Pre-Boarding: Bring High Tech and High Touch to Onboarding

Sharlyn Lauby

23 Jun 2015

(Editor’s Note: Today’s post is sponsored by Xerox. For more than a half a century, Xerox has been a leader in document technology and services. Xerox Content Management Services helps organizations organize, classify and manage their most critical data. Enjoy the post!)

In his 1982 book “Megatrends”, John Naisbitt coined the phrase ‘high tech, high touch.” The idea being that the more technology we are exposed to, the more of a personal touch we want in our interactions. There’s never been a better case study for this than onboarding.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines onboarding as “the process by which new hires get adjusted to the social and performance aspects of their jobs quickly and smoothly, and learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.” Organizational culture defines when the onboarding process starts and ends.

Regardless of when our company’s onboarding begins and concludes, one thing is consistent – there are three primary stakeholders in the process:

The new hire employee is excited about their new role with the company. They want to make a great first impression. They want to do awesome work. And they also want to know about things like when they’re going to get paid and how to sign up for benefits.

The hiring manager has invested a lot of time finding the new employee. Maybe they’ve been running the department short staffed and can’t wait for the new hire to start. Maybe this is a new position and the employee will be helping the department achieve their stretch goals. The hiring manager wants to get their new employee trained and working ASAP.

Human resources is responsible for making sure that the new employee is welcomed into the organization and effectively brought onto the payroll. They need to make sure all the “i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed”

However, if #3 (the human resources part) doesn’t happen, then the employee and manager aren’t positioned for success. The employee is distracted because they don’t have answers to their questions about pay, benefits, etc. The manager isn’t able to spend time building a relationship with the employee because they are trying to get the administrative part of the process finalized. So how do we make sure that the onboarding process achieves the benefits of being both high tech and high touch?

I’ve been hearing the term “pre-boarding” a lot lately. Pre-boarding is defined as laying the groundwork for an employee’s first day on the job. Pre-boarding is the step in the onboarding process that creates success for the employee and the manager. Once the groundwork is finished, the manager and employee can dedicate their focus to the job and building a good working relationship.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Pre-boarding automation is the key to effective onboarding” quote=”Pre-boarding automation is the key to effective onboarding” theme=”style3″]

Which is why I wanted to share with you a few highlights from my test drive of Xerox’s new Workflow Automation Solution for HR Onboarding. While the solution provides support for the entire onboarding process, it really shines when it comes to setting human resources, employees and managers up for success during the crucial pre-boarding process.

Powerhouse – – The Xerox Workflow Automation Solution for HR Onboarding is able to handle batch processing of documents. In my past corporate roles, we would often hire several interns or seasonal employees at the same time. This solution gives me the ability to send multiple offers at the same time. The faster I can bring employees into the organization, the happier everyone will be.

Configurable – – Create custom forms using the solution’s Form Builder. Every organization has at least one unique form. It might be for an employee benefit or maybe emergency contacts. This solution gives you the ability to create your own forms and distribute them accordingly.

Agility – – It’s compatible with your existing software. One of the things I liked about the Xerox solution was its ability to work with Microsoft Outlook. Let’s face it, we still get resumes and inquiries via email. With the HR onboarding solution, I’m able to immediately move those documents. No separate sign in, just a click of a mouse.

If you want to learn more, check out the Xerox Workflow Automation Solution for HR Onboarding website and download this case study with Convergys Corporation. We know the challenges with onboarding administration. It does a great job of sharing the results we can expect: a highly configurable onboarding process.

That’s what stakeholders are looking for. They want the efficiency and scalability that technology offers with the responsiveness and individuality that create an engaged and productive workforce. It’s up to human resources to make that happen.