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6 Ways Business Management Software Can Automate Your Onboarding Process

Posted on by Akhila Ranganathan

Onboarding new hires is an essential part of any organization and a very important task for HR. There are various aspects of this process which include handling many documents, sending periodic reminders, answering questions from new employees, etc. All of these concurrent tasks can overwhelm HR. And unfortunately, sometimes human error can happen. That can lead to problems in the onboarding process which can lead to a poor employee experience. Since the retention rate of a company is very much dependent on this initial employee experience, many companies are now shifting to automating the onboarding process.

What Does Automated Onboarding Mean?

Simply put, automated onboarding is when you have a structured onboarding process that guides your new employees at every turn with minimal manual assistance necessary. Most companies do this by using employee onboarding software. There are other apps and software that can work along with this software to make the work of HR easier and the process smoother for everyone involved.

How Does Automated Onboarding Compare To Manual Onboarding?

To start, automation of the onboarding process leads to improvement in the hiring process and lowers employee turnover. When going about onboarding manually, you will find more inefficiencies in the work being done. Second, manual handling of data can lead to human error, higher costs, and missed deadlines. On the other hand, an automated onboarding process leads to centralized data hubs, minimal human error, reduction of costs, and productivity increases. 

1. Faster Document Processing

Documentation of the new employee is a very crucial job and with automated onboarding, you can do so even before the new hires come for their first day on the job. Since their documentation is done by the time they join, the first day can be spent on knowing their colleagues, learning about the company, and introducing themselves. 

With the paperwork out of the way, your new employees can start focusing on their work from the first day. Many tools can help you with that, and if you are using employee onboarding software, the task will be taken care of by it. Important documents like contract manuals, company policies, and others will be sent automatically to the inbox of the new employees that can check out before their joining date. If they have any questions, they can contact HR and all issues can be cleared up before their joining. 

2. Automated Data Entry

All new employee data is collected automatically and entered into your organization’s work process smoothly when your onboarding is automated. It includes everything from payroll info, contact numbers, home addresses, and more. Automating the onboarding process makes it easier for your other organizational software like ERP, accounting software, etc. to avoid any kind of human error. It also makes the job of HR easier to create reports based on your employees’ demographics, job history, headcount, and more.

3. Improved Employee Engagement

New hires often find it hard to communicate with HR or get responses from them. That is because when done manually, onboarding new employees can swamp HR with paperwork, repetitive admin work, and more. It becomes hard for them to effectively communicate with the new employees leading to lower employee engagement, which can lead to higher retention rates in the long term. But with automation-focused business management software, most of the work is done automatically freeing HR to focus more on interacting with the new hires on a human level. 

From there, HR will be able to better answer any questions the new employees have, guide them better during the orientation programs, and even have time to create FAQ libraries for them. All these improve new employee engagement and lead to higher employee retention.

4. Welcoming Candidates Becomes A Breeze

Retaining new talents is very important for organizations in this competitive job market. This is why companies love to welcome their new hires with a personalized welcome package. With automated employee onboarding, this becomes an easy job for HR. All they have to do is set up online forms to collect personal details of their new hires (t-shirt sizes, mailing addresses preferred pronouns) and then create the perfect welcome package for each of them. And all these can be done before they set foot in their office.  They’ll feel more attached to the company and have greater job satisfaction over the course of their employment.

5. Improve Interactions Between People

During the new employee onboarding, the new employees lay importance on 1:1 interaction with their managers. These interactions help them to know their role in the organization, build better relationships and guide them through their expected goals. With automation-capable software solutions, HR is free from redundant tasks and can handle these kinds of interactions better. Plus the automated system will create scheduled office tours, alert the employees about their orientation and training, schedule when to take their headshots, and other tasks that new hires have to go through.

6. Automatic Benefit Enrollment

Today’s working generation lays very big importance on the benefits and perks a company offers when they are looking for a job. This is why organizations entice talented individuals with perks like commuter benefits, membership perks, and premier health plans among others. However, many times when there is no automation, the employees fail to get information or fail to enroll in such company benefits right away, if ever. But with automation through employee onboarding software, they get automated emails regarding all these on their first day. The emails provide detailed information on how to avail of them and what exactly they’re entitled to. Sometimes companies have different software to provide these perks and benefits, but the automated onboarding process easily works with such software, and everything is under a single platform.

By automating the onboarding process your organization will be much more streamlined .from first day to retirement Not only can your new employees become productive from their first day, but even your existing employees can also do their job better.

ERP: A Tool For Improving Employee Relationships

Posted on by Brian Kinney

Customers get all the attention. After all, they’re the ones keeping the lights on. Your processes and procedures are designed with them in mind, you make critical decisions based on their needs and asks, and you do everything in your power to attract and retain them.

Bending over backward for your customers is by no means a bad business practice. What it does mean, however, is that it’s easy to become hyper-focused on all things “customer” and to lose track of other areas of importance. In this case, another critical group of people—your employees.

You value your employees tremendously. They are the backbone of your business, and their hard work is recognized through salary increases, promotions, and other commendations. 

Employees love incentives—especially cash incentives. There’s nothing wrong with rewarding your employees for a job well done. It’s certainly part of a winning strategy. But, it’s not the only component that goes into building the best business possible when it comes to employee relationships.

Your investments in your employees need to go beyond bonuses, holiday parties, and awards. In some ways, your business needs to look at its employee relationships in the same light it would its customer relationships. It’s important to embrace how technology can improve areas such as employee communication, the onboarding process, reduce employee burnout, and the overall efficiency of their daily experience.

In short, enterprise resource planning software (ERP) under the umbrella of business management technology is capable of facilitating a better, more efficient employee experience that improves employee engagement—disengaged employees cost companies between $483 to $605 billion per year, and companies with more engaged employees outperform their counterparts by 202%.

business management software erp productivity

Let’s take a look at some of the ways that business management technology can facilitate a more engaged, productive workforce and how that can have a positive impact on your bottom line.

How ERP Benefits Internal Communication

Even before the advent of widespread remote work, maintaining organization and accuracy in daily communication channels was a challenge. Now, the challenge has risen to an entirely new level.

If you have employees out in the field, they will most likely be calling or texting back to the office. Young and tech-savvy employees working remotely will have the inclination to use their favorite group messaging apps. The term is known as shadow IT where employees use familiar (to them) apps that have not been blessed by your IT department, typically for cybersecurity concerns.

And—even more prominently—most employees will still rely on traditional email chains as their primary method to relay information. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these channels of communication. However, there are two glaring problems when it comes to how they’re used: 

1. They’re all disconnected systems that do not have a single, verifiable source of centralized data. 

2.  There is now an extraneous layer of separation between these communication channels and the work being done.

Transparency and Inclusion

One of the biggest and most immediate benefits that business management software offers in terms of employee communication is the fact that discussions are all happening within the system, with everyone on the same page.

In an atmosphere where all employees are encouraged to communicate, problems will be solved quickly. Oftentimes, problems that would have shown up later down the line will be stamped out quicker than ever when communication is at its peak.

Enabling transparent and inclusive communication empowers your employees to work productively and relay data faster. Another great way to empower employees is through corporate awards; in this way, they will feel more appreciated and productive. It will be favorable among your employees, and it will have a trickle-down effect on your customers who are seeing their problems and needs accounted for much more timely and efficiently.

Accurate, Real-Time Data

Sifting through various mediums of communication to find the “correct” set of data is one of the biggest time wasters that a company can face. One study found that employees spend 19.8% of their business time searching for information to do their job effectively.

If you’re not keeping your data clean, you could be missing out on opportunities to reach new customers or nurture relationships with existing ones. To create and maintain better data, you can use employee survey software tools and have better management.

Needless to say, improving the ways in which your employees send and receive information can save your business time and money.

Project Management Efficiency

Every type of business spends time working on projects of some kind. Whether it’s a construction job site, a catering event, or a financial planning document, you will have information in need of being stored, co-workers in need of being brought up to speed, and work that needs to be reviewed and revised. Thus you can give corporate awards to the most successful employees and enable their trust and dedication. 

Instead of communicating about projects on a separate software app, communicate directly where the project data is stored. This way you can point to specific information, upload additional documents, and see a definitive edit history. You’ll be able to spend less time clarifying back-and-forth remarks and more time accomplishing the tasks at hand.

Adapting To Your Employees

Your employees are all truly one of a kind. Some employees are aces in analytical positions, while others are better suited for labor-focused tasks. Skillsets aren’t the only area of importance here—personalities also play a major role in the workplace. Some may be best suited for customer-facing positions, while others thrive in the back office environment. 

Differing and diverse talent and personalities among your employees is an unequivocal strength. The hard part comes in pairing employees with others that complement their respective skill sets and personalities. While that requires some managerial expertise, business management software plays a vital role in empowering your employees to maximize their unique potential. Perhaps, take a look at branded corporate achievement awards to improve employee relationships and recognize outstanding achievers. 

Automation Enables Creativity

While automation doesn’t directly contribute to creativity, it provides more of the most significant element necessary for creativity to flourish—time. Right now, 67% of organizations are implementing business process automation solutions. And around 85% of business leaders, believe that automating some of this workload will give employees more time to focus on crucial company initiatives.

The truth is, one of the easiest ways for employees to become burnt out and unproductive in their role is when they are required to perform large amounts of menial and repetitive tasks. By utilizing business management technology, your employees can get back to not only the work that they do best but also the work that keeps them highly motivated and productive.

Remote Work

Some employees work best in a lively atmosphere surrounded by lots of people and activity, while others work best in quiet solitude. In the last couple of years, the latter type of worker has thrived. While not every person is at their best working remotely, nor can every job be completed in this way, it can be highly productive for those that embrace it.

remote work erp software productivity

47% of employees that work remotely are more productive, and on average these employees end up working one additional day per week.

ERP business management software gives your employees the freedom to work in an atmosphere that suits their strengths while not sacrificing any of the communication or data visibility traditionally reserved for those working in the office.

Enhanced Decision Making

While you still may leave the bulk of the decision-making up to the executives within your business, it’s always a good idea to aggregate ideas from every person involved, not just executives. Using the tools that business management software has to offer, your employees will have faster access to better data, enabling them to make smarter decisions.

Giving employees more leeway to dive headfirst into data facilitates more openness within your organization and gives way to better ideas being developed. Even if your average employee isn’t responsible for making the final decision, having those conversations within your organization from top to bottom will prove the theory that two heads are always better than one.

Wrapping Up

Focusing on the relationship between you and your employees—as well as the relationships that employees have with each other—is really important. In fact, it can be viewed as an extension of focusing on your relationship with your customers.

CEO Doug Conant quote

If your employees are empowered to work their best, they’ll be best set up to serve your customers in an optimal fashion. Giving your employees the tools to communicate about projects, allowing them the opportunity to make intelligent decisions, and overall promoting an atmosphere of open communication, inclusion, and transparency will help every employee in your company reach their full potential, thereby helping your company achieve the most that it possibly can.

How to Build a Better Construction Hiring Process

Posted on by Reesa David

Typically, during periods of economic turmoil, the construction industry takes a hit. Fewer families take the plunge into home ownership, businesses halt their expansion efforts, and new projects hit the pause button. But this recent economic downturn has been anything but typical.

In terms of projects and revenue, the construction industry is in the midst of vast success. Large businesses such as Tesla, Oracle, and HPE are breaking new ground in Texas which could portend a large scale commercial migration out of densely populated—and more importantly, heavily taxed—areas, namely Silicon Valley. 

In terms of housing, many believe the next American housing boom is already underway. In July of 2020, new home sales surged 55%, largely in part due to the millennial generation entering the housing market for the first time. With some lending companies having their best fiscal year ever, many believe the wild events of 2020 have ushered in a new era for the construction industry.

Identifying The Problems

So this all sounds great, right? What could possibly be the problem?

The truth is, the number of qualified, capable adults in the construction industry is trending in the wrong direction, and has been for some time. Just like in most industries, the pandemic has underscored and exacerbated the severity of the problem. Older workers are seeking alternative employment over virus fears, and the pipeline bringing young, new workers into the industry is, for lack of a better phrase, running dry. 

To make matters worse, even if you hire someone with a superb skill set, keeping them under your employ throughout the slow winter months can often prove too costly for small businesses. Large companies can lure talent away, leaving you back where you started—frantically looking for the next candidate. This vicious cycle doesn’t have to last forever.

The construction industry isn’t for everyone, but with competitive pay and benefits in a country struggling to stay employed, opportunity is aplenty. Let’s take a look at how your business can keep up with demand by demanding the best out of your hiring process.

Invest in Recruitment

Your hiring process may still resemble how it looked in the early days of your business. Sure, technology has evolved, but the core tenets of how your organization has scoured for talent has essentially stayed the same. With material costs rising as much as 50% this year, it can feel difficult, and almost irresponsible, to justify a total revamping of any facet of your business—especially the hiring process. 

According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 81% of construction firms are reporting difficulty filling both salaried and hourly skilled labor positions. To make matters worse, 25% of firms surveyed said they “have not done anything” in terms of investing in the recruitment, training, and development of skilled workers.

So what can you do to buck this industry trend? To start, seek out organizations that look to lend a helping hand when it comes to procuring and training talent. 

Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) offers education, hands-on training, and mentorship programs to both individuals and organizations. Similarly, many schools have increased their vocational training, providing viable alternatives to those not seeking to pursue a traditional collegiate education.

The point here? Look to invest in the services of organizations that are forward-thinking in their methods of attracting young talent. As you continue to grow your network and hiring pipeline, the goal is to position your business as the gold standard for what employees can expect in the construction industry. 

Competitive Pay & Custom Benefits

One way to hire great talent? Pay them—a lot. The good news here is that “a lot” may not actually be all that much, relatively speaking. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary in the construction industry is about 20% higher than the median salary for all jobs. 

Seemingly in a semi-permanent state of “under construction” since 1776, American construction workers have no shortage of hours—especially given that the coronavirus related project delays have begun to pick up steam again. 

Competitive pay and availability of hours are obviously huge variables that employees consider when seeking work. The other substantial piece of the financial hiring puzzle is your company’s ability to offer benefits. 

Employee benefits, on their own, are necessary. Most construction workers wouldn’t think of accepting an offer from a company that wasn’t able to them (especially health). One way to stand out? Offer benefit packages that are customizable. 

According to MetLife’s 15th Annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, 74% of employees say that having the ability to customize benefits to meet their individual needs is important when exploring a new job opportunity. Enhanced benefit customization goes beyond attracting new talent—72% of employees say that loyalty to their current employer would increase if offered customizable benefits packages.

The Future Is Female

Throughout the hiring process—in pretty much every industry—a decent amount of pigeonholing takes place. Our hubris inhibits us from seeing that our process could be flawed. When we think we know exactly what we want, we put up our blinders and disregard whatever else may be in our path, even if that path is riddled with valuable, young talent. 

Now, don’t misconstrue the point here—confidence in your process is a positive trait. But when it comes to hiring, it’s important to keep an open mind, even if you think you’ve found “the one.” 

To start, there’s one major area that the construction industry is lacking in—the number of women in the field. In 2019, women comprised just 10.3% of the construction industry workforce. While this number represented an uptick of .04% compared to the previous year, it is still a far cry from equality.

It’s certainly not fair to assume that construction companies turn away women—that’s far from the case. The issue begins much earlier, and is much more innocuous. Young women simply don’t seek careers in construction. Organizations such as the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) are looking to change that. 

In the short term, they aim to be a viable resource that any woman interested in construction or contracting can turn to. Whether it be for education, networking, or career development, they seek to empower women in a field dominated by men. In the long term, they hope to make the current “boy’s club” of the construction industry a thing of the past. 

Enlist Construction ERP Software 

A plan is just a plan without the proper tools to see it through. When it comes to the jobsite, you know exactly what tools you need. But when it comes to the hiring process, do you know what should be in your toolbox?

Like everything else, it starts with organization. Between material costs, subcontractors, and winning bids, there’s a lot to think about before the thought of hiring is even mentioned. One of the most crucial assets you need to keep organized? Your list of desired candidates that you weren’t able to hire previously. Construction ERP software can manage all of this and more for your business.

Whether it was a down year, the offseason, or you simply didn’t have the payroll, there’s likely some candidates that you saw joining your business down the line. Too many times have those high quality job leads slipped through the cracks, getting lost in the shuffle over the years while their application gathered dust. Keep their resume, your notes about them, and all of their pertinent certifications in the same place the rest of your business runs.

While your new hires don’t necessarily need access to all of your business’s silos right away, it would make sense for all of your new and potential employees’ information to operate in the same space that the rest of your business does. 

This type of all-in-one platform improves efficiency across the board. You can immediately see how the qualifications of your new hires mesh your existing team, and how they can best contribute. While you pride yourself on maintaining an injury free workplace, you know all too well how things can go awry during a first day. Using technology to keep your new hires close and informed will help you mitigate the risk of any first day jitter-induced accidents.

Wrapping Up

As your business prepares for the work the coming year will bring, take a minute to think about what the years after that will look like. How much will your company grow? How will you empower the next generation of employees? How do you know where to invest your hard earned revenue?

During this self-reflection, remember to look at the facts. The demand for new projects—both commercial and residential—are abundant, but the employees—namely women—are not. Technology is here to help you along the way, but ultimately it will be you and the people you employ that continue to make your business successful for years to come. The future doesn’t wait for anyone, so make sure you go out and do something about it today. 

How to Get Employee Onboarding Right

Posted on by Scott Hammer

Hiring new employees is a great feeling, full of promise and added value to your company. While your recruiting team may consider it one of the last steps in their process, it’s the first step for everyone else. That’s why employee onboarding is one of the most important things to get right as you bring in new hires.

What is Employee Onboarding?

Simply put, employee onboarding is the process of helping new hires understand your company’s processes, procedures, and culture. The goal of onboarding, always, is to help employees hit the ground running on day one. 

Onboarding illustration

But it rarely happens that way. Think about your first day at a new job. Maybe even think about your first day of school. At best, it’s awkward. First days, or even weeks, can be overwhelming for new hires. If you don’t have a good onboarding process in place, you risk losing 10 to 25% of that top talent.

Here’s a new employee checklist to help make your onboarding program successful for new staff, managers, and your HR department.

Don’t Overschedule Orientation

We’ve all had orientation schedules that lasted for days at a time, filled with workshops, information packets, and policy docs. For new hires, it’s a lot to take in. If you give employees too much information at once, it’s all going to end up in a blur. And all of those times you thought your new staff was hanging on your every word, they were really just trying to remember where the bathroom is.

erp software time management

It’s okay to spread orientation meeting throughout the first week (or even two weeks) of employment. Your new hires will still be getting acclimated to their surroundings. Acclimation isn’t just about physical space— it’s everything from the software you use to the meetings you hold.

After a first-day orientation, consider just an hour of scheduling each day after that. It’s a great way to let your new employees learn some of the wider company policies as they get used to their specific role and team.

Provide Company Documents in Advance

If you want to ease the burden on new employees during the onboarding process, give them easy access to company onboarding documents. Allow them to read even before they start their first day of work. 

Great employees want to be as prepared as possible for their first few days on the job. Understanding company policies and protocols can help them feel like they’re part of the team even before they walk through the door. If you have a centralized location for company documents, all you’ll need to do is send a link to provide the information.

Create a Company FAQ

erp software faqs

Often, it’s the cultural aspects of your business that are the most sought-after by new employees. They also happen to be the easiest to answer. 

Questions about when teams take lunch or the protocol for reserving a conference room are great things to have in writing. Even if they’re not strictly policy (and therefore flexible), you send a positive message by not hiding information behind the proverbial curtain.

The best way to approach this is to source it directly from your employees. Team leaders can create questions and answers specific to their divisions. But really, any employee should be able to contribute. Also, make it a living document. When things change, update to keep everyone on the same page.

Make New Hire Onboarding Interactive

Employees should not just be passive receptors of information. If you’re onboarding a new group, you likely have a mix of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners (65%, 30%, and 5%, respectively). 

The more you can address multiple intelligences in your employees, the more engagement and investment they’ll have in your company early on. They’ll not only know more, but they’ll also have the ability to contribute at the outset.

Let Current Staff Know Who’s New

Employee onboarding isn’t just about the new hires. It’s also about the people who have worked at your company for years. They need an easy way to know the new faces in the building. 

Don’t stop there. Allow new employees to write their own introduction to the company. With the right software, this can easily be shared through your company’s management system. (*Avoid sharing via email— most employees will ignore it, even by accident.)

Update Your Employee Hub

new employee onboarding with erp software

If you’ve collected candidate assessments or other essential communication during the recruiting process, that information could be very important during onboarding. Make sure your HR team is updating new employee information on the back end.

All assessments, skills tests, and other important information should be transferred from candidate to employee. If you’re using a sophisticated HR software, you can accomplish this with a single click.

Conclusion

Staff onboarding can be incredibly creative and value-driven. It can also be a boring, unproductive exercise. As your HR team works to create, refine, or update your process, discuss these best practices with them. Make sure your programming covers what’s useful, get rid of what isn’t, and automate everything that takes too much time.

After all, you want to keep the people you’ve worked so hard to hire. Show them that the amazing company you promoted is the reality of their new workplace.