Digital Onboarding Process for New Hires (Step-by-Step Guide)

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What is digital onboarding?

Digital onboarding is a process where businesses use technology to automate and streamline the onboarding process for new hires.

It ensures new employees have the information and resources they need to be productive from day one. It also helps managers track progress, assign tasks, and provide feedback.

What does the digital onboarding process involve?

Digital onboarding involves collecting employee or customer information, assigning tasks and roles, and managing the onboarding procedure.

It helps to reduce paperwork and speed up getting new employees or customers up and running. The digital onboarding process is typically divided into four parts:

Pre-boarding

Pre-boarding involves collecting employee information, such as contact details, payment information, and documentation. It also includes setting up the employee’s computer and workspace.

Onboarding

Onboarding involves assigning tasks, roles, and responsibilities to the new hire. During this stage, the employer familiarizes the new employee with the company culture and introduces them to their team.

Training

Training includes providing information about the job, organization, and necessary skills. They may also receive an introduction to the company’s technology, tools, and processes.

Transition to the new role

Finally, the transition phase involves getting new hires up to speed in their roles and understanding how they fit into the overall business objectives.

You can assess their performance and provide feedback on their progress.

How to create a digital employee onboarding process from scratch?

Creating a digital onboarding process starts with developing an onboarding plan for your business. This includes understanding the steps you need to follow and setting goals for the procedure.

Splainy is a useful tool that allows you to generate a step-by-step guide to digital employee onboarding. It automates the process and makes it easy to customize your onboarding plan.

Splainy is one of the most effective digital onboarding tools and has a simple setup process. You can install the chrome extension or download the desktop app.

Once installed, you can turn on the Splainy recorder and walk through your onboarding procedure. The digital employee onboarding process will involve the following steps:

Preboarding

During preboarding, employees will:

Step 1: Collect employee information

The first step in creating a digital onboarding process is to collect employee information. This includes contact details, payment information, and legal documentation.

Your guide should provide instructions on collecting this information and when it needs to be submitted. You may include a link to an online form or survey for collecting employee information.

The information will include their name, address, phone number, email address, payment information, and other relevant information.

Step 2: Set up employee workspace

During preboarding, you also need to set up the new hire’s workspace. This includes providing the necessary equipment, such as a workstation, laptop, and accessories.

The onboarding guide should provide instructions on how to set up their workspace and when it should be done. The guide can include a team member who can assist if necessary.

The workspace should include the necessary digital onboarding software and tools to get the employee up and running.

Step 3: Introduce the new hire to the team

In this step, provide information about who they’ll be working with and introduce them to their team. This includes introducing them to the other team members, such as managers and colleagues.

Your employee onboarding guide should provide information about the team, their roles, and how they can contact them if necessary.

Onboarding

The onboarding phase includes the following:

Step 4: Assign tasks and roles

New employees should receive an onboarding guide with tasks, roles, and responsibilities. This includes familiarizing them with the company culture and introducing them to the tools they’ll need to do their job.

You must include instructions on what they need to do and when they need to do it. You should also provide information on how they can ask questions or seek help if necessary.

For example, if they’re a software engineer, they should receive instructions on which tasks they need to complete. This should include information on how the tasks should be completed, such as coding standards and best practices.

Training

Step 5: Provide training

To ensure a successful digital onboarding procedure, provide training to new hires. Teach them basic information about the company, such as its history and mission.

Every company has its way of performing tasks. Training should include examples of how the company completes tasks and what it expects from new hires.

You can include a team member who will provide one-on-one training or online resources for employees.

Training new hires is the most important step in digital onboarding for companies. It determines whether a new hire will be successful in their role.

The training procedure will include a thorough introduction to the company's digital tools, systems, and processes. It should also introduce them to the company culture, so they can fit into their team quickly and easily.

Transition

Transitioning employees into their roles is a key part of onboarding.

Step 6: Explain how they fit into the company's objectives

The final phase of digital employee onboarding is transitioning employees into their roles. Explain to employees how their jobs and tasks fit the company’s goals.

This helps employees understand their role in the organization and how it contributes to its success.

The employee digital onboarding guide should provide information on their job and its contribution to the company's mission.

It should also include information on the roles and responsibilities of other team members, so they can collaborate and work together effectively.

Step 7: Set expectations

Setting and communicating expectations to the new hire will make them aware of what they need to accomplish. This includes how they should communicate with their team and other departments, what they need to do to succeed in their role, and how to handle arising issues.

Digital onboarding should provide clear expectations for the new hire so they can hit the ground running and be successful in their role.

An effective onboarding process must dictate the employee’s progress and how they will be evaluated. This can help ensure that the new hire understands what is expected of them and helps to maintain a successful working relationship.

Step 8: Stop recording and generate the guide

After completing the onboarding procedure, hit the stop recording button and generate a guide. This guide will include your steps, explanations, and screenshots of the digital environment.

The guide should also outline the onboarding procedure expectations and provide resources for further training. A new employee can refer to this guide in case of any issues or questions.

It is important to ensure that the onboarding guide is consistent and runs smoothly. You can edit the guide to ensure that it is up to date and can be shared with new hires quickly.

Best practices for improving the digital onboarding experience

Digital employee onboarding should be an integrated, customized experience. It should include resources to help new hires understand the company culture and build relationships with other team members.

Here are ways companies can improve their digital onboarding experience:

Make it interactive

Use simulations and gamified activities to make onboarding more engaging. The activities should focus on tasks the new hire will be responsible for.

New hires often feel overwhelmed when presented with a large amount of information. Interactive activities can make it easier to absorb the material and boost employee engagement.

Automate what you can

Use automation tools to streamline the onboarding process. For instance, automate the onboarding checklist and use automated reminders to keep the new hire on track.

This will help ensure that all process steps are completed on time. Automation also helps reduce any manual effort needed by HR managers.

Use the right onboarding tools

Use onboarding tools that will help new hires complete tasks quickly and accurately. For example, use an employee handbook app to keep all the necessary information in one place.

You can also use Splainy to generate digital employee onboarding forms and documents. This makes signing contracts, setting up accounts, and accessing resources faster and easier.

Provide support

Make sure new hires have access to help when they need it. Include resources such as tutorials, FAQs, and online forums where they can ask questions or seek advice.

If a new hire is struggling, connect them with an experienced team member or mentor to provide guidance. This will help them better understand the company and their roles.

Provide feedback

Give new hires feedback on their performance during the onboarding process. This will help them understand what they’re doing right and wrong, so they can adjust accordingly.

Regular feedback will also help them identify areas of improvement and stay motivated to do their best work.

Use preboarding to get ahead

Preboarding is the process of sending new hires information before their first day. This includes company policies, brand guidelines, and other important documents.

Preboarding helps new hires get a head start on their onboarding experience. This helps reduce the time it takes to get up to speed and become productive.

What does digital onboarding look like in tech companies?

Digital employee onboarding looks slightly different for tech companies. Many use automated solutions to streamline the process and ensure that all new hires are properly onboarded.

Tech companies also rely heavily on preboarding activities. This includes sending out introductory emails and providing resources to help new hires understand company culture, processes, and tools.

In addition, tech companies use various digital tools to facilitate onboarding. This includes video conferencing tools for virtual onboarding, chat tools for team collaboration, and digital forms to sign contracts.

Benefits of digital onboarding

Onboarding employees digitally can be highly beneficial for organizations. It offers various advantages over traditional onboarding methods, such as:

Automation of tedious tasks

Some onboarding tasks, such as onboarding forms and contracts, can be automated. This will free HR managers from manual onboarding activities and help eliminate any potential errors.

Automation also makes it easy for a new hire to complete onboarding tasks from anywhere.

It’s beneficial for remote employees who might otherwise have trouble completing some steps.

Reducing onboarding costs

Digital employee onboarding solutions can reduce onboarding costs significantly by eliminating paper forms and manual processes.

It also reduces onboarding time, which can help organizations onboard employees faster and increase productivity.

Using digital employee onboarding software, your company can also save on onboarding costs. This includes HR management solutions, which can be customized to match your company’s online onboarding processes.

Improving onboarding efficiency

The traditional onboarding process can be extremely time-consuming. Digital onboarding solutions streamline onboarding tasks and make it easier to onboard new employees quickly.

This allows onboarding teams to onboard more employees in less time and helps new hires get up to speed faster. This can ultimately lead to better onboarding experiences and higher employee retention rates.

Ensure compliance

Digital employee onboarding solutions help organizations ensure compliance with their onboarding processes. New employees must complete onboarding forms and contracts to join the team.

Organizations can use digital onboarding solutions to ensure that onboarding processes are completed accurately and efficiently.

They minimize the risk of potential onboarding errors and help ensure that onboarding is done under all regulatory requirements.

Bridging geographical gaps

Digital onboarding solutions can help bridge the gap between onboarding teams and remote workers. It makes it easier to onboard new hires in multiple locations at once.

It also allows onboarding teams to maintain contact with remote employees throughout the onboarding procedure easily.

This ensures that onboarding is completed consistently in all locations. New employees are onboarded with the same onboarding procedures.

Enhancing employee engagement

The traditional employee onboarding process can be tedious, especially for new employees.

With digital onboarding solutions, however, organizations can make the onboarding process more engaging and enjoyable.

You can use onboarding software to provide new employees with interactive onboarding experiences tailored to their needs and preferences.

This helps organizations engage employees more effectively throughout the onboarding process. This can ultimately lead to better employee engagement and higher employee retention rates.

Challenges of digital onboarding

While digital employee onboarding solutions can be highly beneficial for organizations, there are some challenges you need to address. These include:

Lack of employee engagement

A new employee who is not engaged can be difficult to onboard. Digital onboarding solutions require employees to engage actively throughout the process, which can prove challenging for some employees.

For effective digital onboarding, every new team member must show active participation. They should be regularly updated throughout the process and given the tools they need to be successful.

Security risks

Digital onboarding solutions may involve sensitive data and documents, so it is important to ensure that appropriate security measures are in place.

Organizations should use digital onboarding software that is secure and compliant with industry regulations.

Time constraints

Time is often a limiting factor in traditional onboarding, but digital onboarding solutions can help alleviate this issue.

However, organizations should still ensure that they have processes and protocols to ensure the onboarding procedure is completed within the required timeframe.

A new employee can feel overwhelmed

Onboarding a new employee can be challenging, especially if they are unfamiliar with the company values and culture.

Online onboarding solutions should provide clear instructions and support so new hires can quickly feel comfortable in the company.

They should also provide access to resources such as FAQs and tutorial videos to help new employees better understand the onboarding guide.

Some traditional onboarding activities may be overlooked

In traditional onboarding, the company and new hire must complete many activities before joining the team. They include team meetings, company tours, and face-to-face introductions.

Digital onboarding solutions may only be able to replicate some of the traditional onboarding activities. Some activities such as face-to-face introductions and team meetings may be overlooked.

Organizations should ensure that traditional onboarding activities are not completely overlooked in favor of digital onboarding solutions.

Takeaway: Onboard your new hires effectively with digital onboarding solutions

Digital employee onboarding solutions can be highly beneficial for organizations, making it easier to onboard distributed teams and quickly onboard new hires.

However, organizations should also be aware of the challenges associated with digital onboarding. They should take steps to ensure traditional onboarding activities are not overlooked.

Splainy is the perfect step-by-step guide generator to help you create custom onboarding processes.

With Splainy, your organization can easily map out and manage an engaging onboarding experience for new hires.