Moving onboarding from static to strategic

Abstract

The author conducted a research project as part of the requirement for completing the Bachelor of Applied Management, in the School of Business, Otago Polytechnic. The main objective of this project was to identify how onboarding was currently planned and implemented at the host organisation at the focus of the research, what the challenges and risks relating to onboarding were at the organisation, if the current onboarding process aligned with best practice, and what the required developmental items of onboarding were to ensure greater efficiency, engagement, and sustainability. The author applied multiple methods of data collection which included online surveys of recently onboarded employees, semi-structured interviews of hiring managers and documentation analysis. Findings were analysed and evaluated against onboarding best practice and existing theories which produced the following themes: onboarding process, onboarding best practice and business benefit. The main findings were the lack of consistency in the current onboarding process, with timeframe, consistency of delivery, communication of expectations regarding organisational goals and job role, as well as following up on progress being identified as areas for improvement to ensure the organisation was maintaining best practice, sustainability and full engagement of employees. Based on these areas of improvement, recommendations were provided to the organisation to improve the consistency of the delivery through extending the time frame of the current process and implementing, monitoring and evaluating performance metrics during early employment. Further research into how to implement technology to drive the onboarding process was also identified. This article highlights the importance of having a formal onboarding programme in place and the effects that implementing technological solutions has on engagement and retention when managed successfully.