Onboarding vs Orientation: Going beyond the Paperwork

Table of ContentsIntroduction 3

Organizational Roadblocks 41. UTILIZE NEW HIRE PORTALS TO SPEED UP THE TIME TO PRODUCTIVITY 7

Centralize All Hiring Information 8

Assign Relevant Training 9

Introduce Organizational Culture 10

2. SET GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS EARLY ON WITH MANAGERS 13Discuss Goals with Managers 14

Develop Metrics to Measure Progress 15

Make Performance (Competency) Evaluations Frequent 16

Provide Coaching 17

3. BOOST ACCESS TO AN LMS TO INCREASE SKILLS & COMPETENCIES 20Offer Multi-Purpose Training Initiatives 21

Make Learning Mobile-Friendly 22

Embrace Collaborative Learning 23

Conclusion 25

Sources 26

The government workforce is drastically changing. The government workforce continues to evolve in response to the looming retirement boom and the demands of recruiting skilled employees to fill those gaps. Adding to these, government organizations must provide innovative recruiting and training programs to attract a new generation of employees.

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Consider the following organizational roadblocks:• Turnover in state and local government hovers around 18%.1 How will you handle the

staffing needs required to deal with these changes?

• The Human Capital Institute reports that 60 percent of the government workforce and 90 percent of its senior leadership are currently eligible to retire.2 How do you ensure their knowledge doesn't leave your agency when they do?

• Staff are challenged with introducing new technologies that enable knowledge transfer from older staff to new Millennials to ensure succession and career advancement.

Government turnover

Government workforce currently

eligible to retire

Senior leadership are currently

eligible to retire

18% 90%60%

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There are a few ways we could answer these questions, but one way to address the growing turnover rate is to provide strong onboarding so you start new hires off on the right foot and get them as productive and as engaged as possible, as soon as possible.

Although the terms “orientation” and “onboarding” are often used interchangeably, there is a distinct difference. Orientation refers to an exchange of information (for example, policies and procedures, organization mission statements, and organizational structure) and is part of the onboarding process. Onboarding is the process of “building engagement from the first contact until the employee becomes established within the organization.”3

Toxic Employees in the Workplace

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Why Staff Leave Your Hospital

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An Engaging Employee Experience

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Onboarding is the process of “building engagement from the first contact until

the employee becomes established within the organization.”

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Meaningful onboarding is so much more than simply completing tax and financial documentation. It involves providing training about the new hire’s job, strategies and opportunities for career development, and introductions to their new colleagues.

This eBook is the first in a three part series that discusses how to reduce turnover. Part two covers best practices for collaborative learning, while part three discusses the importance of mentors.

In part one, we’ll show you why onboarding should begin before a new hire’s start date, and how it’s effective in reducing turnover, increasing performance, and driving mission success.

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UTILIZE NEW HIRE PORTALS TO SPEED UP THE TIME TO PRODUCTIVITY

“Great employers begin the (onboarding) process before new hires arrive on-site.”4

Typically, new hires will spend their first day completing paperwork, meeting new colleagues, and beginning all training. The problem with this is two-fold: 1) The first day is a whirlwind of information, and new hires may have the jitters, so retention of this new information is low, and 2) This all could have been done prior to the start date.

Learn how leveraging new hire portals can shorten the time to productivity, making an employee’s first day be focused on mission success, not paperwork:

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1CENTRALIZE ALL HIRING INFORMATIONNew hire portals are customized to each individual new hire to make them feel welcomed and engaged. They also serve as a central location where human resource admins can distribute all the forms that new employees need to complete, including computer access, background checks, badges, tax forms, telework forms, etc., and each can see the status for everything as the third party validation process unfolds. This simplifies the new hire documentation process by completely eliminating emails, file attachments, downloads, or the worrying over who has (or hasn’t) seen each item of paperwork.

Toxic Employees in the Workplace

View

Why Staff Leave Your Hospital

View

An Engaging Employee Experience

View

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1ASSIGN RELEVANT TRAININGHiring teams can leverage portals to strategically assign training documents and course modules to address required regulatory core knowledge and completion of self-assessment skills or competency gaps, and teach them about industry-specific knowledge and trends.

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1INTRODUCE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTUREMuch is said about organizational culture, and for good reason: it drives engagement, breaks down communication barriers, guides the agency mission, and ultimately, creates an environment for excellent service for citizens and communities. Videos, pictures, and employee testimonials can preview life on the job. Short files can show org charts, where to go for different resources, and who can help ease the transition. The culture you highlight should provide further insight on what you showed in job boards. Demonstrate to your new staff that it’s more than just a job, and that they are truly part of a team.

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1Ensuring compliance is critical – the average compliance violation fine: $74,400 per incident.5 Utilizing a new hire portal will keep all agency staff compliant; admins can distribute files on industry regulations and guidelines. Integrated electronic verification tools can help HR teams and employees manage the completion of documents and see what still needs to be reviewed.

“When people are made to feel welcome, they are more productive, less stressed, and more team focused. This all translates into lower turnover rates.”6

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1New hire training should begin before day one to shorten the time to productivity. New hire portals enable educators and HR teams to distribute all training, paperwork, and agency information before day one so when they’re finally on-site, they can start focusing on results.

Once a new hire is on-site and in the system, the next step should be thinking about how to serve citizens with the overall mission of the agency.

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SET GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS EARLY ON WITH MANAGERS

“When employees are given clear objectives, the support to excel at their job, and the opportunity to be a part of a high performing workplace, they become more self-directed, engaged.”7

Those that work in government are there for more than just the job. They are there because they care. Discover how setting goals with your staff early can show them just how much you care in return.

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2DISCUSS GOALS WITH MANAGERSDuring the first few weeks, new hires should sit down with their managers to discuss their own career goals, and in turn, the manager should align those goals with the needs of the department and organization as a whole.

To ensure that new hires are engaged and given the tools to succeed, managers should assign relevant training opportunities. These should address competencies and skills gaps related to their current positions, as well as tie into succession. When staff realize their career path can be fulfilled through your organization, they’ll be less likely to hit the job boards. The Hay Group found a strong relationship between “…job satisfaction, career development, and retention…” 8

The Hay Group found a strong relationship between “…job satisfaction, career development, and retention…”8

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2

Toxic Employees in the Workplace

View

Why Staff Leave Your Hospital

View

An Engaging Employee Experience

View

DEVELOP METRICS TO MEASURE PROGRESSAssigning goals is only half the equation; the other half is to measure staff performance against objectives. Observation checklists help new hires demonstrate they are authorized to work equipment, understand policies and procedures, and serve as a benchmark to stay on track. 360 peer reviews from colleagues will provide deep insight into performance and how new hires are achieving their goals.

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2

Toxic Employees in the Workplace

View

Why Staff Leave Your Hospital

View

An Engaging Employee Experience

View

MAKE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS FREQUENTNew hires and managers should hold scheduled, frequent sessions either to gauge progress or revamp goals and competencies as necessary to address changes on either the employee or organizational side. Goals may change, and that’s normal, but it’s up to the employee and manager to determine how to adjust and move forward to still achieve success.

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2PROVIDE COACHINGIn the new hire period, usually the first 90 days, a staff member may run into a roadblock or performance-related challenge. Managers should provide (or arrange for) time-of-need coaching or general coaching.

Coaching also keeps motivation levels high and doesn’t allow goals to wither away and be forgotten about. Ensuring there are no roadblocks to performance keeps productivity high and ensures new hires are engaged, which reduces attrition. In a survey by CPS HR Consulting of city, county, state, and federal agency employees, 87% of supervisors and 89% of employees coached were satisfied or very satisfied after coaching.9

89% of employees coached were satisfied or very satisfied after coaching.9

89%

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2ESTABLISH A TRANSPARENT CAREER GROWTH PATHA key element of employees’ setting goals with managers is to build a career ladder that lists potential future job titles and promotions, as well as the associated responsibilities, milestones, and expected tenure. There may also be career mobility opportunities – in addition to climbing the current ladder, managers can help the employee make a lateral move to a path that better suits their passion and skills.

They should also discuss how the employee can reach those goals, i.e. what training courses to take, experiences and licenses to achieve, and performance metrics by which to measure growth. Staff who have a development plan and a strategy for success are less likely to look elsewhere to advance their career.

In addition to climbing the current ladder, managers can help the employee make a lateral move to a path that better suits their passion and skills.

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2Setting goals gives government employees a sense of purpose, and that their work satisfies their career goals and the needs of the department. Supporting those goals, while also allowing flexibility, helps drive engagement and productivity in that crucial 45-90 day new hire period.

With training such a critical part of onboarding and setting career goals, what can agencies do to ensure staff have the right knowledge to advance their careers?

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BOOST ACCESS TO AN LMS TO INCREASE SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

Learning and development initiatives are critical to government employees building up their skills and competencies, but without the right strategy (and the right LMS) to execute it, retention, engagement, participation, and ROI will all fall short of expectations. Discover the factors that make learning and development successful, and how they can drive agency operations forward.

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3OFFER MULTI-PURPOSE TRAINING INITIATIVESEmployee training should cover a wide variety of goals during onboarding. Assign individual modules (or a full curriculum), behavioral competency and technical skills checklists to measure the application of knowledge, strategically address skills gaps, improve current capabilities, and boost competencies. Courses should also be available on-demand so employees can search for and take courses of interest to them, such as expanding learning about new machines and software.

In addition, your LMS should provide documents about the organization, its procedures and policies, and the overall culture. Starting new hires off on the right foot makes a big impact on performance and engagement; only 50% of government workers reported that they are satisfied with the training they receive in their current role.10

Only 50% of government workers reported that they are satisfied with the training they receive in their current role.10

50%

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3MAKE LEARNING MOBILE-FRIENDLYYour LMS should be mobile-friendly and available 24/7 so new hires (and tenured workers) can train when it’s convenient for them, doesn’t interrupt their workday, and won’t lead to them being stuck in a classroom. This drives participation, engagement, and knowledge retention.

Learning through elearning typically requires 40-60% less employee time than learning the same material in a traditional classroom setting.11 A big factor in this is a reduction in travel costs, both for employees needing to come in for training and also for pricey outside consultants.

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3EMBRACE COLLABORATIVE LEARNINGWith collaborative learning, employees take turns being the student and the teacher, which drives participation and engagement; it also makes learning a continuous, ongoing endeavor, not something limited to a formal environment.

Workers can share vital, hard-earned knowledge from the field that can’t be learned from books. This strategy is more cost-friendly than enlisting the help of vendors or professionals, and has a tremendous effect on job performance: According to Bersin, learners retain 5% of what they hear, 10% of what they read, and 50% of what they learn through discussion and interaction. In tandem with direct experience—on-the-job learning—retention can soar to 75% or more.12

Learner retention

5% 10% 50%

Hear Read Discuss and interact

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318%

A more innovative LMS does more than just deliver training – it boosts participation and engagement, as well as employee performance. By making it staff-friendly, admins will save resources, drive the organization’s mission forward, and facilitate employee-generated learning and passion for positive outcomes.

In a labor market with 19% voluntary turnover,13 collaborative learning also ensures that best practices and hard-earned knowledge don’t leave your organization when employees do.

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An impactful onboarding experience can be challenging for any agency, but there is a roadmap to making new hires feel welcomed, engaged, and prepared with the knowledge to be successful.

Don’t wait until Day 1 to complete administrative paperwork. Leverage the power of new hire portals to immediately disseminate everything from tax forms to training modules. Doing so shortens the time to productivity, boosts engagement, and even reduces turnover by starting them on the right foot.

Setting goals and expectations with managers early on drives retention by making the employee feel like the organization is investing in their growth and that they can reach their career goals at their current agency, not somewhere else.

Implementing a more robust LMS boosts skills and capabilities, increases engagement, and reduces attrition. New hires won’t feel like their abilities have stagnated when they can trade best practices with colleagues and learn at their convenience.

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Discover more tips and best practices for onboarding and turnover reduction! csod.com/state-local or csod.com/federal-government

1 BersinOne Benchmarking: Public Sector https://benchmarking.bersin.com/dashboard 2 http://www.governing.com/events/webinars/Talent-Management-Strategy-Improving-Agency-and-Employee-Performance-from-Hire-to-Retire-8663.html 3 Viktorin J, Downs L. Onboarding and Orientation. 2012.

http://www.hrpa.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment/Pages/PDinaBox%E2%84%A2TopicDescriptionOnboarding.aspx 4 http://www.octanner.com/institute/white-papers/onboarding-early-engagement-through-recognition.html 5 Sage HRMS: Avoiding Costly Fines 6 http://www.octanner.com/institute/white-papers/onboarding-early-engagement-through-recognition.html 7 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140705150129-112837408-making-goals-matter-the-power-of-cascading-goals-in-healthcare 8 http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jsl/vol1iss1/JSL_Vol1iss1_Hays.pdf 9 M Hertneck. “HR Survey Series: The Impact of Coaching on Public Sector Employees.” CPS HR Consulting. Page 8. Accessed at

http://www.cpshr.us/documents/resources/SurveySeries_Coaching.pdf 10 http://bestplacestowork.org/BPTW/analysis 11 http://info.shiftelearning.com/blog/bid/301248/15-Facts-and-Stats-That-Reveal-The-Power-Of-eLearning 12 Josh Bersin. “Collaborative Learning: Formalizing Informal Learning.” Bersin. May 21, 2008. Page 4 13 http://www.compdatasurveys.com/2015/09/17/rising-turnover-rates-in-healthcare-and-how-employers-are-recruiting-to-fill-openings-2

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