Law firm specialising in employment law
and social security law.
Law firm specialising in employment law
and social security law.
Onboarding, also known as integrating new employees, is a crucial process for welcoming, training and effectively integrating new staff into the company.
Although this is not a compulsory process, employers are well aware of the importance of putting in place a solid and effective onboarding policy to give employees the best possible welcome to the company.
This has a bearing on both recruitment and the success of the recruitment process and is one of the tools that can be used to reduce staff turnover and limit the number of trial period terminations justified by difficulties in integrating the employee into the team.
An effective onboarding policy enables new employees to better understand their role and to integrate quickly, thereby reducing staff turnover.
A strong onboarding policy can reduce staff turnover from 30% to 10% in the first year.
The productivity of employees newly integrated with onboarding is in no way comparable to that of employees integrated without it.
In fact, they show a significant increase in productivity from the very first months !
On average, 90% of new employees feel satisfied with their onboarding experience, which has a positive impact on their engagement.
It also gives employees a better image of the company, regardless of whether or not they decide to stay on.
In a context where social networks can make or break a reputation, such a policy can have a real impact on the applications that are submitted, or not. Allowing employees to testify to the quality of the HR policy at the recruitment stage can be a significant asset in making the actions taken in parallel to promote the "employer brand" real and concrete.
There is a strong need for consistency between what is shown about the company during the recruitment period (and in its external communications) and what is actually implemented.
An effective onboarding policy will focus on the actions to be implemented to ensure overall consistency.
Good onboarding also enables useful processes to be put in place to reduce the risk of non-compliance.
Depending on the company's activity, it is sometimes necessary or even compulsory to ensure that a certain number of formalities and supporting documents are in place before recruitment. Whether it's HR formalities (such as a declaration prior to recruitment), diplomas, authorisations to carry out certain activities, qualifications or even previous experience (extract from the criminal record), there can be many points to check, and it's wise to have established an appropriate process in advance.
Training checks and health and safety information can also be integrated into the process, so that no employee is forgotten.
In order to attract talent and promote the employer brand, the onboarding policy will contain both HR and "cultural" elements.
There is a plethora of examples of famous companies that have succeeded in integrating corporate culture into their onboarding; what these companies all have in common is that they have created a unique corporate culture and integrated their values into the recruitment and onboarding process. Although this is not the only factor, it has probably contributed to their success and is an aspect that should not be overlooked.
The human resources department will necessarily be involved in the onboarding process, as will the managers. The latter have a real role to play in the process, as they will be in charge once recruitment is complete and the employee has taken up his or her post.
Their global vision of employee integration will enable them to better plan, coordinate and monitor recruitment from the moment the employee joins the team.
Of course, calling on the services of a lawyer or legal advisor is also a good way of making sure that all the legal aspects have been taken into account, and any pitfalls avoided (such as the risk of discrimination, which can be a serious problem as soon as you make contact with a candidate).
The first stage is, of course, the needs analysis, to identify the data to be collected, the gaps in the current process (if any) and to set objectives.
As part of a collaborative and collective approach, an audit among employees can also be envisaged, asking them to give feedback on how they felt, what they would have liked to have seen when they were recruited, and the positive and negative aspects they were able to analyse during their experience as a candidate.
All kinds of content can be imagined in terms of onboarding: from more traditional documents to videos and manuals, the key is to develop useful documentation based on the specific needs identified in the company.
In practical terms, the successful integration of new employees can be achieved through simple actions such as :
In addition to the 'operational' work of defining and implementing an effective onboarding policy, the other essential aspect of the job will be to set up training programmes tailored to the staff concerned.
Everyone, from HR managers to operational managers, has a role to play in successful onboarding, and it is imperative that they are able to understand the content and expected results of such a policy.
In our view, a successful onboarding policy cannot be implemented without setting up a feedback system for onboarded employees and unsuccessful candidates.
Whether using forms, for example, or feedback on digital platforms, this type of system requires the implementation of an efficient process for handling the feedback received, so that onboarding can be improved on an ongoing basis.
In conclusion, corporate onboarding is an essential investment in long-term success. A well-designed policy can reduce staff turnover, increase productivity and improve employee satisfaction, as well as positively developing the employer brand.
To put in place an effective policy, involve human resources, managers and your legal advisers, and make sure you tailor the process to your company's specific needs.