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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.

Get the Most Value From Your Users with Continuous Onboarding

Posted on by John Ozuysal

I know you’ve heard the saying: first impressions are important.

And I’ll sound lame saying this, but I couldn’t agree more!

Every product I’ve used, every platform I tried to adopt, every video game I played, and every business I became a part of— what determined whether I would stay was their first impression on me, which is established through user onboarding.

What is User Onboarding?

User onboarding is the most important part of a user’s journey, the part where they are introduced to your product and they make the decision to continue with your business… or not.

You are familiar with walkthrough videos on products, hours of introduction sessions to platforms, and mostly boring tutorials in video games; they are all meant to onboard you to the product.

But what happens once a customer or employee completes the onboarding process? When they have done all the tasks on the onboarding checklist and have reached their “Aha!” moment? Should it stop there? No way!

User onboarding must be an ongoing task for every business in order to increase retention and eliminate churn. 

Which brings us to the question:

What is Continuous User Onboarding?

Continuous User Onboarding refers to not ending the onboarding of a user after their initial “Aha!” moment, but to continue it throughout their lifetime.

After your users are successfully onboarded for the first time and become a fan of your business, whether they are employees or customers, they may not stay that way forever. The great relationship each have with your business will diminish over time.

This is where continuous onboarding rushes to your aid. By onboarding your users again and again, you keep them at their success status as a fan.

The aim is to assist users to repeatedly find new value within your offering. A successful onboarding process helps users advance further by revealing what is more beneficial for them.

Promoting new features for an existing user is a great example, as you will be able to encourage them to achieve more with your product.

Why Should Your Onboarding Be Non-Stop?

Onboarding illustration

Onboarding is not a task that can be accomplished just with a pretty-looking interface design or an interactive product walkthrough.

You need to be there for your users each time they are in need and put forward the next cool feature to increase the value of your product. Your onboarding should never stop mainly because of one single reason: to increase the Lifetime Value.

An increase in the Lifetime Value can be seen via changes in 4 other metrics.

Increase Product Adoption

As your users reach success through onboarding, they will increasingly enjoy the experience you offer.

Each time they complete a task, they will like your platform more.

Also, as they learn your product well and add it to their arsenal, your product will become indispensable.

Therefore, non-stop onboarding after the initial onboarding process will boost your product adoption rate.

Improve Your Retention Rates

Keeping your users happy will help you to improve your retention rate as well.

As your users adopt your product and achieve success without experiencing errors or examples of bad UX, they will come back for more!

Encourage Upsells and Expansions

How can you earn more from customers?

In order to acquire a considerable amount of increase in revenue by upsells and expansion, you have to sell more than the product your users have already bought/subscribed to.

If you keep successfully onboarding users, they won’t hesitate to buy more products and features from you.

Eliminate Churn

Churn Rate

91% percent of users will churn rather than trying to fix their problems with your business.

They will choose the easy-way-out strategy over waiting for you to fix their problems. This is highly dangerous for every business— your inability to decrease churn can signal the end of your success.

Therefore, it’s best to act before your users churn. You can always evaluate the data from your onboarding processes and come up with a solution to the problems they are experiencing or improve your onboarding process overall.

How Continuous Onboarding Can Be Applied to your Business

So now we know what it means to onboard users continuously and why you should adopt such a method, we need to learn how.

I have come up with three ways to apply continuous user onboarding to your business right now:

1. Be There When They Need You

You have to be there when they need you!

a. When they want to reach out to you for help

So a user of yours is stuck with your product, doesn’t know what to do and requests help.

This is the biggest chance to onboard a user once again. They are far from the path to customer success they need to be on and you need to onboard them again onto this path.

What you should do in this case is to offer self-help centers, conversation portals, and interactive guides so they can easily solve their problems by themselves.  

b. When they don’t know they need you, but they do

The other case is, you might be sure of the stage of their journey your users will struggle with and help them once they get to that stage.

customer retention graphic

Some of the good user onboarding or CRM tools help you establish action-based processes so that you can keep contacting the user at the right place and time throughout the user lifecycle.

In these cases, you can identify and fix the pain points of the users related to the product or you can make sure they have what they need when they need it.

2. Highlight Features and Updates

Highlighting a new feature or the latest update is a must-do for all SaaS and other businesses.

To increase user engagement and improve feature adoption, you have to set guides or checklists that help users explore the brand new iteration of your new product.

3. Offer Valuable Content

Along with helping your users explore the value of your product over and over again, you can try to provide them with additional value.

This value may range from an article related to your audience’s interests to a detailed guide on how they can use your product or service more efficiently.

Conclusion

You can’t ignore the fact that user onboarding never ends, so what will you do about it?

If you keep offering value throughout a user’s journey, they will be onboarded again and again, until they become promoters of your platform and stay for the long haul.

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.