HR managers say one of the top three most significant challenges they face with onboarding is measuring onboarding effectiveness. We get it. Setting up the perfect onboarding program is not always a piece of cake, and shock news, even the most flawless plan will always need some adjustments as time goes on. Constant improvements and iterations are at the heart of the process, so don’t give up!
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to onboarding. Aided by the fast-changing technology and new generation employees’ learning needs, organizations must continuously improve upon new learning strategies and training tactics through careful evaluation and optimization.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the different ways in which organizations can measure the success of their onboarding programs and the best practices for continuous improvements.
Why is it important to evaluate the onboarding process?
The primary purpose for an organization to check the effectiveness of the onboarding program is to make sure that it’s not wasting money, time, and effort.
A well-structured and effective onboarding program helps organizations retain top talents and get them ready for the job much quicker, benefiting productivity and ROI.
Evaluating the onboarding process ensures the organization to be on the right track with the onboarding of new employees.
How to evaluate the onboarding process
To evaluate onboarding success, organizations use different metrics, both from qualitative and quantitative methods.
Ask this question: what level of value is the company receiving? Here are the top three metrics you can use to measure the effectiveness of the onboarding program in your organization:
- Employee engagement:
Are your employees happy? A great way of measuring the effectiveness of your onboarding program is by tracking employee happiness. Employee engagement creates the right environment for your employees to give their best every day. It’s a two-say process based on trust, commitment, and communication and starts right from the onboarding.
Consistent performance management and mutual feedback are essential parts of successful employee onboarding and satisfaction. Employees are your core target audience; set feedback moments throughout the entire onboarding process to evaluate your strategy in the form of interviews, focus groups, or employee surveys. Examples of survey questions to assess your onboarding progress may be:
- Performance and productivity
It is difficult to effectively optimize employee onboarding without measuring training results. The whole point of onboarding is to engage and train new hires to achieve full productivity as soon as possible. Measuring the timespan and the training completion rate of new employees are solid indicators of how well onboarding processes are performing.
Poor training completion rates can send some red flags, such as unrealistic time allotted to completion or lack of communication and managers on board. On the contrary, a high training completion rate indicates that employees are engaged and motivated to improve their job performance and get up to speed.
A well-designed new hires training program translates to higher productivity, work commitment, skills development, and improved retention and morale.
Using a digital solution for employee training facilitates and centralizes the evaluation of the effectiveness of your program. You can keep track of every development and adjust on the go where you need it.
- Retention
98% of executives believe that onboarding programs are the key to employee retention.
According to research, two out of three employees who leave in the first year do so in the first six months, and 19,3% within the first 30 days. It comes with high costs, especially in the first year. Employees who leave during the 90-days onboarding period deliver little to no return on the investment made to recruit them. Measuring retention statistics can give precious insight when evaluating your onboarding and drastically help you reduce turnover costs.
Voluntary turnover happens when new hires decide to leave their position before the end of their contract. This could result from an ineffective employee onboarding program where the training may not be adequate or the organization’s culture doesn’t match the employees’ expectations. Don’t just let them go! Set an exit interview to address why employees started looking for a new job. Leaving employees can give organizations precious insights about what was effective and how to optimize onboarding.
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How a digital employee experience platform can help you optimize the onboarding
Oneteam’s Employee Experience Platform supports organizations to maximize employee engagement and workplace productivity, leading to customer satisfaction. It’s the all-in-one solution for non-desk employees, granting them access to internal communication, onboarding, eLearning, and surveys modules.
Want to learn more about Oneteam’s Employee Experience Platform?
View the explainer video below, or request a demo to see how Oneteam can help you to connect with your frontline workforce.
