Onboarding – 7 Mistakes Recruiters Should Avoid

Mistake 1: Information overload

It is insensitive to expect employees to retain all the critical information about their new job, the organization, and its culture on the very first day. In a fast-moving organization, you can be enticed to get your employee up to speed as soon as possible, but this can overwhelm them and create an onboarding challenge. A new employee has tons of documents to fill, loads of names to memorize, multiple applications to learn, and in some cases, considerable shoes to fill. Achieving all this in a day or even a week is not possible.

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Mistake 2: Lack of structure, preparation, and organization

It is common for organizations, particularly startups, to prefer an unstructured, casual, and informal culture with the idea that informality encourages innovation. But no matter how relaxed the workplace is, it is always a mistake to treat onboarding as a loose, ad hoc process. Even highly creative employees who fully appreciate the freedoms of a casual company need a sense of belonging to function well in a team environment and to bring productivity levels up to expectations.

Recruiters must organize their schedules accordingly and explain the training to newly hired employees. Recruiters must assign them effective training activities. According to HR experts, a new employee must finish an average of 54 activities for onboarding purposes. A new hire typically has 41 administrative tasks and three documents to complete. In addition, they must meet ten outcomes. (Sapling HR, 2021)

Mistake 3: Irregular training

Trying to deliver all the training and material at once is another mistake recruiters make during onboarding. In contrast, onboarding should be a continuous process where the new hire receives regular training. Regular training will help your employees be engaged in their jobs, reduce the retention rate, and encourage them to stay with the organization for a more extended period. It is always better to have a checklist of things while onboarding a new employee, as it will help you avoid assumptions and overcome the new hire onboarding challenges.

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Mistake 4: Lack of effectiveness

55% of businesses remark that they do not estimate the significance of onboarding programs (Finances Online, 2020-2021). This should not be the case. Like every training program, employers should also analyze the needs of an onboarding process. They should get feedback from the new employee as well. It lets the new employee know how important their input is and lets the employers gain insight to possibly modify and improve the onboarding process and foster an attitude of mutual respect.

Effective onboarding assists employees in understanding the rules and requirements of everyday work life, explicitly working hours, company discipline, dress code, over-time policy, employee complaints, grievances handling, career and growth opportunities, leaves policy, and performance appraisal.

Mistake 5: Unclear goals/expectations

Onboarding fails when employees do not know how to define success because the organizational goals are unclear or nonexistent. Onboarding new employees on all the applications are practically impossible and wastes time, money, and effort. Providing the employees with unnecessary information can indicate that the organization also wants them to do other jobs, leading to a lower employee retention rate. It is ideal if the employees can be guided with relevant documents, videos, and on-demand training that can be accessed by them as and when required.

Mistake 6: Neglecting employee feedback

Neglecting to take feedback throughout the onboarding process is a huge mistake that recruiters often make. Assuming a new hire’s needs and expectations rather than gathering authentic feedback makes onboarding ineffective for many employees. Recruiters should consider the perspective of the new employee. They must acknowledge what it is like to be new and whether the new experiences and positions are clear for that new person.

Mistake 7: Confusing onboarding with orientation

Finally, recruiters tend to confuse onboarding with orientation. Orientation is a particular part of onboarding that does not represent the overall onboarding process. Orientation is a singular segment during onboarding to provide the new hire an opportunity to complete paperwork and other necessary duties that are administrative rather than focused on organizational culture and the bigger picture. Recruiters can neatly tie orientation in a single day.

On the other hand, onboarding is an ongoing procedure that builds on itself and gradually provides the new hire with the organization’s policies, procedures, and culture.

Depending on the different organization, a variety of other factors can also be there when developing a comprehensive onboarding program, including:

• Failing to deliver what has been promised to a new employee.
• Isolating new hires from their co-workers and overall workplace environment/culture.
• Providing constant negativity towards performance and expectations.
• Providing unhelpful, inconsistent information.
• Failing to alter onboarding strategies according to differences between generations.
• Consider these common pitfalls to avoid the costly mistakes plaguing even the most prominent organizations.

Now that you understand the common onboarding mistakes, you can easily strive to avoid them in your workplace!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is onboarding?

Onboarding is the process of introducing and integrating new employees or customers into their new roles at an organization.

What is the purpose of onboarding?

Onboarding helps you bring new employees up to speed quickly and connect them with co-workers. It also ensures that the employees have the information they require or know where to get it and receive the training required to be successful on the job.