Onboarding as an Employee Engagement Tool

Employee engagement is a vital part of Human Resources management. Since the pandemic, it has become paramount. A labor shortage that is contributing to supply chain challenges, inconsistency, and an abundance of work for those who are fully employed are making every touch point between employees and employers even more important. 

Looking at the employee lifecycle from start to finish and determining where to improve is one way to confront this issue. Graeme Poules, People Director, Employee Experience & Operations at Bupa ANZ, a health and care company, will be talking about digital  engagement strategies that begin with onboarding but also continue as employers want to engage workers to retain them when he presents at the Employee Engagement and Experience APAC online event, which takes place Oct. 18 and 19. 

REGISTER: Employee Engagement and Experience APAC 

Recently, in an interview with HR Exchange Network, Poules shared a preview of the session and thoughts on setting the right tone with new hires and employees alike. 

HREN: Why is onboarding so vital to the employee experience? How does onboarding relate to retention and employee engagement strategies?

GP: If you consider that onboarding happens as you transition from 'just hired' to 'in the door,' it’s a critical stage indeed. Research has shown that if you get onboarding wrong (no laptop, no systems access, poor training, poor manager engagement), there is a high likelihood of the person exiting within the first six months. Onboarding is the chance to wow a new hire with how slick the first day, week, and months are in a new organisation.  A seamless, positive experience at the start can set up a new hire for success.

HREN: What are some innovations in onboarding and retention that you'd like to highlight? What makes them so innovative?  

GP: At Bupa, we're lucky enough to have recently adopted the Service Now Enterprise HR module, which includes the Onboarding Portal. Essentially, you can link all the disparate systems into one convenient location for both the new hire and the manager. Gone are the days when you used to have to go into multiple systems, raise multiple tickets, and then hope you had done all the right things. The real innovation here is that you can see all the things you need to do in one portal, action them, track their completion and be fully ready for your new hire to arrive.

HREN: Why should audience members sign up for the session? 

GP: I'm going to be using our Bupa journey as a case study, highlighting how we believe we've achieved a real step change in terms of the pre-hire, hire, and onboarding experiences. At the very least you will hear about some of the tips and tricks we learned along the way!

HREN: Is there anything else you'd like to share regarding employee engagement, onboarding, retention, or your session at the event? If so, what? 

GP: Just that I'm keen to make it as interactive as we can, so feel free to ask lots of questions.

Don't miss Poules' session or the others at the Employee Engagement and Experience APAC online event. It's free to register, and you'll learn about the latest in how to retain workers, speak their language, and get a competitive edge in the talent wars.