A new report from business management platform MYOB reveals that 71 per cent of SME employees would not choose to stay in a business if they had a bad onboarding experience.
The research also shows that 79 per cent of these employees believe that onboarding can make or break a new hire’s experience with a company, and 44 per cent said that while they think their employer carefully considers their onboarding process, further improvements could be made.
The report goes on to say that 78 per cent of SME owners and operators recognise the need to improve their onboarding process, with 51 per cent saying they are currently paying ‘a lot of attention’ to this aspect of the overall experience they offer their employees. It also found that 85 per cent of SMEs have increased their focus on employee experience.
Chief Employee Experience Officer at MYOB Helen Lea noted that the results reflect the result of the tight talent market.
“There are currently more jobs available than people to fill the roles, and according to the National Skills Commission, recruitment has been consistently more difficult this year compared with 2021,” Lea said. “So, when you find the right talent, you want to do everything you can to keep them in your business.
“Our research indicates how people are more willing to move around in a hot market, so it’s imperative that businesses take time to consider how they onboard new hires, as this could help retain good people,” Lea added. “Onboarding can have a direct impact on the longevity of an employee, with previous research showing it can improve hire retention by over 80 per cent and productivity by over 70 per cent.”
James Windon, co-CEO and co-founder of workplace financial services platform Flare, said that investing time in planning an onboarding program can have a positive ripple effect on a business, and that putting new employees first makes them feel like they made the right choice in joining that business.
“Remember onboarding isn’t a race, it’s a journey, so pace [it] and spread out the information over time,” Windon said. “ANother consideration is how you ‘pre-board’ someone. Streamlining how employees share their details with the business can really help improve this experience. Swapping endless paper forms for a digital onboarding tool is not only easier and faster for the new hire, but for you too, and can improve your efficiency by up to 85 per cent.”
When asked what their current employer could focus more on to improve their experience, the most common responses among employee were benefits being offered (40 per cent), learning and training opportunities (38 per cent), physical work environment (30 per cent) and their onboarding experience (27 per cent).
A benefits program was also the most important element of employee experience for respondents, and the top attraction factor when deciding to join a company.
“It’s wonderful to see SMEs giving employee experience the attention it deserves. We should all be continuously assessing this, regardless of circumstances or business size,” Lea concluded.
