The Eagle Has Landed: Employee Onboarding

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Competition for talented employees in today’s job market is fierce. The balance of power has swung in favor of the talented job seeker. And since these job seekers have multiple job opportunities to consider, they’re not just looking for a job that pays the bills; they’re looking for a work experience that enhances their lives.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) August 2015 LINE Report, recruiting difficulty reached a 4-year high last July, which also made it 15 consecutive months of increase. In response to this ongoing challenge, many organizations are taking a closer look at their strategy for recruiting, hiring, and retaining top talent.

 

Let Me Fly You To The Moon

Small- to medium-sized businesses are investing in employer brand marketing that attracts applicants and persuades candidates. They are adding “perks” and “fun” to enhance their work culture. They are saying and showing all the right things during the recruitment and hiring phases. And that is all right and good. But too often, new hires are experiencing a disconnect between the marketing (pre-hire) and the reality (post-hire).

Some employers are over-promising, but most are simply too slow in delivering on their promises. Regardless of the cause, the disconnect is driving employee turnover. In the past year, nearly 43% of job turnover consisted of workers with less than 6 months on the job.

Houston, We Have A Problem

If an organization promises the moon to candidates, but then forces new hires to wait a year before getting them there, then that organization has a problem. And that problem most likely lies in new employee onboarding–the period of time between job offer acceptance and a new hire’s complete assimilation into a new organization.

Poor onboarding does not inspire new employees, and it certainly doesn’t enhance their lives. Employers have 90 days to convince new employees that they have accepted a job with the right organization; after that, those new hires will likely begin looking for another opportunity. Examples of ineffective onboarding include:

  • Initial days of work exclusively focused on new hire paperwork 
  • Cold welcome from co-workers
  • Choppy workflow and vague guidance or instructions
  • Heavy, intensive training with little time to socialize with coworkers
  • Role is unclear or widely differs from original description
  • Lack of resources or proactive provisioning
  • No training plan or preliminary goals
  • Miscommunication between stakeholders (those charged with onboarding new hires)

Most of these symptoms of ineffective onboarding can be traced to one of two root causes: the organization does not have enough time to commit to employee onboarding; or the organization does not value onboarding.

Many small- to medium-sized businesses are stretched on time–that’s likely why they’re hiring in the first place. And it’s also likely that these missteps will be corrected as the organizations grow and gain greater efficiency in onboarding. On the other hand, if an organization is ineffectively onboarding employees because it doesn’t find it important, then it’s unlikely improvement will be gained, and the results of that can be devastating.

SHRM places the direct costs of rehiring for a position at 50%-60% of an employee’s salary. Indirect costs can rise to 200% in some cases! Clearly, poor onboarding damages more than an organization’s reputation or employee morale, it impacts the bottom line.

All Hands On Deck

Onboarding is one of the most overlooked and undervalued areas of the employee lifecycle. This is likely because the definition of onboarding–its length, its content, its purpose–has varied between industries, organizations, and even departments within organizations. To improve the onboarding process, an organization’s leaders must first gain a common understanding of the purpose and desired outcomes–a vision–for the onboarding process. From there, it’s a matter of building a plan for employee onboarding process improvement that serves the shared vision.

ExactHire has published a free ebook, All Hands On Deck: A Guide To Employee Onboarding Process Improvement, that offers guidance on the best practices for employee onboarding, including:

  • Expanding your onboarding definition
  • Identifying common problems
  • Making a business case for change
  • Calculating the ROI of onboarding technology
  • Laying the framework
  • Implementing innovative ideas
  • Maintaining a continuous feedback loop
  • Spotting trends in onboarding process automation

This resource is designed to help organizations gain a competitive advantage by realizing the opportunities of best-in-class employee onboarding.

We Have Liftoff

Smart organizations are seeking to improve their employee onboarding processes. With effective stakeholder engagement, documented process milestones, and an infusion of automation technology, these organizations are increasing onboarding efficiency. As a result, employee turnover is reduced and new employees are becoming productive more quickly. All of this positively impacts employer brand, while also driving business outcomes.

ExactHire offers hiring and employee onboarding software to growing small- to medium-sized businesses that are looking to efficiently attract, hire, and retain exceptional talent for continued growth. To learn more about ExactHire’s HR solutions, please submit a brief contact form.

Feature Image Credit: DSC_0699 by Phaedrus (contact)

4 Plays For Payroll Service Bureaus To Close Prospects

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Independent payroll service bureaus, it’s time to put on your game face. Your competition isn’t getting any weaker these days, and technology innovation and adoption is moving at a breakneck pace. So, what do you do…sit down and relentlessly review game tapes to study your competitors’ every play? Well, not exactly, but it is critical to understand your competitors’ potential appeal to your existing clients and potential prospects.

In this blog, we’ll take a quick look at how large national payroll providers might try to remedy your clients’ payroll–and general human resources–pain. Then, we’ll examine how each pain point can be turned into an opportunity for your business to compete on a level playing field with the big providers when it comes to serving the needs of your small- and medium-sized prospects and customers.

Don’t Let Prospect Pain Lead to Competitor Gain

Take a closer look at what large national payroll software providers will typically bring to the table in order to win over the organizations in your market.

 

Gain Promised by National Payroll Provider

A fully loaded software platform with a variety of HR service-related add-ons beyond basic payroll.

  • Administrative burden is alleviated.
  • Single sign-on is provided.
  • “Free” applicant tracking module is available to streamline the process of posting new jobs.
  • “Baked-in” new hire paperwork automation exists to make employment paperwork paperless.

Your Pain as an Independent Payroll Provider

  • You’re outmatched when it comes to ancillary HR service software features.
  • Your potential clients are seduced by flashy bells and whistles touted by the national providers.
  • Your prospects are led to believe that only a big provider is going to meet their needs.
  • The national providers aggressively push technology, though you want to keep service as the emphasis for your conversation with prospects.

 

Opportunities for a Good Offense

In this section, we’ll examine each of your pain points as they relate to your prospects being recruited to use national provider solutions instead of your services. In doing so, opportunities for you to score more points in your market space will be presented, as well.

1 – You’re Outmatched Technologically

When faced with the prospect of playing basketball against a squad of seven footers, and you’re only 5’8”, it’s time to run some innovative plays–or, find some sturdy stilts. The challenge is no different when you’re competing against mega payroll software providers that have a one-stop shop software platform to meet every human resource need of your small- and medium-sized business clients.

Your Play: You can make your product offering look “big” as well by partnering with an HR software provider that specializes in systems that fall outside of your core product or service. Not only will your payroll function remain strong as you continue to make it your primary focus, you’ll give yourself additional reach with clients by incorporating options for recruiting, employee onboarding, reference checking, background checking and/or other HR-related tools.

2 – Their Flashy Bells and Whistles are Seductive

The big providers’ long list of customers, features and their share of the market can be impressive accomplishments in the eyes of your prospects. However, upon closer inspection sometimes the sizzle is just a smokescreen for a lack of substance. Specifically, while the big providers give users access to a suite of HR tools in addition to payroll processing, when individually examined these tools may be regarded as afterthought ancillary systems that get added onto the provider’s original payroll code.

Your Play: By forming a strong relationship with a best-in-class HR software provider, your business can match the feature offerings of national providers to get a foot in the door and generate initial interest. However, the especially important benefit of a strong partnership is that your business will have a better track record of customer retention, as it will be providing robust systems with a proven record of continuous development and innovation.

3 – They Throw Their Weight Around

Flashback to fifth grade P.E. class, and I bet your memories include witnessing the biggest, strongest kid always being picked first to be captain of the dodgeball team. The choice was natural as the kid was obviously athletic and a seasoned competitor. Your prospects and clients are thinking the same thing…they want the biggest- and strongest-looking payroll provider to take care of their needs. They want to be in capable hands.

Your Play: When everyone wants to be on the big kid’s team, it’s going to be hard for the captain to customize his coaching to each individual teammate. So, in the interest of efficiency he may adopt a one-size fits all approach. Your prospects may face the same cookie-cutter mentality once they partner with a large payroll provider.

Therefore, consider reinforcing your own coaching excellence with a partner that rounds out your perceived weaknesses as they compare to your larger competitors. In doing so, give your clients a scalable system that can be customized to their payroll needs and current size, and that also includes integrations to the additional recruiting, onboarding and reference checking tools they desire for improved HR efficiency. Better yet, assure them that these additional modules are provided by a partner that is constantly improving its own core offerings while you focus on your bread and butter – payroll. Everyone wins.

4 – They Lead With Tech; You Focus on Service

Think of your competitors as the flashy, private school team with the latest style of uniform and top-of-the-line sporting equipment. They step on the field and you instantly fight off hearing “We will, we will, rock you” in your head. If your business doesn’t pick up a teammate with the right equipment to compete, then your new internal soundtrack will be “I’m a loser baby” as your customers walk out the door…before they even get a chance to be raving fans of your service. They won’t even know what they missed, because you won’t even get an at bat.

Your Play: Add some dazzle to your own pre-game warm-up routine by bringing a solid recruiting and onboarding software partner to the table to assure your prospects that you can fill the same kinds of HR service technology gaps as your competitors. Only then, will you get the opportunity to elevate the conversation to focus on service comparisons where you can further differentiate your firm.

The level of service your competitors offer doesn’t even rival the stellar support that you extend to your customers, right? By allowing your trusted partner to focus on tech development outside of your payroll offerings, you still have time to make servicing your clients a priority. Additionally, with the right teammate, you determine which is your better play: being first tier support on your partner’s products or introducing your clients to your partner’s close-knit team of U.S.-based support specialists that are used to working with small- and medium-sized (SMB) clients.

Game Time Decision

Your customers don’t want to experience employee turnover as a result of missing out on the latest, most engaging HR technology. And you don’t want turnover in your client base, either. Find a trusted partner that helps you provide best-in-class HR service add-on software to delight your customers. Check out ExactHire’s guide to choosing a partner below.

HR Software Provider Partnership Guide

Image Credit: 4 by Rosmarie Voegtli (contact)

Trending: Reverse Job Fairs

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Money makes the world go ‘round. And time is money.  So it is no wonder that companies and job seekers alike look for ways to save time and money in finding the right employer-employee match. A newer fad that seems to be catching on in the recruiting world is a trend referred to as Reverse Job Fairs, or RJF.

What Is A Reverse Job Fair?

Job seekers set up booths with science-fair like flair. Stacks of printed resumes, posters of accomplishments, degrees, pictures, recommendations, achievements, and samples of individual works can be displayed around the main attraction, the job seeker. All the while, hiring managers and recruiters can walk around and see what type of talent is available.

  • Employers Come to Candidates

    A divergence from the normal job fair, where HR professionals display information about their company and wait for candidates to act interested and approach their booth, this approach offers a different perspective. RJFs display the job-seeker’s assets and allow the HR/ recruiting role to peruse the stock of potential candidates.

  • Spotlight On The Candidate

    The time is now. As the job markets continue to become more competitive and companies are fighting over qualified candidates, this approach allows you (the job seeker) to present yourself in a way that highlights all your best assets and abilities.

  • Where Are RJFs?

    Many colleges are already setting these RJFs up for seniors and recent graduates to help them land the proper job that can launch their careers. Most colleges host industry-specific RJFs or organize them with a common theme in order attract many employers. Having a focused theme also yields a pool of qualified candidates with desirable traits.

  • How Much Does it Cost to Attend?

    Time is the biggest investment here. Not only in the time a job seeker stands at a booth, but in the time invested before the RJF. Like most things, you get back what you put into a RJF. Spending time to prep the booth, materials, and presentation are worthwhile for the job seeker.

  • Results

    Hiring managers and recruiters agree that RJFs offer them a good bang for the buck, so to speak. Being able to scan over 100 potential candidates in a few hours and dig in deeper to the most qualified candidates saves a lot of time.


ExactHire offers small- to medium-sized businesses the opportunity to save time and money with hiring technology. Applicant Tracking, Reference Checking, and Onboarding can all be automated and streamlined with the use of our cloud-based solutions. To learn more visit our exacthire.com or contact us today!

Image credit: DAY 255 (TEXT ADDED) by WEST MIDLANDS POLICE (contact)

Kathleen McCoy-Anderson – Client Success Manager

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Kathleen Anderson joined ExactHire in May 2017 and currently serves as Client Success Manager. She is assisting our clients with our software applications as well as implementations. Kathleen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Purdue University. Prior to working for ExactHire, she spent over 5 years working for Firestone Building Products as a Project Coordinator with the SAP Implementation Project Team and as a National Account Coordinator. Before joining Firestone, Kathy was an HR Manager for REM-Indiana.

While not at work you can usually find Kathleen spending time with her family, friends and dog! As a family, they enjoy spending time outdoors, riding bikes, hiking and playing basketball. They love concerts and traveling whenever possible!

Which Recruitment Metrics Are Right For You – Time to Fill?

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Would you say that you are proud of the efficiency with which your company approaches the hiring process? Do you get excited about the opportunity to welcome new teammates onboard; or…you can admit it…does it make you cringe just a little bit thinking about how long it will take to get everything ready, round up all the interviewers to be involved and pore through all the applications? It all comes down to Time to Fill. In this second installment of my series about determining which HR KPIs work for your company, we’ll examine this telling metric.

In my previous blog about Cost per Hire, I indicated that there is generally a direct relationship between CPH and Time to Fill…in particular, as it relates to the cost of your staff members’ time to be involved in a drawn out hiring process. Take too much time to hire and the business could suffer due to lower productivity, and rush through the process and risk hiring the wrong candidate which will just negatively impact your turnover metric down the road.

How critical time to fill is relative to other HR metrics for your organization only you can determine, but consider this: just because you are a small or medium-sized organization doesn’t mean that you should get by with fewer steps in a shorter hiring process. Small companies can’t afford to “wing it” as it really can take the whole village to hire and onboard a new employee. Any size company can be diligent in making the many steps involved in the recruiting process turnkey; however.

Where Do You Spend Your Time to Hire?

If you’re like me, you manage by what you measure. And when I’m trying to lose a few pounds you can bet I’m recording my calories on my FitBit app…or if our household wants to save up for the next remodeling project, we’re entering our daily expenses into a spreadsheet. Even if I choose to indulge myself every once in awhile, overall by watching my behavior I change it for the better. Having the data in front of me helps me more intimately consider cause and effect. The same is true for the hiring process. Its easy to let a day turn into days and days into weeks when you are progressing through various milestones such as applicant review and interview scheduling without really monitoring your timeframe closely. That can easily translate into disengaged applicants that pursue other companies…and its a vicious cycle, your process then becomes even longer.

A Well-Oiled Time to Fill Machine

So, in the spirit of hiring introspection, let’s look at some basic hiring process stages and ideas for making them thorough, yet as time sensitive as possible.

Job description development

    • Have up to date job templates for frequently hired positions in place and then use them as a base from which to create more specific job listings
    • Use the job listing as an opportunity to set clear expectations about role requirements so that certain candidates self-select out of the process if its clear it won’t be the right fit
    • Create a Job Success Factors page to accompany the job description to paint a more vivid picture about a day in the life of this position

Post jobs to external boards & social media

Review applications and resumes

  • Set aside blocks of time throughout your week dedicated to application review so it doesn’t fall by the wayside
  • Use filters attached to job-specific screening questions to quickly view only applicants that meet basic qualifications
  • Have a comprehensive list of applicant status codes or dispositions already in place so that its easy to assign and continuously update applicants’ place in the hiring process

Conduct pre-screens

Applicant correspondence

Prepare notes & feedback

  • Use a form or otherwise standardize the manner in which you present candidate information to others – people will get used to quickly looking in certain places for certain information
  • Highlight applicants who are the best prospects to hiring managers by sharing their electronic records – keep it timely by requesting others’ response by a certain date/time in your notes or subject line

Pre-employment testing & assessment

Schedule coordination for in-house interviews

  • Request access to the calendars of others involved in the hiring process internally so that you may quickly see when they are/aren’t available
  • At the onset of the hiring process, reserve blocks of time on potential interviewers’ calendars in advance so that you know you can count on them tentatively being available during those times (even if it is a few weeks out)
  • Utilize video conferencing tools (i.e. basic ones could include Skype, Google Hangouts or GoToMeeting to name just a few) to schedule interviews earlier than they might be otherwise if the candidate were to have to travel to your office

Collect hiring manager feedback

Candidate communication – yays & nays

  • Engage applicants by proactively communicating to them about their status in your selection process
  • This can be done quickly by using email templates that include personalization strings (to populate the first name of the person and the position to which he/she applied, for example) and the ability to update applicant records in mass groupings within an ATS

Extend conditional offer of employment

  • Again, have a template for the language you typically use in offer letters/packages ready to go in an existing template
  • Give the candidate a clear deadline for responding
  • Explain the process of collecting information necessary to conduct background/reference checks, etc. in advance to the candidate should he/she accept

Conduct background and/or reference checks

  • Utilize a web-based form for collecting information necessary to run checks…embed the URL address for the secure form into a template in your ATS and quickly invite applicants right from the applicant record
  • Alternatively, check if your provider has a web services integration with your background check and/or reference check resource

Coordinate onboarding logistics with staff

  • Create an email distribution list of all the employees in your organization who should be involved in the onboarding of a new employee – that way, a quick message and/or checklist can be initiated with these people when the time is right simply by emailing one address
  • Incorporate employee onboarding software into your process so that, based on the division to which the new employee is hired, the appropriate staff members are automatically prompted of onboarding process and receive notification when new hire paperwork forms must be approved and/or electronically countersigned

Finalize start date details with new hire

  • Communicate with new hire to confirm start date and if onboarding software is in place, go ahead and explain that applicant will be receiving email prompting him/her to login and approve and sign various employment paperwork files

If you aren’t already employing many of these tips in your process, before you start consider documenting your average time to fill. Then, once some additional time-saving measures are put into place and in action over a period of a few months, measure your average time to fill metric again and see to what extent your organization’s efficiency has improved on that front. Share the success with your team and your CFO…as quantitative KPI info like this is exactly what you need to justify the cost/time involved with future process improvements. The ROI is there when you can create a turnkey process based on sound fundamentals.

ExactHire’s hiring software applications help small and medium-sized companies automate and improve the recruiting and onboarding processes. For more information on how our tools can impact your time-to-fill KPI, please visit our resources page or contact us.