Organizational success is dependent on its people. Companies are beginning to understand that attracting top talent and keeping them satisfied with their work is crucial. Happy workers lead to satisfied customers, who in turn drive business growth. In addition, many workers opt out of their employment contracts because they feel their companies aren’t doing enough to ensure their well-being and satisfaction, especially in difficult economic times. Another trend is the accelerating rate at which technology, competition, and customer preferences alter the corporate environment.
This has been the ideal environment for HR technology to flourish, allowing for rapid development in recent years. Many businesses use innovative systems for managing employee recruiting, key HR operations, internal communications, employee engagement, employee appreciation, and workplace health. These instruments now incorporate cutting-edge technologies like AI, RPA, and pattern recognition enabled by Big Data analytics, going far beyond their original automation scope. Because of this, technology is now being applied to a broader range of the Employee Lifecycle. The processes of hiring new employees and onboarding them into a company are two such examples. So let us discuss some of the latest onboarding trends for 2022 and beyond. But first, let’s quickly see – what is onboarding in HR?
The term “onboarding” is often used to describe the steps used to orient a new employee to the company’s policies, the person’s position within the company, and the company’s culture as a whole. It also entails making the worker feel at ease so that they can open up to their coworkers and begin developing friendships at work. During the onboarding process, new hires are educated on the company’s knowledge, manner, and productivity standards.
Below are the latest onboarding trends for 2022 and beyond:
First day of orientation and preboarding:
Companies that wait until the first day of work to introduce themselves to their new employee are already behind the eight ball. Companies can save time on new hires’ first days on the job by preboarding, in which employees provide all necessary personal information before their start date. An effective preboarding process will give new hires a glimpse of the company’s culture while making them feel welcome and valued. Retaining employees should start here, even before working for the company. You should impress them so much that they can’t wait to begin working for your firm.
Increased adoption of AI-powered automation:
The use of AI and machine learning has significantly boosted HR onboarding procedures. AI-powered automation has many benefits, including automating mundane operations, improved document management, and intuitive information management. A crucial area where AI is assisting HR teams is in recognizing employee attrition and getting their issues handled, as evidenced by employee onboarding trends for 2022.
Virtual assistants that are intelligent and able to answer frequently asked questions will greatly help HR departments. They can learn from each encounter and grasp a variety of sentences, freeing up HR professionals to deal with more complex cases that require human intervention. An AI-powered virtual assistant (VA) using Natural Language Processing (NLP) can deliver one of the finest new employee onboarding experiences for low-priority inquiries by providing most interactions with a high degree of human elements.
Thanks to this method, employees will begin to feel like a team sooner:
If you can’t make new hires feel like they belong, then no amount of employee onboarding initiatives will help. By giving employees a sense of ownership over the company, you may help them realize their impact on others and the progress made by the company. For many businesses, establishing a mentoring program is an excellent way to encourage employee growth.
This program successfully integrates new hires into the organization by matching them with experienced workers. You should make sure their mentor is someone who is invested in the firm and can help them reach their goals. The new employees could give the wrong impression if care is not taken when forming pairs. New employees can benefit from hearing about the job from the perspective of someone who has been doing it for a few years.
Include microlearning:
The use of microlearning is currently trending in the field of employee onboarding. But this is more than a fad. As such, it can be considered a remedy. Microlearning can be presented in various ways, but it always needs to be divided into several small chunks. Learning materials, whether videos, presentations, audio files, or essays, should not occupy more than 5-10 minutes of a learner’s time on average. We all know that the average human attention span is decreasing. The need for shorter educational materials arises as a direct outcome of this. Therefore, businesses these days need to prioritize their employees’ learning, design training programs with retention in mind in this era of diminishing attention spans, and provide support for their employees in a welcoming and open environment.
Conclusion
Effective onboarding is the only way to leave a long-lasting impression on new workers. What matters is not only efficiency and getting things done. You must be able to rapidly adapt to the latest trends in new employee onboarding to wow your new hires from day one.