4 Reasons Why You Should Automate Employee Onboarding in 2024

ByPaul Christiano Last Update on

Onboarding is crucial, but many companies don‘t do it well. Automating parts of the process in 2024 can significantly improve new hire experiences and productivity. Here are four compelling reasons to consider onboarding automation:

  1. It makes company information readily accessible to new hires 24/7.
  2. It streamlines coordination between departments like HR, IT, Legal.
  3. It allows personalization of materials for each new hire.
  4. It efficiently trains new staff on business applications.

Let‘s explore these reasons and benefits of automating onboarding in more depth. As a data analyst and AI specialist, I‘ve seen the impact firsthand that automation can have on optimizing this critical process.

Onboarding Done Right Pays Dividends

Onboarding – also called organizational socialization – refers to the process of integrating new hires into a company socially and functionally. It familiarizes them with policies, procedures, expectations, and culture. Onboarding is not the same as orientation, which is just the first day introductions. Effective onboarding spans the first 90 days and beyond.

Why does onboarding matter so much? Because it has a tremendous impact on new hire retention and performance. Data shows:

  • New hires who go through structured onboarding are 58% more likely to be with the company after 3 years (Source: Gallup)
  • Companies with a strong onboarding process improve new hire productivity by over 70% (Source: SHRM)
  • Onboarding increases employee engagement, resulting in 50% higher retention (Source: Click Boarding)

However, organizations often fall short when onboarding new staff. According to a Gallup poll, only 12% of employees strongly agreed that their company did a great job onboarding.

The top challenges with manual, disjointed onboarding processes include:

Lack of cross-department coordination: With HR, IT, Legal, Finance all involved, things can fall between the cracks.

Failure to convey company information thoroughly: New hires forget details and have unanswered questions.

Impersonal, one-size-fits all onboarding: Materials aren‘t tailored and relevant to each new hire.

Lack of training on business systems and tools: New hires don‘t get up to speed on apps fast enough.

Automating parts of onboarding provides solutions to these gaps.

Automation Makes Company Information Accessible 24/7

During orientation, new hires are inundated with presentations, manuals, forms, emails and more. Remembering every policy and procedure is impossible. They inevitability have questions later about things like:

  • Dress code specifics
  • The company‘s vision, values, and history
  • Who to contact for certain tasks
  • How many vacation days they get

Rather than searching through paperwork or asking coworkers, chatbots and knowledge bases provide on-demand access to company information. New hires can simply ask the chatbot questions and get immediate answers 24/7.

For example, at one company we implemented "Onie the Onboarding Bot". Within the first month, here were some of the most common questions Onie helped new hires with:

  • When are paydays?
  • How do I get reimbursed for expenses?
  • Who is the person to talk to about conference room bookings?

Onie provided the quick answers new employees needed to be productive. Without Onie, they would have wasted time digging through docs or waiting for responses.

Automation Streamlines Cross-Departmental Workflows

Thorough onboarding requires carefully orchestrating tasks across different departments:

  • HR: Paperwork, orientation, benefits
  • IT: Email, computer, app access
  • Legal: NDA, policies
  • Facilities: Desk, badge

But when managed manually, things can slip through the cracks:

  • 34% of companies fail to provide computer/email access on day 1 (Source: SHRM)
  • 62% do not have a formal process for providing company policies/procedures (Source: Brandon Hall Group)

Onboarding automation fixes these problems by centrally coordinating workflows across departments:

  • APIs and RPA bots trigger onboarding tasks automatically
  • Status dashboards provide visibility into what‘s been completed
  • Email/chatbot reminders ensure no steps are missed

For example, when HR adds a new hire in the system, it automatically initiates requests to IT to set up equipment, to Facilities to prepare office space, to Legal to send NDA, etc. This takes the burden off individual departments.

Automation Allows Personalization

With manual methods, onboarding materials tend to be generic and one-size-fits-all. But new hires have diverse backgrounds, roles, and needs.

Onboarding automation allows personalization at scale by:

  • Using data and templates to build customized materials
  • Generating role-based content
  • Tailoring by location, department, manager

For example, RPA bots can pull new hire data from HR systems to customize:

  • Presentation slides with their name, photo, manager, start date, etc.
  • Email sequences with content specific to their role
  • Orientation agenda based on their work site

Personalized content makes an enormous difference in engagement and satisfaction.

Automation Gets New Hires Up to Speed on Tools

One of the biggest onboarding bottlenecks is teaching new employees how to use internal systems and tools. But having employees like IT staff dedicate hours of manual training is inefficient. This is where automation shines.

Onboarding systems can deliver:

  • On-demand video tutorials for each application
  • Chatbots to answer questions and point users to the right tutorials
  • Interactive guides with step-by-step walkthroughs

With this self-service approach, new hires can ramp up on business apps efficiently without consuming excessive staff time.

Forward-thinking organizations are embracing automation to fix costly gaps in their onboarding process. The benefits are immense:

  • 66% faster time to productivity (Source: Deloitte)
  • 50% increase in employee satisfaction (Source: Digitate)
  • Up to 30% increase in new hire retention (Source: Qualtrics)

The technology exists to automate aspects of onboarding for a smoother and smarter experience. If your organization has struggled to do onboarding well, it‘s time to consider tools that can help in 2024. Reach out to discuss your needs – I‘d be happy to advise on automation approaches that deliver real ROI.

I am Paul Christiano, a fervent explorer at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and their broader implications for society. Renowned as a leading figure in AI safety research, my passion lies in ensuring that the exponential powers of AI are harnessed for the greater good. Throughout my career, I've grappled with the challenges of aligning machine learning systems with human ethics and values. My work is driven by a belief that as AI becomes an even more integral part of our world, it's imperative to build systems that are transparent, trustworthy, and beneficial. I'm honored to be a part of the global effort to guide AI towards a future that prioritizes safety and the betterment of humanity.

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