The first consideration when selecting your company’s onboarding software is whether to go with a stand-alone product or an HR suite. Most SMBs purchase onboarding software as part of a complete HR and payroll solution from vendors such as Zoho, BambooHR, Workable and UKG. Startups and other small-but-growing companies may prefer to use a stand-alone onboarding product like those sold by Click Boarding or a mobile-focused product such as Appical.
Whichever type you decide is best for your needs will combine core onboarding software features such as preboarding, progress tracking and integration with payroll and other HR and management systems.
Essential Onboarding Software Features
Essential onboarding features are new hire document processing for compliance, assignment checklists, scheduling or self-service for orientation, and training and progress tracking for employees and their managers.
- New hire document processing. The most important of these files are the federal government’s Form I-9 for employment eligibility verification and W-4 for income tax withholding. Employers need to securely store the person’s offer letter that often serves as their employment contract, state new hire reporting and tax withholding (for states that levy their own tax on income) and acknowledgements for receiving their employee handbook and policies. Zoho People’s onboarding document management makes these and other important documents easy to access and secure.
- Assignment checklists. Onboarding checklists cover preboarding, initial orientation and ongoing training and development. Checklists are also used to track and record the completion of new hire documents such as direct deposit forms, emergency contact information and registering for benefits. Bamboo, Ceipal, Workable and UKG Ready help makes the onboarding process simple and consistent through checklists.
- Employee onboarding portal. Providing a dedicated space where new employees can find all the information they need for their initial days on the job is a key factor in making them feel comfortable from the get-go. Here they’ll be able to read company policies, review training material and learn about their new workplace and teammates. Ceipal’s onboarding portal is noteworthy for its ability to serve as a one-stop resource for completing and signing documents, setting schedules and receiving reminders of tasks that need to be completed.
- Onboarding progress tracking. Goal setting during onboarding has to stay focused on completing the most important tasks in a timely manner while ensuring that new hires have the information and resources they need to complete them by their deadlines. BambooHR’s onboarding progress dashboard stands out for its visual progress bar and ability to personalize the process based on each worker’s roles, team and other characteristics.
Daniel Wood, founder and director of the recruiting agency DM Estate Staffing, highlights the benefits of BambooHR’s integrated approach to onboarding for the company’s business clients. “The preboarding tools let [new employees] handle all the paperwork before day one, so their first day can be focused on people and priorities instead of endless forms,” he notes.
“Automated checklists keep both the new hire and the manager aligned, and real-time tracking makes it easy to see exactly what’s done and what’s pending. Everything, including welcome messages, role expectations and resources, is in one place, so nothing gets lost in email threads.”
Value
Much of the value of onboarding software to SMBs is the result of savings in recruitment costs. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates that businesses spend as much as 60% of the total cost to hire on soft costs from lost productivity. Companies save on soft costs by using onboarding software because it empowers new workers to find the information and resources they need themselves through self-boarding portals rather than taking up the time of HR staff, managers and coworkers.
Onboarding is the first investment most companies make in their employees, and it’s money well spent. A survey conducted by BambooHR of 500 HR professionals and more than 1,000 full-time workers found that 70% of new hires reported knowing whether their job is right for them within their first month of employment, and 29% in their first week. The average time it took new hires to determine whether to stay or quit was 44 days, according to the survey. It’s clear that employees’ first impressions have a direct impact on your business’s bottom line.
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