Hiring new personnel can be surprisingly expensive. It’s not just advertising and recruitment agencies that can hike up the bills but equally important details such as background checks, training and extra paperwork all add to the overall costs.
This is of growing concern to retail companies which according to new research from workforce management company Deputy, also have the worry of a growing rate of staff turnover to contend with.
Deputy’s Employee Churn Report 2015 highlights the fact that a large percentage of retail workers leave after 10 months of employment with an average industry turnover of 41%.
That’s a worrying state of affairs for retail companies already concerned with the cost of onboarding. If onboarding becomes a regular outlay then it makes sense to consider firstly, how to improve staff retention and secondly to consider how to cut the costs of the inevitable when it does happen.
A 2015 study entitled The Hiring Manager Report undertaken by Kelly Services has outlined the fact that modern technology is making the process of onboarding simpler and less costly.
The Kelly report also highlights key priorities for the future, with the efficiency of the hiring process and adaptation of new technologies to assist in onboarding being of great importance.
How much does it actually cost?
When looking at the reality of the costs involved in onboarding, the following should be taken into account.
- The daily remuneration rate of employees who are directly involved in the recruitment process including administrative staff and line managers
- The time spent on placing advertisements and liaising with consultants
- The amount of time spent verifying contents of resumes and checking references, conducting tests and following up on legal documents
- Time spent on exiting employees including associated paperwork such as termination pay and references
- Loss of productivity during wait-time as new hires are processed
Eliminate paperwork – save time and money
Eliminating or at least drastically reducing administration work is one of the first priorities for the retail industry in relation to cutting the costs of onboarding.
Automating HR is the first step towards a more streamlined and effective onboarding process. Digital onboarding means that it can take mere minutes to complete tasks which when done in the old-fashioned way can take weeks.
Chasing up paperwork and signatures by email and telephone is not only time-consuming but also ineffective.
Look at the features offered by a digital onboarding process and one thing becomes crystal clear; everything is much simpler.
New hires manage a large portion of the pen pushing themselves once they’ve been added to the system; contracts and policies are automatically populated and sent ready for employees to sign and return.
Requests for documents such as certifications, bank information and tax details are also automated and once an employee has completed all the necessary paperwork, then even steps towards improving staff retention are simple to make.
Digital onboarding improves retention – saving valuable resources
Digital onboarding allows a personal touch with the option of welcome messages and team bio sharing…all of which go a long way towards making your new hire feel like they’re a welcome part of the company.
An effective and well-managed onboarding system plays an important role in staff retention. When onboarding is digitised then there is far less margin for error or omission. Employees will each enter the workplace with the same knowledge, the same understanding of what is required of them and they can also be introduced more quickly to the mission and values of the company.
A successful onboarding program allows employees a greater chance of success and satisfaction in their role which builds a stronger sense of loyalty, ensuring less staff turnover and saving money.
