The secret to transforming your business?
Automate your onboarding process
Published on: November 12, 2024
Last update: November 12, 2024
Onboarding talent has always been a challenge. But today, the stakes are higher than ever. Not only are companies spending an average of $5K to hire a new employee (and up to $25K for a senior executive). But, poor onboarding practices can lead to significant financial losses. In fact, employee turnover due to inefficient onboarding costs businesses billions annually, impacting productivity, morale, and ultimately, the bottom line. That's where onboarding automation comes in.
Businesses should leverage automation and AI to transform critical processes like onboarding. This increases efficiency and enhances the employee experience. By streamlining and optimizing the onboarding process, businesses can significantly reduce costs, improve employee retention, accelerate time-to-productivity, and foster a positive work environment. A seamless, automated onboarding process is one of the smartest investments you can make for your company's future.
The hidden cost of poor onboarding
Employee turnover costs organizations $900 billion annually. Alarmingly, 20% of that turnover occurs within the first 45 days of employment. This is a critical period where first impressions turn into lasting perceptions.Â
When new employees encounter fragmented communication, outdated tools, and a lack of clear guidance, they feel disoriented, unsupported, and in some cases, completely disconnected. This disengagement can turn a promising hire into a costly mistake.
High turnover can also tarnish your company’s brand and lead to a loss of institutional knowledge. Word travels fast when a company is known for chaotic onboarding. This makes it harder to attract future talent.
What is wrong with most onboarding processes?
Many onboarding programs, despite being well-intentioned, fail to equip new hires with the clarity and support they need to succeed. These programs often suffer from a combination of fragmented communication, generic processes, and outdated technology—factors that create frustration for new employees and inefficiencies for the company.
Disjointed communication
First, disjointed communication is a prevalent issue. Onboarding frequently spans multiple departments, HR, IT, and the new hire's team, without a unified structure. This leaves new employees wondering who to contact for essential information or resources. And this confusion delays their ability to contribute. Onboarding automation can solve this by creating clear workflows that ensure the right information reaches the right people at the right time. Imagine a system where new hires automatically receive welcome emails, introductions to their team, and access to relevant resources, all without any manual intervention.
Lack of personalization
Additionally, a lack of personalization undermines the onboarding experience. Too often, companies adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, failing to tailor the process to specific roles. Highly specialized positions or senior-level hires require nuanced, role-specific guidance. Without this, technical hires can feel overwhelmed. Meanwhile, experienced employees may find the process redundant or irrelevant. Onboarding automation enables personalized experiences. AI-powered tools can analyze a new hire's role, skills, and experience to deliver tailored content and resources. This ensures a more engaging and relevant onboarding journey.
Information overload
The problem is compounded by information overload. New hires are often bombarded with paperwork, policies, and training content all within their first week. Instead of enabling productivity, this inundation leads to cognitive overload. And cognitive overload makes it difficult for them to absorb critical information. Onboarding automation can help by delivering information in a more digestible format and at a pace that suits the individual. Instead of drowning in documents, new hires can access bite-sized content, interactive tutorials, and on-demand training modules, allowing them to learn at their own speed.
Outdated technology
Finally, outdated technology slows down the onboarding process. Manual tasks and legacy systems delay essential functions like setting up workstations or providing access to necessary software. Onboarding automation streamlines these processes, eliminating manual effort and reducing delays. Think of provisioning of laptops and accounts, digital forms and signatures, and self-service IT support portals – all powered by automation.
For senior executives, addressing these pain points is crucial. Strategic onboarding plays a key role in improving retention and accelerating new hire impact. And by embracing automation, companies can create a truly modern and effective onboarding experience that sets new hires up for success.
A real-world example: Google’s challenges with onboarding
Even giant companies like Google have faced onboarding challenges. In its early years of rapid growth, Google experienced onboarding problems. These included fragmented communication and delayed tool access. Some new hires waited up to two weeks to begin productive work. To fix this, Google implemented a streamlined onboarding process with automation and "nudges"—timely reminders for managers and employees. This change improved new hire productivity by 25% and reduced ramp-up time by a month​.
Creating a seamless onboarding experience
A seamless onboarding process doesn't just happen by chance—it requires strategy, clarity, and, increasingly, the right technology. Here are five tips to ensure new hires experience a smooth transition into your company.
By streamlining and optimizing the onboarding process, businesses can significantly reduce costs, improve employee retention, accelerate time-to-productivity, and foster a positive work environment.
1. Don’t wait for day one to kick off onboarding
The onboarding journey begins long before day one. Engaging new hires early through welcome emails, virtual meet-and-greets, or access to internal resources helps reduce anxiety. It also creates a sense of belonging. These early interactions set the tone for an employee’s experience. They also ensure new hires feel connected before they even start.
2. Set clear expectations
One of the quickest ways to lose new hires is by failing to set clear expectations. Provide detailed role descriptions, performance goals, and regular check-ins. When employees know exactly what's expected of them, they're more confident, productive, and aligned with your company's goals.
3. Encourage mentorship and buddy systems
Pairing new hires with mentors or buddies helps them navigate their new role and the company culture more effectively. A dedicated mentor can offer personal support and guidance. This helps employees feel less isolated and more integrated into the team.
4. Create continuous feedback loops
Regular feedback, especially in the early days, is crucial for improving performance and building trust. Frequent check-ins offer your new hires a sense of progress, highlight areas of improvement, and encourage open communication, making them feel valued from the outset.
5. Integrate automated technology into onboarding
Automated technology is fundamentally transforming onboarding, streamlining processes and enhancing the overall experience. Tools like Atlassian’s Jira Service Management (JSM) and Confluence provide centralized platforms that simplify onboarding.Â
- Jira Service Management is a one-stop hub for managing IT requests, setting up devices, and responding to new hire questions. This eliminates unnecessary delays in getting employees up to speed.
- Similarly, Confluence centralizes important onboarding documents, handbooks, and training materials, making them easily accessible to new hires and their teams. By integrating video tools like Loom, you can create dynamic, on-demand training content for new hires to access at their convenience.
The role of automated technology in onboarding goes beyond just making things easier—it's about creating a more efficient, engaging, and personalized experience. Studies show that companies leveraging tools like JSM and Confluence have seen significant improvements, including a 25% faster time-to-productivity for new hires. When repetitive tasks are automated and information is easily accessible, new employees can focus on learning and contributing to the organization.
A real-world example: Zelis saves $150K per year with automated onboarding
Zelis, a global healthcare tech company, faced major onboarding delays. New hires waited over a month for laptops and system access. Partnering with Modus Create, they moved to Atlassian Cloud and transformed their outdated business processes by integrating Workday with Jira Service Management. This turned manual tasks into seamless automation, giving their HR workflows a serious upgrade. It also cut onboarding times drastically, with laptops ready before employees’ start dates.
The result? Seamless onboarding, an integrated platform, and over $150K in annual savings. Today, Zelis serves 3,500 users on a streamlined, unified platform that continues to drive efficiency and growth.
AI will redefine onboarding
AI is already tackling some of the most pressing challenges in onboarding, helping create more intuitive experiences for new hires. As workplace tools increasingly integrate AI into their core functionalities, AI’s role in streamlining and automating onboarding will become even more pivotal.
Rovo by Atlassian
Atlassian recently launched Rovo, an AI-powered teamwork tool by Atlassian Intelligence. Rovo serves as a virtual teammate, providing personalized answers across Atlassian products like Jira and Confluence, as well as integrated third-party tools. Rovo enhances the onboarding journey by delivering precise, context-based advice in real time. For example, new employees can ask who they should contact for log-in credentials and Rovo can instantly search through your Confluence, Jira, and other integrated apps to provide an answer.Â
Another Rovo feature that’s highly relevant for onboarding is Definitions. New employees often get intimidated by internal acronyms and abbreviations. Rovo helps users understand their organization's unique project names, keywords, and definitions from any product in the Atlassian suite.
Rovo also empowers users to build custom agents. So, you can create a Rovo agent for employee onboarding that specializes in providing onboarding-related information. With AI doing the heavy lifting, new joiners can focus on integrating into the team, while receiving the precise information they need, exactly when they need it.
Onboarding is a strategic investment
When repetitive tasks are automated and information is easily accessible, new employees can focus on learning and contributing to the organization.
A positive onboarding experience is a strategic imperative for long-term success. Companies that prioritize seamless and engaging onboarding see higher employee engagement, faster time-to-productivity, and improved retention rates. Research shows that 69% of employees who experience excellent onboarding are more likely to stay with a company for at least three years, reinforcing its lasting impact.
Despite this, many organizations struggle with fragmented communication and outdated technology. Tools like Atlassian's Jira Service Management and Confluence, expertly implemented by Modus Create's Digital Operations team, can help you automate tasks, centralize resources, and personalize onboarding experiences. This reduces friction and accelerates time-to-value.
The benefits of onboarding automation
By automating your onboarding process, you can:
- Reduce costs: Eliminate manual effort and streamline workflows to save time and resources.
- Increase efficiency: Accelerate time-to-productivity for new hires and free up HR and IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives.
- Enhance the employee experience: Create a more engaging and personalized onboarding journey that fosters a sense of belonging and sets new hires up for success.
Tracking key metrics such as time-to-productivity, new hire satisfaction, retention rates, and manager feedback ensures continuous improvement. By investing in a robust onboarding program, you can attract and retain top talent while creating a culture of growth and long-term success in your market.
