Innovation: how to improve onboarding in companies

Onboarding new employees is a crucial aspect for all companies. Yet many organizations continue to use outdated methods, thereby failing to address the challenges of onboarding. Discover innovative new methods to improve onboarding and create a memorable experience for employees.

Onboarding is the process of integrating a new employee. It begins with the pre-boarding phase when the hiring is confirmed, and continues after hiring, during the employee’s first weeks or months on the job.

For a long time,onboarding at was synonymous with checklists to be validated: loan of equipment, handing over of badges, participation in training courses… However,onboarding at is above all a period that enables new recruits to integrate the values of their new company, to familiarize themselves with their new environment, to forge bonds with their colleagues and to measure the position sold against the reality of the job.

According to the Employee Experience Barometer 2022,onboarding is cited by 74% of respondents as the first activity to be prioritized by the employee experience.

Companies are therefore taking an increasing interest in this topic and turning to innovative approaches that emphasize engagement and customer loyalty. Here are a few innovative onboarding tools.

Customized onboarding

L’new arrival is often accompanied by a host of administrative tasks. Many of these tasks are common to all employees, but each individual is unique. It is then important that the employee feels expected.

According to Human Resources Today (2018), 69% of employees are more likely to stay with the company for more than three years if they have had a positive integration experience.

74% of respondents cite onboarding as the number one activity concerned by the employee experience

69% of employees are more likely to stay with the company for more than three years if they have had a positive integration experience.

For facilitate staff integration and recruitment processthe human resources can set up a personalized integration program tailored to new talent. Tools such as Heyteam enables companies to carry out this type ofonboarding.

At HeyTeam, their platform allows you to create orientation including checklists, videos, quizzes, training plans, etc. The employee only has to connect to the platform and access the different supports.

Welcoming new members via a seamless integration allows the company to share its corporate culture and its work environment. Other companies go to great lengths to facilitate integration virtually immersive.

To anticipate tomorrow’s recruitment challenges, it’s essential to develop sound adaptation strategies. In our dedicated article, you will find the
keys to adapting as a recruiter and staying
and remain effective in a constantly changing environment.

Immersive integration

With the rise of telecommuting, many companies have been forced to think about a remote remote integration process. In an in-person setting, a new employee can easily meet and talk with coworkers while walking around the office and get a feel for the company culture. This interaction is important for helping employees feel included and valued within the company. So, to replicate this sense of belonging; publishers such as Uptale and 360Learning offer their services to virtually recreate the company’s environment.

The ready-to-wear company, Chloéhas invested in this type of service to integrate its new employees. It offers 3 courses to its newcomers:

• the first one on the life cycle of the product (designers’ workplaces, ready-to-wear workshop, showrooms);
• the second on the history of the house (the Heritage Department)
• and the third one on the backstage of the house “Behind The Scene”. The experience is available on computers and smartphones.

Other companies go even further, adding playful integration experiences for successful onboarding.

Immersive integration: new talents play the game!

To share corporate culture and make the induction process more engaging and fun, some companies use gamification techniques. The aim is to include the game’s mechanisms and principles in onboarding processes in order to make them more attractive.

One can then find activities such as quizzes, treasure hunts, escapes games, challenges… with associated rewards.

This type of integration allows new employees to discover the company in a fun way.

As active participants in their own integration, employees are motivated and become more engaged. There are several tools available on the market, such as Workelo, Emeraude Escape, Stream. They help their clients define the rules of the game, missions and objectives, levels, obstacles, and rewards.
Quentin PEDELABORDE, HRBP for IT at SQORUS, explains the reasons behind SQORUS’s gamified onboarding:

” It was essential for SQORUS to highlight our values through a gamified onboarding. Why a playful aspect? Internally, many of our transmissions, learnings and innovations come from the game. I always like to draw a parallel, albeit cautiously, with Winnicottian play, which expresses play’s capacity for integration, the gift of meaning and imagination, creativity as a source of innovation. The game is spontaneous and universal. “

Quentin PEDELABORDE, HRBP IT at SQORUS.

Gamification can be a fun and effective way to support new arrivals in their integration, by encouraging them to explore the company and its various teams in an interactive way. By using gamification techniques, the company can create a a sense of well-being at work from theintegration of new employees.

Onboarding & Foresight: involving new employees

According to Michel Godet, economist and member of theAcadémie des technologiesForesight is “the art of illuminating present decisions in the light of desirable future decisions”. It is about observing the present and detecting weak signals in order to detect potential changes and threats.

As part ofthe onboarding process, the goal is, on the one hand, to encouragenew employees to collaboratively develop scenarios for possible futures, and, on the other hand, to enhance their ability to identify opportunities and threats in the business environment.

This can be done through an exercise to identify “black elephants, black jellyfish and black swans”:

• Black elephants are processes at work in the present and known by the company, but not integrated into the company’s strategic thinking, such as global warming.
• The black jellyfish are the processes at work in the company that the latter thinks it understands, but ultimately hasn’t mastered, as with the pandemic; some companies had trouble understanding the effects and anticipating the consequences of this pandemic.
• Black swans are the processes at work in the company, but unimaginable to the company. This allows new employees to feel invested in the new company by being part of a collective.

Onboarding can therefore be an opportunity for to engage new talent in the company’s strategy, by giving them an overview of its projects and encouraging them to contribute to their future development. Engaging new employees from the very beginning of their onboarding helps strengthen their sense of belonging to the company and helps them understand their role within the team.

Recruitment without a trial period: the contract of trust!

Since March 2021, SAURa French company in the water sector, has decided to to recruit its employees without a trial period. A decision that surprised more than one company, but also more than one candidate.

The trial period is a clause governed by the labor code, but not mandatory. For some employees, immediate employment is a relief, but for others it’s a disadvantage, as the rules for separation are not the same during a trial period or after one. The trial period allows both the company and the employee to take the time to confirm the decision to collaborate.

Another point is that it requires the company to be more vigilant when recruitment process to find the right candidate. Managers are then integrated into the recruitment process.

To establish a contract of trust as soon as new employees are recruited, the HR department can do away with the probationary period.

Recruitment is a crucial issue for companies seeking to find the best talent. With an increasingly competitive job market, it has become difficult to attract and retain candidates. Find out more in our dedicated article, 3 digital recruitment innovations.

Conclusion on improving onboarding through innovation

According to Welcome to the Junglecompanies that offer HR onboarding retain 90% of their new recruits, and the probability of retaining new employees for three years increases by 69%! Successful onboarding helps new hires feel welcome, supported and prepared to contribute to their team and organization.

Traditional on-boarding processes can be time-consuming and uninvolving, yet this is a moment to be capitalized on, both for the new employee and the organization. The new integration tools help create a more effective experience for new recruits, resulting in a more efficient increased retention, engagement, and productivity. It can also help organizations stand out as an employer of choice, attracting top talent in an increasingly competitive job market.

Thanks to its experience in the field of onboarding, SQORUS specialized in digital transformation, can help companies withonboarding issues and recruitment thanks to its LAB, which constantly monitors the latest HR innovations. Contact us to discuss this directly with our experts.