Pre-Onboarding Process: The Ultimate Guide for a Positive Employee Experience

If you work in HR or L&D, you are aware of the effort required to welcome a new member of the team and train them. Following the hiring process, the pre-onboarding process which is a task in itself is the most important step.

Getting your pre-onboarding plan just right is not an easy feat. While many businesses understand the value of a clearly defined process, they frequently overlook one essential component.

Pre-onboarding, or beginning onboarding prior to a new hire’s first day, requires investment.

Employees must complete many tasks as part of the pre-onboarding process, many of which are administrative chores that HR usually handles after an offer letter is signed. While paperwork is required, there should be considerably more effort made overall.

Retention is the key here. According to SHRM, Only 47% of employers thought their pre-onboarding approach was effective enough to guarantee new workers perceived enough value to stay for the long run.

Now, here’s where the pre-onboarding process comes into play. You’re setting up a successful first day by taking care of the bulk of tasks before your hire even enters the building (or logs in, for those remote teams). The emphasis can then shift to integrating your new hire into the position and assisting them in building relationships with their colleagues and training them for their job. Many corporate training companies nowadays provide learning management systems like the one provided by IIDE PRO. These LMS will make sure that the new hire is properly trained and well-versed about the company before Day 1.

Let’s understand more about why embracing a pre-onboarding process is necessary if you want to ensure a positive employee experience.

What is Pre-onboarding Process?

Pre-onboarding occurs between the acceptance of an offer letter and a new hire’s joining date. Pre-Onboarding serves as the new hire’s preparation for the first day of work by helping them become comfortable with their role and the company. 

In this stage, there is a lot of uncertainty, therefore a strong pre-onboarding process effectively engages them. Most importantly, it offers chances for the new hire to feel appreciated and welcomed as well as to start preparing for Day 1. 

Many brand-new hires are eager to get started straight away. Even though a lot of it may not be interesting to a new hire who is eager to get started, onboarding (or pre-onboarding) is an important process in any business. The new hire needs to get to know everyone, tour the entire office, complete any necessary paperwork, learn how the business runs, and receive the right training for the position. They can then get started right away.

Why is Pre – Onboarding important?

HR and L&D departments place a lot of emphasis on onboarding because almost a quarter of new hires quit their jobs within 45 days. The best time to engage a new recruit is during onboarding, but if you wait until day one, you’ve already fallen behind: in 2019, 65% of companies reported hiring individuals who fail to show up for work on their first day.

Preboarding, which is the period of time between accepting a job offer and starting work, may make or break your experience as a new hire.

Untreated anxiety affects 80% of workers as they wait to begin a new job; this worry persists after the start date and lowers motivation, output, and longevity. Even worse, second thoughts may cause someone to back out of a commitment; 28% of professionals, according to a 2019 survey, have done this.

The journey of an employee should go well beyond simply signing on the dotted line.

Any company that shows a positive company culture and provides new hires with the tools they need at every stage of the pre-onboarding process will have a special place in the hearts of its employees and retain them. Pre-onboarding programs that are carefully thought out are established in businesses that go above and above to improve the employee experience.

 

Benefits of the Pre-onboarding Process

• Higher Employee Retention

While managing a new hire, it’s important to give the onboarding procedures some thought in order to get your relationship with them off to a good start. Pre-boarding, new hire experience, and training must all be included in an improved onboarding program in order to drastically reduce ramp time for employees.

When given the impression that they are favorably contributing to the organization, the new hires tend to feel more welcomed which leads to higher employee retention.

• Improved New Hire Productivity

Since they are given the necessary knowledge and tools on Day 1, improvised and improved pre-onboarding practices are a way to get employees ready to be productive right away. They provide your company a competitive edge, motivating new recruits to spread the word about it. Automation during onboarding keeps new workers from criticizing your company and enhances the likelihood that they will actively recommend it to their friends and family.

• Improved Onboarding Experience

For new hires, onboarding minimizes first-day anxiety. On their first day at work, new hires feel comfortable and knowledgeable about their teams, managers, and responsibilities as a result. Effective approaches to enhance the work experience include paying attention to new hires’ first impressions and introducing point of contact or Onboarding systems. Providing new employees with information makes them less inclined to look for alternative employment possibilities and second-guess their choice to join your organization.

The 4 Phases of Onboarding 

• Pre-onboarding

Preboarding is probably the time when your new hire is most nervous and excited, so don’t waste it. So as to avoid a first day filled with busy work, direct part of that energy toward finishing administrative responsibilities.

No one wants to spend their first day filling out paperwork and opening accounts. Give your new hires the chance to get a head start so that day one will be more thrilling. Make your expectations clear by emphasizing that documentation is not required to be completed in advance but also by describing any potential benefits of starting early.

A schedule will keep everyone organized throughout the hectic first few weeks of new employment. Sending calendar invites in advance makes the job appear real to new workers who are in preboarding limbo.

• Role-specific Training

The company’s culture and values have undoubtedly been discussed by the time your new hire is in preboarding. Giving users early access to your learning platform gives you the chance to keep your word. If you don’t have an LMS, then you are setting yourself up for failure.

Gaining familiarity with the tool in advance is always a good idea because learning platforms are an essential component of onboarding and on-the-job training. More significantly, giving new hires access to your learning platform enables them to observe the company’s principles in action.

Only when the new hires are properly trained and made familiar with the organization will they gain some affinity with the organization. Companies like IIDEPro offer customized learning management systems for companies. Prestigious companies such as Cipla, Volkswagen, Godrej, and Pfizer have trusted IIDEPro to train their employees in various corporate training topics. This has helped them in keeping employees across various departments updated digitally and understand how they all can work together to achieve the company’s long-term goals.

Conclusion

Giving new hires a fantastic pre-onboarding experience fosters their productivity for the course of their employment. Providing the new hire a head start by preparing and carrying out effective onboarding practices is extremely important if you want to ensure that they become a successful, productive, and engaged team member.

To help you training your employees IIDEPro offers three unique corporate training programs that are customized according to the company’s needs. To enquire more or book 1-hour free counseling session, feel free to reach out at sadaf@iide.co  or +91 7304534110.