Taking the Stress Out of Onboarding

For businesses everywhere, the terrifying trek across the wasteland of the past two years was only eased by the occasional respite of an oasis that provided enough shelter and sustenance to restore the strength to keep slogging forward.

Many of those businesses that survived the journey are only now emerging from the wilderness — battered and bruised but ready for a rebound — only to find yet another dune to climb stands in their way.

Hiring and restoring staff to get the job done is becoming a big issue in 2022. Yet it’s not just about hiring and retaining people; it’s about hiring and retaining the right people. According to an article in Forbes, the pandemic and a widening skills gap are the two main factors businesses are facing in buttressing their workforce; however, several emerging recruiting trends are proving to be highly effective, such as proactively engaging candidates early, offering remote work, using advanced screening tools, and promoting a company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Virtual recruiting is also still being used by a vast number of organizations.

The bottom line is that hiring today is harder than ever, and businesses have to step up and realize that it may take more than the ol’ carrot dangling on the string to lure in the right people. To catch the eye of top talent today, businesses have to go on offense instead of falling into the usual trap of sitting back and waiting for people to come to you. That means taking a look at internal factors as well as external.

The Harvard Business Review recommends that companies take a long, hard look at their employee value proposition — holistically linking it to your purpose, using it to foster and culture of belonging and flexibility, involving your existing staff in revamping it with authenticity, and being willing to back it up with actions that support it.

Externally, use whatever tools of outreach are available to build a fully integrated recruiting strategy. That may be taking a look at different social media platforms, hosting an open house, showcasing your company culture and commitment to more than the bottom line, and developing a lead nurturing campaign that builds relationship with the talent pool that’s out there.

A lead nurturing campaign guides potential candidates through the steps of introducing yourself and sparking interest or consideration through the application and hiring process, bringing along only the candidates who are interested and qualified on each successive level of the journey. As noted in this blog from Lansing-based branding and marketing form M3 Group, it’s important to have an understanding of expectations in place before starting a lead nurturing campaign.

Once your new hire is in place, the goal is not only to introduce the employee to the company but to make sure the person starts off on the right foot. Part of that includes having office supplies already at the desk, having business cards in place and other ways to hit the ground running; however, the other aspect of the onboarding process is to make the hire feel welcomed and integrated into the culture.

F.P. Horak has the tools in place to make that onboarding process easier for the both the business and the employee. In addition to our array of printing services that could easily create a backpack of company swag as a welcoming gesture, we can also establish a company portal where human resources can establish a welcome packet and company handbook as well as an online store where additional promotional, branded and wearable swag can be purchased.

Such a portal goes beyond the new-hire experience and can be implemented as an incentive and performance evaluation tool for existing staff. Make a great sale? Here’s a credit to the online store. Go above and beyond on an assignment? Here you go; treat yourself right.

A job used to be just that: a place to go to afford all those other things that are needed when you’re not working. But today’s employees and, more importantly, potential employees are looking to be a part of something more than a place to punch the clock. They spend one-third of their waking hours working; and they want to feel a sense of belonging and contribution and value.

The hiring process is changing as people’s expectations are changing. Businesses aren’t selling a job as much as they are selling themselves. It’s only going to get harder, so why make things more difficult? F.P. Horak can help set you up for success and make recruiting and retaining talent easier on you and more appealing to your candidate pool. Talk to us about what we can do for you by calling (989) 892-6505 or visiting fphorak.com.

The future is evolving. It’s time to evolve with it.