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How to improve onboarding process

April 17, 2023

Hiring the right talent can be challenging for HR professionals. It is the responsibility of HR to make sure that new hires feel valued. An efficient onboarding program will be highly helpful in this regard therefore it is important to understand how to improve onboarding process.

The purpose is to make new hires feel comfortable by making them familiar with the culture, expectations, and goals of the company. This transition will help them in becoming efficient contributors to the organization.

Here are the contents of this article:

In this article we have compiled a list of the various strategies on how to improve onboarding process.

Building pillars of onboarding

Dr. Talya Bauer from the Society of Human Resource Management has suggested four distinct levels of onboarding.

These are generally known as “Four Cs”:

Compliance: The new hire should have a clear idea about the rules and regulations which he needs to comply with.
Clarification: It refers to making sure that new hire understands job expectations.
Culture: The onboarding process should provide the new hire with the knowledge of culture and norms of the company.
Connections: It refers to helping new hires establish a valuable information network.

These are the building blocks of how to make onboarding more effective. With the help of these pillars onboarding strategies, goals and measures must be drafted. This investment in planning will guarantee smooth execution of the onboarding process.

Creating an onboarding team

Planning, execution, and monitoring of the onboarding process is not one person’s task. Therefore, a team for onboarding should be created consisting of onboarding manager, specialist, and executives.

This team will be responsible for the following tasks:

This team will determine the onboarding goals, objectives, strategies, and processes.
They will ensure that the onboarding process is organized and streamlined.
They shall create onboarding policies, perform paperwork, welcome and assist new hires, facilitate tours, provide a presentation about rules regulations, and culture, and help in building interpersonal networks
This team will ensure smooth implementation of the process and makes sure that the pre-determined goals and objectives are met.

The sole purpose of the creation of a team is to improve the new employee experience at work. It will positively impact their sense of commitment which will lead to high employee performance.

Turning to technology

Technology has and continues to aid civilization in many ways. It improves time, efficiency, and cost and enhances communication. An onboarding specialist team has to start the process before the new hires join. Here onboarding software can be utilized.

The system can manage the documentation, payroll, and progress of the process. The software can create “meet the team” sessions, use gamification, and video simulation to get the new hire familiar with the organization.

You will find a good example on Efectio.com digital onboarding. As Efectio team says, a successful onboarding procedure may develop business culture while saving time and boosting productivity. To save time and money, Efectio offers automatic onboarding strategies with ready-to-use settings.

Pairing with a mentor

There is always a possibility that the new hire may feel uncomfortable asking coworkers and their managers for help. For this purpose, it will be very effective to pair a new hire with a mentor. Surveys shows that even after onboarding, 70% of the new employees feel unprepared for the new role.

Mentors assist new hires in immediately feeling like a valued member of the team. They will serve as a friend and be in charge of responding to any inquiries about the position and the company.

They will connect the new employee with other employees in the organization and support an effortless transition into his position.

Building a career development plan

Statistics show that 34% of employees say that a lack of career opportunities made them leave their jobs. The first six months of new hires are the most crucial period as they might start to look for opportunities if they don’t feel appreciated in the organization.

Building a career development plan will be helpful in this regard. It improves employee satisfaction, increases retention, and enriches the organization’s culture. New hires will feel high appreciation and motivation if they receive such a plan on the first day of their job.

This plan will have a list of short- and long-term goals and opportunities to achieve innovative experiences. It can help in setting clear expectations between the new hire and the manager.

Asking for feedback

Feedbacks are valuable information which can used for effective decision making. At the end of each onboarding process, human resources should ask for feedback and continuously look for improvements in their onboarding process.

Our business environments are getting more creative and advanced day by day. Organizations cannot create one process and then stick to it for many years. They must continuously update their processes according to the current changes as required.

It will help in keeping them aligned with goals and strategies. A confidential employee survey will help in gathering honest feedback. This survey is perfect for new hires, managers and onboarding teams as needed.

Conclusion

The implementation of the above strategies will ensure efficient onboarding. The successful application of the process will further lead to high employee engagement, productivity and help in building the confidence of new hires that shall be retained for many years.

A survey by Workable in 2020 states that with the rise of remote & hybrid work, onboarding has become more challenging than ever. Organizations must work and invest in retaining their key talents.

A strong onboarding can lead to accomplishing a competitive advantage. This advantage will further guide towards organizational success. Therefore knowing how to improve onboarding process is more important than ever.

Check out our related articles on this topic – What is a company culture and Google company culture values.

What is silence retreat

November 14, 2022

Retreats have become increasingly popular in recent years. The word ‘retreat’ means to separate oneself from society and to be alone with oneself. Silence retreats have become especially popular. It is an opportunity to live in a spiritual world rather than a material one. To organise your thoughts, to listen to yourself, to let yourself feel new things.

However, all retreats are not the same. There are meditation retreats, yoga retreats, mental health retreats, even weight loss retreats. Most often they take place somewhere away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world – in the countryside, in nature. One of the most popular retreats is the silence retreat.

We have written an article on The most popular types of retreats. In this article learn more about what is a silence retreat and what are its most important parts.

Silence can be healing

Does something as simple as silence really have magical powers? Research shows that silence can stimulate the formation of new brain cells. Noise, on the other hand, has a negative impact on health. People who work in noisy environments may be at increased risk of high blood pressure and heart attacks.

When there is noise around, it is harder to concentrate, all attention is focused on the environment and less on our inner world. Those who spend their days in noisy environments will attest to how soothing and pleasant it is to spend the end of the day in peace and quiet.

Silence affects not only physical but also mental health. It relaxes both body and mind, improves memory and relieves tension. In 2005, a study found that two minutes of silence was more effective against tension than special relaxing music. It is also easier to collect thoughts, set goals and reflect in silence.

Somewhat paradoxically, silence can also improve communication skills and help build stronger relationships. So the benefits of silence are plenty. It is no wonder that silent retreats have been created.

Meditation plays an important role

A retreat does not simply consist of silence and doing nothing. Meditation is at the heart of many such retreats. This ancient practice, which has been practised by humans since 1500 BC, seems to have flourished again. Meditation has been important in various religions.

Meditation can take different forms

In the distinctly Eastern world, Vedic or Hindu meditation, Buddhist meditation, Tao meditation. Quite naturally, many, many retreats also have this practice. Meditation calms, improves well-being and self-esteem. For some people it means getting closer to themselves, and for others it even means getting closer to God.

People do not talk during meditation. However, meditation is not just about sitting in the lotus position. It can also be an activity, such as walking. Often different forms of meditation are combined. It is not uncommon for retreats to take six, seven or more hours a day. But why is silence so important? Does silence really have power?

Silence in meditation

It could be said that for many, life is full of noise. It can be both external and internal. The hustle and bustle of the city, the hustle and bustle of work, the constant conversations with other people. Internally, this noise can take the form of thoughts, some of which affect the quality of our lives.

It may be self-consciousness about things – things that have not been done, things that have not been realised etc. By being silent and distracted from the everyday, we finally have the opportunity to shelve these thoughts. It is a calming, almost purifying process. Inner peace is something we all strive for at the end of the day.

And the effectiveness of meditation is backed by science. Experts have carried out studies and analysed the effects of meditation on people. It has been shown that meditation relaxes the muscles, makes breathing slower and more efficient, increases the activity of the central and frontal slow electrical waves and brings about other changes in the body.

What does a typical silence retreat look like?

Although on the surface it might seem that retreats are all about relaxation, in reality most retreats follow a fairly strict daily routine.

Early morning

Many silence retreats require an early start – around 6 or 7am. Then, before breakfast, participants indulge in the first meditation or yoga session of the day. The duration of the retreats varies, there are silence retreats lasting a few days or a few weeks.

Yoga and meditation

Most often, two activities – yoga and meditation – take up the majority of the time on the silence retreat agenda. In between meals, yoga and meditation sessions, there is also time for physical activity. This can be a walk in nature, climbing mountains, swimming.

Physical activities are most often tailored to the location of the retreat. The surrounding environment, be it a forest, mountains or lake, is used.

Free time to yourself

Although quite intensive work on oneself is done, most retreats also include free time. This can be spent at your own discretion – for example, reading books. Of course, there are also retreats that do not include much free time.

In these types of retreats, most of the day is spent practising various meditation and yoga techniques. Find out more about retreats in category All about retreats.

One thing is clear: a silent retreat is a good way to get away from the rush and stress of everyday life for several days or even weeks. Anyone can benefit from the peace and relaxed contemplation.

Check out our other articles on health such as Tasty and healthy water recipes.

Google company culture values

September 12, 2022

Google is one of the biggest companies in the whole world with over 100’000 employees worldwide. With such a huge company comes responsibility for creating a workspace that allows all of your employees to be productive while loving their job. Google company culture values have a huge role in that.

We wrote more on what it is in the article What is a company culture. Check it out first in order to fully understand our today’s article down below.

In this article we have researched the main Google company culture values that create the work environment at Google the way it is.

Inspires creativity

While Google is one of the biggest tech companies in the world, you might think that there is no place for creativity. In that you would be absolutely wrong. In order to create something innovative, which Google loves the approach for, you need to open up your creativity.

Google believes that a happier employee is more creative and productive. As a result, Google strives to create an environment in which employees have the freedom to foster their creativity, whether by contributing novel solutions to the same problems or simply by the way they work.

A common goal and mission

A team is created where there is a common goal and mission to achieve. Every company should set their goals clearly to the employees. That way everybody knows what they’re working for and the common goal makes them feel like team players.

Google’s company culture is based on a simple and direct mission: ‘To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.’ With such a mission, the team contributes to Google’s prominent company culture.

Open communication

Clearly communication is one of the most important parts of any company culture. In order for so many employees to be equally informed there has to be a strong communication system in which everybody feels a part of.

Google has a flat organizational structure that encourages all Google employees to express their thoughts and opinions. A company structure like this allows for communication between teams of any level. Everybody feels like they can share their ideas and concerns.

This means that lower-level employees can directly share their concerns or opinions with the CEO without interference from their managers.

Mentoring program

Google has an amazing mentoring program that helps every new Google employee to settle into the workspace. Firstly the newbies of Google are called Nooglers. Then there follows an onboarding process which can last up to 90 days. More on that check out the article What is Google onboarding process like.

Google encourages their employee mobility so that each employee can improve their weaknesses and strengths. The idea is to offer most employees the exact job they want and then assist them with the transition.

Employee happiness at workspace

Google employs people whose sole goal is to keep their team of employees happy and productive. As a result, they provide an abundance of employee benefits and perks. Those can be free health and dental care, nap pods, hybrid car subsidies, video games, on-site physicians, swimming pools, ping pong, adult playground, organic chef-prepared meals, and free meals.

Google offices are a fun place to work that does not feel like any other workplace. This becomes difficult to achieve when employees work long days and even on weekends.

However, the Google company has succeeded in creating an enjoyable and creative workplace by providing employees with freedom, flexibility, free food, and other benefits. It leads with innovation and data, resulting in the ideal work-life balance.

Now you know a little bit more on Google company culture values.

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