed to help. Here are some key tools and resources to consider when creating an onboarding process flowchart:
HR software
This software can be used to automate the onboarding process and keep track of new hires’ progress. Using heat mapping and mouse-clicking feedback can tell employers how many of the forms and documents new hires have digested and completed.
Job aids
These are reference materials that can be used by new hires during the onboarding process. Examples include handbooks, manuals, and training materials.
Feedback tools
These are tools that can be used to gather feedback from new hires and team members about the onboarding process.
Single location viewing
Different documents can be accessed and shared from one central location. This makes knowing the status of the documents easier. (E.g pending, send or returned).
This eliminates tail chasing and worrying about whether the documents have been sent, received or opened.
All of these features can be accessed using an automation tool such as DocFlite.
DocFlite allows you to send documents with forms, mandatory fields, tick boxes, document uploads, required fields, and E-signatures. All of which would be very helpful for the many different forms and training used within the employee onboarding process.
Not forgetting the Heatmaps feature which informs you how long an employee has spent reading a sent document.
Employee Onboarding Process Checklist
The employee onboarding process checklist is a comprehensive list of activities to be completed during the onboarding process. The checklist can be used to ensure that all required activities are completed and that nothing is overlooked.
Review the checklist with stakeholders. Ensure it accurately reflects the onboarding process. Make sure all required activities are included.
Conclusion- employee onboarding process flowchart
Employee onboarding is a critical process that sets the tone for how new employees perceive and experience the company they are joining. Streamlining the onboarding process is essential to ensure that new employees feel welcomed, valued, and equipped to perform their duties effectively.
One effective way to streamline the process is by using an employee onboarding process flowchart.
Follow the steps outlined in this article to create an effective flowchart. Ensuring the onboarding process is completed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner.
If you found this post helpful, you can find out more about the client onboarding process here.
