Executive summary. Table of Contents. Onboarding technologies essential for engaging today s multigenerational workforce

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1 White Paper Multidimensional workforce Onboarding technologies essential for engaging today s multigenerational workforce Executive summary Is your organization challenged with: Streamlining onboarding costs and processes? Getting new hires up to speed faster? Engaging multigenerational new hires and decreasing new employee turnover? Integrating all of the various software systems involved in the onboarding process? Simplifying onboarding administration for both HR and hiring managers? If so, the numbers prove that you re not alone: There are approximately 30 steps that are involved in the typical onboarding process from every form that needs to be filled out to every approval, data entry across various systems, and the like. There is an average of 14 software systems that are involved in the onboarding process, like applicant tracking systems, HR and payroll applications, benefits administration, document management and provisioning solutions, training and performance management applications, and sales incentive systems. It takes 45 days for a typical new employee to reach full productivity costly for employers and demoralizing for the employees. Eight percent of compliance paperwork is never even collected, representing the costs associated with potential litigious situations. North American companies spend $4 billion annually on new-hire orientations much of it lost after day one. Table of Contents 1 Executive summary 2 The role of technology in onboarding a multigenerational workforce 2 4 common onboarding myths 4 4 technology-driven steps to onboarding success 6 Summary In addition to the administrative figures above, consider the impact of a multigenerational workforce. It is generally accepted that nearly all new hires decide, within the first six months, whether or not they will stay with their new employer. And, it is expected that new employees coming into the workforce including Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and Generation Y (born after 1980) will have an average of 20 jobs over the course of their careers. Given all of these numbers, the goal becomes clear: to attract and retain a multigenerational workforce, employers today must provide a better new-hire experience, with fewer steps, and lower costs.

2 The role of technology in onboarding a multigenerational workforce There are three types of onboarding technologies: 1. Forms and task automation These solutions automate most onboarding forms and provide checklists to manage associated tasks. They eliminate a fair amount of the paperwork involved in the process. Because they do not integrate data into the appropriate systems, e.g., HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, and do not provide for culture socialization these types of systems are most often deployed by smaller-sized employers, typically with under 1,000 employees. 2. Onboarding orchestration Onboarding orchestration technologies go beyond forms and tasks automation to include workflow, integration of data sources, electronic acknowledgements of policies, I9 e-verification, provisioning, stakeholder (new hire, hiring manager, HR) dashboards and tools to extend onboarding past day one during the critical six months when new hires are deciding if they made the right job choice. These might include features such as new hire portals to accommodate preboarding, a knowledgebase of policies, benefit information, work-life events, benefits decision support tools, and social networking options such as the ability to chat online with mentors or hiring managers. Some orchestration solutions provide personalized tours, so that new hires see only the information relevant to them in their job role, location, bargaining unit, and other parameters defined by the employer. 3. Collaborative options For a complete new hire experience, many employers integrate solutions such as learning management and performance management solutions into the onboarding workflow to show new employees what training options are open to them and to clarify expectations like 30-, 60- and 90-day goals, for example. Best-in-class employers particularly in mid-market and large/enterprise market organizations leverage both onboarding orchestration and collaborative options to improve the new hire experience and retention, lower costs, ensure compliance, and streamline the process for all stakeholders. Additionally particularly for employers with heavy seasonal hiring, such as retail or hospitality organizations automated onboarding eases the burden on HR shared services centers, call centers, and help desks. 4 common onboarding myths Myth #1: A blue-collar workforce will not use online onboarding This has been proven over and over again to simply be untrue. According to Knowledge Infusion, only one in five adults do not regularly access the internet and they tend to be over the age of 65 and without a high-school education therefore not representative of the majority of most workforces. Additionally, according to the same Knowledge Infusion findings, there are more computers in homes today than cable TV. In short, even if your new hires will not be sitting at desks with computers, chances are excellent that they have a computer at home and know how to use it. 2 Infor HCM

3 Myth #2: Online onboarding takes the human touch out of new hire orientation, or the human out of human resources In fact, in speaking to dozens of employers about their onboarding automation experiences, anecdotal evidence would find the opposite to be true. Today, most face-to-face orientations are spent filling out forms, being told the rules and policies, and being overwhelmed with benefits information. This leaves very little time to talk about an organization s culture, or about the things that make working for it fun and exciting. This can be demoralizing and unmotivating dampening the enthusiasm (or increasing the anxiety) of new employees. By preboarding online, new hires arrive at orientation with forms already submitted, and policies read and acknowledged. If the onboarding solution has benefits-decision support, chances are they ve already elected their benefits. And if there is an integrated knowledgebase they ve been able to answer their own questions about things like vacation and pay, which leaves the face-to-face time for the things that matter the most in getting your new hires up to speed and engaged. Myth #3: It is better to license onboarding software from your applicant tracking software (ATS) vendor than from a best-of-breed vendor While there is no right or wrong answer here, the trend has certainly pointed to this not being best practice. For many ATS vendors, although not for all, onboarding was an after-thought, and the applications tend to be more basic forms and task management. Additionally, many of these solutions are designed to integrate only with other applications from the particular ATS or talent management vendor versus best-of-breed onboarding solutions, or onboarding solutions that are part of HR service delivery suites which more readily integrate with HR, payroll, benefits, ATS, performance management, document management, and other solutions in the typical mid-to-large enterprise multiplatform environment. To find the answer for your organization, you might start with some questions: Is it a higher priority for pre-boarding and onboarding to be at: a) The end of the recruiting process, or b) The beginning of an employee s life cycle with your organization? Is it most important for your onboarding technology to: a) Integrate with your ATS solution, or b) Integrate with your entire HR service delivery platform (employee portal, benefits administration system, HRIS, payroll system, ESS, MSS, ATS, etc.)? Is your current onboarding practice (or planned onboarding initiative) to: a) End formalized onboarding after the first day or week, or b) Have onboarding be a formalized process for 30 days, 60 days, or beyond? If you answered a to two or more questions, an integrated ATS/onboarding solution might be the right choice for your organization. If you answered b to two or more questions, a best-of-breed onboarding solution, or one that is part of an integrated HR service delivery suite, may be the better choice. Infor HCM 3

4 Myth #4: Onboarding solutions aren t a priority in a down economy when there are fewer employees being hired Although most employers may hire fewer employees in a down economy, they are still hiring. And onboarding new hires manually is expensive. It still takes people and time, and data-entry mistakes or lack of compliance paperwork drive costs even higher. More With industries such as retail, services, health care or hospitality where there is heavy seasonal hiring, onboarding is important regardless of the state of the economy.. important, the cost of turnover is even more expensive than the cost of onboarding. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that it costs 1.5 to 2.5 times salary to replace an employee, including hard-dollar costs, such as recruiting, and less tangible costs, such as lack of productivity while a position is vacant. Therefore, engaging new hires from the day they accept an offer is even more critical when organizations can t afford avoidable turnover. With industries such as retail, services, healthcare or hospitality where there is heavy seasonal hiring, onboarding is important regardless of the state of the economy. Whether a retailer is hiring 10,000 holiday season employees in a bad economy versus 15,000 in a good economy automated onboarding will still be more efficient. Lastly, many onboarding orchestration solutions also offer offboarding which provides efficiencies in terms of time, people and compliance during downsizing or at the end of a seasonal hiring period. 4 technology-driven steps to onboarding success When the first generation of automated onboarding solutions first arrived on the industry scene, there were generally three components that were evaluated: forms management, task management and socialization. Newer generation solutions, however, take this to the next level with four key steps for onboarding success: acclimate, automate, integrate and comply. Step #1: New hire acclimation to your corporate culture, policies, benefits and more If your onboarding solution allows for preboarding, all forms and other tasks can be completed online prior to day one. This not only facilitates faster new hire productivity, but allows for a more effective face-to-face orientation where you can better focus on culture, core values and more. Integration with a personalized, searchable knowledgebase is also important for this step allowing new hires to ask questions about policies, pay, and more before they come to work. Acclimation is further facilitated by solutions offering a workflow design versus a checklist. In this way, new hires are intuitively guided through personalized tours based on job code, location and criteria you define, to provide a robust, engaging experience. Features such as the ability to present video or incorporate social media promote a new hire s ability to see messages from the CEO, chat with mentors, mentors, and feel welcomed into the culture when they walk in the door. 4 Infor HCM

5 Further, remember that acclimation and engagement activities should not end when an employee walks in on the first day. To reduce new hire turnover during the first critical six months, look for solutions that provide features such as: Benefits decision support tools To roll-out during preboarding or 15 days before an employee becomes benefits-eligible Collaboration with solutions such as performance management and learning management systems To help new hires stay focused on their 30-, 60- and 90-day goals, for example and sign up for required/optional training Step #2: Automate process workflow and management for key stakeholders Through features such as electronic forms along with automated notifications to HR, hiring managers and new hires the administration time and costs associated with new hire processing can be significantly reduced. Next generation, easy-to-use dashboards that provide status and drill-down reporting capabilities can also simplify management for all stakeholders. Step #3: Integrate all relevant data and systems Onboarding administration can be minimized even further with solutions that provide for the prepopulation of forms and automatic day-one triggering. This means that new hires, when they first log in during preboarding, can review forms populated with data received from the ATS and update their information. At this point, the remaining downstream forms will be populated, eliminating duplication of effort by the new employee. Then, at the appropriate time when the employee arrives on their first day or when they become benefits eligible, for example an automated data file can be provided to integrate the form data with all relevant systems such as your core HRIS, payroll, benefits administration, and other HCM systems on your platform. Some solutions also allow for the integration of provisioning systems so the new hire has everything they need such as parking passes, name badges, safety equipment, addresses, desk/phone/computer, and the like when they walk in the door. The end result is fewer steps for both the new hire and HR, more accurate information, the elimination of manual data entry and, perhaps most important, new hires have the equipment they need to begin working on their first day. Step #4: Ensure compliance with policies, laws and regulations Compliance-related complaints can cost in the thousands or millions of dollars. Automated onboarding features such as electronic acknowledgement of company policies, electronic verification for I9 compliance, etc., can significantly reduce these risks and help avoid unnecessary litigation. Infor HCM 5

6 Summary Adoption of online onboarding solutions is becoming more mainstream as employers break through common myths. Today it is clear that online onboarding will: Achieve widespread usage by even the most diverse workforces including blue-collar or multigenerational workforces Facilitate even more effective face-to-face orientations Be extremely important in any economy both up and down Achieve dramatic hard-dollar return on investment And, given the wide variety of priorities and needs, there are onboarding solutions to fit all sizes. This article first appeared in the October/November 2010 issue of Workforce Solutions Review. 6 Infor HCM

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