We’ve likely all experienced working for an organization that does not believe onboarding is essential. Imagine you were invited to someone’s house for a meal. When you arrived at the agreed upon time, no one answered the doorbell, but the door was open, so you let yourself in because you were supposed to be there anyway. You discover your friend, wrapped in a bathrobe with hair still wet from a bath, hastily stirring a saucepan that’s starting to scorch while pasta water is boiling over. Their child is crying and headed for the open front door and the cat hopped onto the table with the intent to lick the butter off the garlic bread. You ask if you can help. They gratefully reply, “Sure, dive right in!” and head back to their bathroom to finish dressing.
So… what do you do?
Are you going for the child who doesn’t know you, the cat on the table, the boiling pasta water, or the scorched sauce? It’s not your house. You don’t know any of the other members of the household. You don’t know where anything is. The cat probably bites. Sure, you know how to make spaghetti in general, but…how does your friend prefer you make it?
That’s what sloppy onboarding feels like. You may eventually make it to dinnertime with everything intact, but this wasn’t the enjoyable experience you believed it would be, and your opinion of your friend probably decreased. You may not go back. You may choose to find less chaotic friends elsewhere.
And that’s the problem with onboarding: it sets the expectations for the new hire’s entire relationship with your organization. When you do not invest the time into new hire onboarding mapping, you risk losing the new hire, seeing decreases in productivity and engagement, and so much more. Stratavize Consulting is on a mission to fix onboarding.
What is Onboarding Mapping?
Onboarding mapping refers to the structured process of integrating new employees into an organization. Onboarding mapping is part of the employee journey, which covers the entire lifespan of employees’ employment with your organization – from recruitment to exit strategy. We’re focusing on the onboarding portion of that journey, which encompasses all the steps and touchpoints from the moment an offer is accepted until the employee is fully acclimated and productive in their new role.
The goal of onboarding mapping is to create a seamless and supportive experience for new hires, ensuring they understand their responsibilities, the company culture, and how to succeed in their positions.
The Employee Journey Phases include:
- Locating & Recruiting Candidates
- Pre-Employment Stage
- Onboarding Stage*
- Payroll & Benefits Policies*
- Employee Development
- Ongoing Engagement
- Recognition & Rewards
- Performance Reviews & Feedback
- Career Planning for Advancement
- Employee Exit Plan
*We’re focusing on the Onboarding Stage for this article. Onboarding mapping includes:
- Pre-Boarding: This stage is about communication, paperwork, and technology. You will be outlining processes to set expectations, requisition required devices and licenses, and benefits enrollment. How do you embed your culture, norms and behaviors so the new employees see your values in action?
- The First Day: First impressions are critical. Who will your new employee be meeting? What welcome activities will you organize? What does the kick-off to your new employee training program look like? What if they are remote workers, do you have a way to welcome them remotely? Are they receiving a swag bag?
- The First Week: At this point, your new hire is diving into role-specific training, getting assigned a mentor, and you will be checking in with them at specific milestones to address immediate concerns and answer questions. Do you know where those milestones are?
- The First Month: They’re starting to feel at home. Now is the time to set goals, plan ongoing training, and work on the company cultural integration. How do the goals align to your strategic plan but, yet are still realistic for a new hire?
- Months Three to Six: You should have a schedule for regular check-ins, performance reviews, and development plans to guide your new hire’s growth and career progression.
- Months Seven to Twelve: At this point, your new employee feels more settled in their role. Continue to offer ongoing support, involving them in engagement activities, and asking them for feedback on their onboarding process so that the company continues to make necessary improvements.
At the end of Month Twelve, organizations should pick back up where they left off on the overall Employee Journey they have developed to continue ongoing engagement, employee development, and career advancement plans for each individual. By mapping out this journey, organizations can provide a structured and supportive onboarding experience that helps new hires feel welcomed, informed, and empowered to succeed. However, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than those “feel good” attributes of onboarding mapping – and this is the information that is going to affect your bottom line. Check out the 5 Ways to Improve Your New Hire’s Experience article for more ideas.
The Business Case for Onboarding Mapping
You’ve already invested in recruiting and interviewing new hires – are you willing to let that investment go to waste? Top businesses and organizations have recognized the costs associated with finding new employees and know that mapping the onboarding experience sets up new hires for success and yields larger profits. Stratavize Consulting has identified ten features that make the business case for onboarding mapping a no-brainer.
- Consistency & Standardization
- Every department of your organization should follow the same core processes for onboarding. Consistency helps in maintaining a high quality of onboarding experiences across different departments, teams, and locations.
- Efficiency
- Streamline your administrative tasks so that you reduce the amount of time and effort required from Human Resources and management. Filling out tax paperwork and reviewing the employee handbook should not make up the bulk of employee onboarding.
- Employee Retention
- According to Gallup, U.S. businesses are losing $1 Trillion annually due to voluntary employee turnover. Conservative estimates of the cost to replace employees range from one-half to two times the employee’s annual salary. Effective onboarding – making employees feel welcomed, supported, and integrated into company culture – significantly impacts employee retention.
- Productivity
- A structured onboarding process helps new employees understand their roles and expectations earlier so that they’ll ramp up to full productivity and begin making meaningful contributions faster.
- Cultural Integration
- We can’t stress the importance of culture enough! Onboarding mapping helps new employees understand the organization’s values and begin to align their behaviors and attitudes with the company’s standards. Think “Walt Disney World Cast Members” and you’ll immediately understand how important culture is to the company’s onboarding process.
- Compliance & Risk Management
- During onboarding, you will want to ensure all necessary legal and regulatory requirements are met so that you are reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential legal issues.
- Employee Engagement
- People want to belong. Onboarding should include opportunities for new employees to engage with colleagues, participate in training, and learn the company’s communication styles. Make them feel welcome and included from Day One.
- Brand Image
- Onboarding is an opportunity to position your organization as an employer of choice. Put in the work to make this an incredible experience so that you will attract top talent and strengthen your brand image in a competitive job market.
- Clarity & Communication
- A clear onboarding process ensures that new hires receive all necessary information, resources, and support that they need to succeed – and make your organization successful. Effective communication reduces uncertainties and sets expectations.
- Feedback & Continuous Improvement
- Following up is the last step in onboarding mapping. Are you asking for feedback on your performance as an employer? You should be! Collect feedback from new hires and use it to improve your onboarding process.
Onboarding Mapping: The Big Picture
We’re big believers that onboarding mapping is an essential part of any organization’s People Strategy. This is your company’s plan to find and hire incredible talent, grow amazing managers, nurture fantastic teams, and create effective internal communication so that everyone from the top down is living your brand’s promise – to the point that outsiders find your company irresistible: everyone wants to either be hired by or do business with your organization. People Strategy is just one part of our four-part process in the Stratavize Transformation Model. When you activate all parts of the model, you’ll see Whole Systems Change: everything improves together. Onboarding mapping is the first touchpoint with employees and, therefore, the best chance to turn them into your biggest assets.
Are you ready to begin onboarding mapping? Request a consultation now.
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