A robust onboarding process plays a major role in the success of hiring. After the outbreak of Covid-19, more and more employees are seeking work from home schedules. Therefore, it is imperative to refine your strategies for virtual onboarding to build a productive and engaged workforce. Since remote developers do not have the benefit of meeting other employees and developing relationships with them, it becomes even more significant to master your virtual onboarding process.

Here are a few best practices for an effective IT recruitment process.

Send a welcome kit: As the famous adage says, ‘First impression is the last impression’ is no longer limited to individuals but organizations too. Sending a welcome kit or welcome package is an important first step to making your new hires feel welcome and a part of their work family. A welcome kit sets the tone for a positive workplace and can be customized to reflect and honor company values. It shows that you care about your employees and want them to have a great experience with your company right from the start.

Stick to basics: Your focus must be on a holistic onboarding experience. It can be a little tough for your new hires to work dynamically and understand the company culture. It is therefore important to be available to answer their questions and create an immersive new hire candidate experience. It will allow them to comprehend the company culture and feel valued.

Help them build connections: You need to go beyond the conventional hiring process and help them assimilate completely into the new world. Help your new hires build connections with your key stakeholders and introduce them to their colleagues. This will help the remote workforce build a strong and lasting relationship with your company and the staff.

Assign a buddy:  Help the new hires navigate the challenges of remote onboarding by assigning a buddy who will assist them understand both spoken and unspoken aspects of your company culture. A buddy will act as a mentor as well as coach them into their new roles.

Create a feedback mechanism: Getting feedback from your employees is an easy yet effective method to analyze what’s working and what’s not and what all needs to be implemented. From day one, ensure that feedback is a crucial part of your company culture.

Communicate by using one-to-one meetings: It is critical to have frequent one-to-one meetings with your new hires. Let managers block time at least once a week to personally connect with new hires and check in regularly with them. This will help in building a strong connection between managers and the remote workforce and consequently make settling in easier and quicker.

Have fun: Make sure to have fun along the way. Let the team connect over virtual lunches by sending lunch coupons to the employees and having a fun time off work. This is just one way to engage employees and various other strategies could be implemented to enhance engagement.

A great onboarding experience will pave the way for a successful and long-lasting relationship and ensure a smooth transition into their new role. Today, more than ever, it is important to stay ahead and create strategies that focus on the social and collaborative aspects to help imitate the in-office experience.

Tailor your practices to onboard great talent

For many years, and especially since the pandemic, the recruitment landscape has faced a great number of challenges and changes. The year 2020 made virtual hiring, and remote working a common practice. The pandemic has forced organizations and HR leaders to reconsider their hiring practices and realign them from a fresh perspective fit for the post-pandemic era. Today, employers are shifting their focus from the stereotypical beliefs about their employees to giving more attention to work-life balance, physical and mental well-being. Here are a few priorities that every organization should focus on while hiring.

1.   Tech-based hiring: In the face of the crisis, technology helped businesses to continue their operations while also flourishing at the same time. Organizations have now realized that with the right technology they can navigate even the most uncertain times. Going ahead, AI will play a critical role in the IT recruitment process too. Many companies have already started using AI-based hiring software to ease their hiring processes. While this trend is still in its infancy, it will be the most advantageous for any organization.

2.   Flexibility and employee well-being: In the last couple of years, the priorities for employees have changed significantly. To align with the changing needs of the employees, companies must restructure their talent acquisition practices. Flexible working models, focus on mental health and well-being, perks such as health insurance packages, and other rewards, have a great tendency to influence a candidate’s interest in the role and per se the organization.

3.   Employer branding: Organizations that have a strong and positive presence on social media create a good image of the organization in the minds of the potential candidates. It is one of the most important elements driving a candidate’s decision. At the same time, it will also create a sense of pride amongst your existing employees and create a lively company culture. Social media platforms when used optimally can become a game-changer in building an organization’s brand image.

4.   Global talent market: One of the most beneficial perks of remote working is that employers no longer need to focus on geographies while hiring candidates. They can access top talent from across the globe and bring a new perspective to the table. This paves the way for a diverse and global workforce and can prove to be valuable for any organization exploring top talent especially if they need super niche skills.

5.   Need-based hiring: Organizations are even hiring candidates as per their needs and projects and that too for specific durations of time. These candidates are highly skilled in their roles and offer their expertise to companies on demand. This not only lowers the permanent headcount for an organization but also reduces the hiring cost. Talent on demand is one of the most significant trends to look out for in 2023.

With the world still grappling with the after-effects of the deadly virus, the IT recruitment process and hiring practices have significantly changed over the last two years. HR leaders are resetting their hiring processes based on global trends and are also tailoring their practices to meet the unique needs and demands of their business, organization, and people.

Offboarding Employees: Bid Adieu Productively

Source: Sage HR 

How employees leave the organization is as important as how they start their journey. Exit interviews are an essential part of the employee offboarding process. Companies never want their valued employees to bid adieu to the company but there will always be some who choose to move on. A thorough exit interview is critical to making this loss productive. It can help you gather valuable information to improve company culture, enhance business strategies and explore areas that need improvement from an employee’s perspective. Exit interviews provide you with the most honest feedback as it is highly unlikely to get such frank answers from current employees. When implemented correctly, they can be a big step in understanding why the employee wants to leave and prevent it from happening again. 

How exit interviews can help your business?

Increase employee retention: Hiring and training new staff can be an expensive process and this is why companies aim to retain and develop their existing staff. Exit interviews can help provide great insights into why people are moving on to other organizations and hence tackle it. 

Learn about HR benchmarks at competing organizations: Exit interviews are a great way to analyze how your competitors are poaching your people. This can be due to additional benefits like time off, growth prospects, pay packages, and other benefits, which may be lacking at your organization.

Improve learning and professional growth strategies: Exit interviews may also reveal the need and importance of a better learning and professional development strategy within your company. If employees do not feel supported or challenged in their roles, then they are more likely to leave. It will also emphasize opportunities in management development and succession planning.

Method of conducting an Exit Interview

Exit Interviews are most commonly conducted in two ways. In one scenario you can simply have a talk with your employee and receive the most honest and unfiltered feedback. Make sure that you already have a list of key questions you wish to ask that will help provide insight on the important parameters. Alternatively, you can provide them with a written form that an employee can complete. You may choose either of the two methods or simply combine both where you provide the employee with a form to fill out and then discuss their answers.

Summing up

There will be times when employees move on due to management issues, conflicts within the team, or lack of recognition for their efforts. It is important to talk to managers or leadership and convey the feedback constructively to see if there might be any changes that can be done to help manage the situation for the existing employees. Getting to know the problem and trying out new methods to fix it can make a big difference and help turn an occurrence like a volunteer exit into a learning opportunity.

Employees leaving your organization is inevitable and that is something you cannot change. However, you can always take a proactive approach to understanding why they are leaving and make sure that you are addressing any serious issues you discover. Exit interviews can offer invaluable insight into your company culture and highlight what is working at your company and what is not. It is all up to you how you utilize that information and turn that knowledge to action.