I recently attended a very interesting presentation by Corinna Holder regarding the onboarding process for company at Homeday. I was particularly impressed with the attention to detail that was undertaken to ensure that candidates who accepted an offer were quickly and painlessly integrated into the business and the culture.
THE ONBOARDING PROCESS AT HOMEDAY
In brief, the company divides the onboarding process into four distinct sections:
- Before signing
- Between signing and the first day at work
- Onboarding Bootcamp
- Probation period
Although this is a relatively standard onboarding layout, the devil is in the details and consistent execution.
This was most impressive:
The HR team and company consistently execute exactly the same onboarding process for everyone who joins the business.
Moreover, they do so with passion and include little personal touches (like sweets in the envelope with the contract, so you have something to nibble on while you are reading it).
- Why does Homeday focus so much on the onboarding process?
It provides the candidates with an image and representation of the company. Applicants want to see the company cares for them and demand individual support from the recruiter — no matter if internal or external.
In all of this, what surprised me the most is that the recruitment agency, which brought the candidate into the business, was not part of the onboarding process.
When I asked the HR leadership present at the meeting if they had ever considered this, I was met with very surprised looks and even horror in one or two cases.
WHY ARE RECRUITMENT AGENCIES LEFT OUT?
The reason for the surprise and horror from many HR professionals at the meeting was simple. They do not trust recruitment agencies, nor do they believe that they can add value to the business in any other way than providing profiles.
The point is, recruitment agencies are seen as transactional service providers. This is because, through years of low-skilled transactional service, blind cold-calling, lack of subject matter education and, frankly, no concern for quality, the industry has created an awful name for itself.
USING RECRUITMENT PARTNERS IN ONBOARDING A NEW EMPLOYEE
Luckily, clients can demand more and are starting to do so. This, however, begins with choosing the right recruitment partner to work with.
Doing so will enable not only to build a truly consultative working relationship but will dramatically improve the quality of candidates, your employer branding and your communication with the candidate market.
Choosing an experienced and non-transactional recruitment partner also help you improve the onboarding process for company, especially in the pre-signing phase and before the first day at work.
Let’s face it, at those stages candidates have had a much closer relationship with the recruitment agency. They will be more likely (and should) to voice concerns, problems, uncertainties to the recruitment company, as they are the “mediator”.
The recruitment company is not the employer or interviewer, but rather the agony aunt who can make things work. There is no one with this type of relationship to the candidate on the side of the employer.
It is for this reason that I believe this special relationship between candidate and recruiter should be utilised in the onboarding process.
If you don’t trust your recruitment partner to represent your business, you should not be working with them.
If you choose your recruitment partner well, they can become a tremendous asset and help you with:
- Bringing you the right profiles
- Ensuring that candidates have the right impression of the company
- Ensuring that candidates spread the word and join your business with a smile on their face.
For anyone interested in learning more about the Homeday onboarding process, Corinna or myself can be contacted directly and are happy to share the presentation.
Here is my quick review:
- Due to some poor practices, some companies like Homeday are not including recruitment agencies in the recruitment process or during onboardng a new employee.
- Good recruitment agencies can still help businesses with the onboarding process
