In the last 3 years, the way we work has changed fundamentally. We embraced remote work and online meetings, making it the ‘new normal’. So what's next?
It seems that while trying to adapt quickly, we held tight to our old rules and habits. We tried to digitize analog processes, instead of adapting an agile and innovative approach.
Generation Y and Z make up three-quarters of the entire workforce. Born into the digital world, Gen Z is used to conducting their chores and activities virtually and digitally. However, often as soon as they step through the door of their first employer, they are greeted with a shock wave: The digital environment they are used to is nowhere to be found. Let's follow Nazlı's journey, who lives in Manisa and is eager to begin her career in Istanbul.
Nazli, who aspires to work for a big corporation with a strong brand, readily accepts the company's offer. She receives an e-mail shortly after with a list of 20 documents to sign, verify or photocopy. All of these documents must be delivered to the company's Istanbul office within one week. Despite her inability to comprehend the process and her difficulties in meeting the demands, Nazli arrives at the office to deliver her documentation. When she approaches the 18-storey plaza, she realizes that no one is there to greet her and receive the paperwork. She informs security, heads toward reception, and after explaining her situation is finally given a guest card and directed to the Human Resources department. She discovers that the staff member who is supposed to check her documents is unaware that she is on her way. The documents are thoroughly checked, and it turns out come of the necessary paperwork is incomplete or unverified. Nazlı walks out of the office, enraged and disappointed, to complete employment documentation.
Next time Nazlı returns to the office on her first official workday, expecting things to run smoothly after documentation has been filed. However she discovered that her employee card has not been issued and her desk and hardware were not arranged yet. HR Specialist Meral arrives to greet Nazlı with a welcome kit in her hands, but Nazlı doesn’t even have a table to place it on. She learns that apparently Mehmet was assigned as a buddy for Nazlı, to help out with orientation and make necessary arrangements with IT and Admin department, however was informed about Nazlı’s arrival at the last minute, and wasn’t able to prepare anything.
Nazlı spends her first day at work alone in a hall watching occupational safety and information security training videos.
On the second day, after being assigned a desk and given a computer, Nazlı discovers that her e-mail address has not been activated, and necessary authorization was not made. Meral apologizes, claiming that she informed the IT team of the problem, but it was most likely neglected due to workload.
After completing her first week, Nazlı receives a print-out of an onboarding evaluation questionnaire. Nazlı is grateful for a chance to give feedback on the process, if it makes her feel valued. However after expressing her thoughts and improvement suggestions, she notices that the document is being placed in the personnel file, without being examined.
Nazlı was expecting her dream employer to be way more organized and technologically advanced. Hopes vanished, Nazli logs into her company computer and searches new job openings on Linkedin.
Does this story sound familiar? No matter if a company is using cutting-edge technology in order to meet customers needs and strive in a highly competitive environment, on the inside employees are still often faces with a burden on manual labor and old-school processes. While digitalization is expected and necessary in sales, marketing or finance functions, HR is often the lady on board, or overlooked. It is now time to turn our attention to digitization of human resources, as with Gen Z entering the workforce it is an essential part of a strong employer brand and a competitive advantage.
When it comes to Onboarding, we must consider what sort of experience we would like to provide to a new employee in our organization. When you think about it and start planning, you'll discover that it's not impossible to achieve, even if the expectations are high. Modern HR software can help you build the onboarding process according to desired scenario, assign responsibilities, and timely notify employees and new hires about steps throughout the process.
As Peoplise, there are 3 main topics that we consider essential in a good onboarding process:
- Personnel affairs related admin and logistics issues
- Motivation and commitment
- Compliance with corporate culture
There are dozens of small tasks under each of these titles that need to be determined and followed up on a regular basis. We have created a detailed checklist for you, to make sure you don’t miss anything while crafting your desired onboarding program.
There are numerous HR process automatization solutions, whichever you choose, make sure you digitize your onboarding process. You don’t want to upset Nazlı, and watch her go.