The expert named the reasons for the financial losses of companies without onboarding employees

The lack of a system for adapting new employees can lead to additional costs for recruitment, training and replacement of employees. On July 29, Natalia Kundera, a methodologist and founder of the WES agency, told Izvestia why onboarding is becoming an important tool for retaining people and how it differs from conventional adaptation.

According to her, many companies limit themselves to handing over documents and regulations to a new employee, after which they expect him to work quickly on his own. However, without a clear plan, a person can take a long time to understand the processes, not understand the expectations of management, and eventually leave the company.

"The departure of an employee in the first months of work is often not related to his professional qualities, but to the lack of a built-in adaptation system. As a result, the organization is again forced to look for a new specialist, spend resources on recruitment and re—training," the expert said.

She clarified that onboarding is the process of introducing an employee to the company's work environment — its processes, culture, team, and principles of operation. The term itself comes from the English expression to get on board, which in a professional context means the full inclusion of a new person in the life of an organization.

Kundera stressed that onboarding is not limited to the first working day and is not limited to reviewing internal documents. This is a system that begins even before an employee joins the company and continues until he becomes an independent specialist.

However, onboarding and adaptation are not the same concepts. Adaptation is a broader process that includes professional mastery of responsibilities, psychological habituation, and the formation of relationships within the team. Onboarding, in turn, is a manageable part of adaptation. The company determines in advance the stages of familiarization with the processes, appoints responsible employees, establishes control points and helps the newcomer to get into the work rhythm faster.

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According to the expert, the onboarding system is especially important for fast-growing companies that regularly hire new employees. In the absence of a unified approach, each manager explains the processes independently, which is why the quality of adaptation depends only on a specific person.

The problem also becomes noticeable with high staff turnover. If employees leave in the first months of work, it is important for the company to analyze not only the quality of hiring, but also how effectively the recruitment process is organized.

Kundera noted that another alarming signal is the lack of clear criteria for successful adaptation. If the company does not define goals, deadlines, and expected results, the employee may remain in a state of uncertainty for a long time. Well-designed onboarding helps to solve several tasks at once. First of all, it reduces the anxiety of a new employee. Even an experienced specialist, when moving to a new company, is faced with a large number of unknown factors and may be afraid of making mistakes.

A clear structure of actions allows a person to get used to it faster and focus on work. In addition, a systematic approach helps not only to convey information, but to ensure that the employee understands the internal rules and principles of the company.

Another goal of onboarding is to accelerate the achievement of the first result. According to the expert, small successful tasks in the first weeks help an employee feel confident and form a connection with a new job. In addition, onboarding affects the feeling of belonging to the company. A new employee gets an understanding of where they have come from, what goals the organization has, and what qualities are valued here.

Kundera added that without such a system, an employee can continue to operate according to the usual patterns from previous jobs. Even if they want to perform their tasks well, they may not take into account the specifics of the new company and its expectations.

According to a study by the SuperJob service, almost half of companies in Russia have become more likely to offer employment to their former employees. As noted on June 9, respondents cited a decent salary (24%), a friendly team (12%), as well as improved working conditions or a convenient schedule (10%) as the main incentives for resuming work at the same place. The same number of respondents (10%) returned after being offered a new position or promotion.