New-hire onboarding has to balance many factors. With workers (especially younger workers) moving from company to company more frequently than in the past, orientation and onboarding efforts are more important than ever. Human resources leaders will take all the help they can get from new innovations and technology to establish employees and get them ready to contribute to all the things that make any organization great: branding, internal communication, leadership, etc.
For a new-hire-onboarding plan to be successful, it must accomplish many things simultaneously. First, any employee-onboarding effort has to welcome new recruits and make them feel comfortable. This is usually the trickiest part since it involves a multitude of face-to-face conversations and first impressions. Second, once an employee is ‘on board,’ they must have access to the resources they’ll need in order to be successful—everything from paper clips to supportive managers. Third, employees need to be aware of any benefits programs your company has to offer. All options should be laid out so new employees can make choices that are right for them. The more who enroll in your organization’s benefits programs, the more new employees will stick around and help your company for years to come.
Using video communications technology to aid new-hire-onboarding efforts is nothing new, but these video technologies are quickly becoming more intuitive and integrated with key HR functions, making them easier to use. According to a new survey by video communications company Kalutra, over three-quarters of all large companies run one webcast per year, with nearly half averaging one per month, and over a quarter running one per week. Video conferencing has enabled distributed workplaces and supports other new ways to work, but video in onboarding efforts is becoming easier than ever, especially with on-demand-communications capabilities.
What Is On-Demand Communication?
Simply put, it’s customizable video and presentation content designed specifically for your organization and purposes. Onboarding videos and PowerPoint presentations delivering critical information and welcome messages to new employees can be quickly and cost-effectively tailored to start the process.
These new-hire presentations can be made for interaction as well, with built-in links to resources for benefits enrollment portals, organizational charts, company policies, and all the information new hires need to succeed.
Faster Orientation, Improved Onboarding Indicators
HR measures the success or failure of employee-onboarding efforts, in part, by how many employees the organization retains. Employee retention is one of the many HR metrics improved by on-demand communications because employees get all the information and resources they need from one presentation or interactive portal. From there, managers and company leaders can connect with new employees and welcome them to the organization rather than reiterate information provided in dull and hard-to-read employee packets.
Having employee orientation, benefits and all other information at their fingertips makes for more satisfied, happy employees. When they don’t have to worry about confusing benefits packages and policies, they’re free to buy into your brand and work hard for the success of everyone in your organization.
