Automate Onboarding

At Team Engine, we understand the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to manage a business in blue-collar industries like construction, manufacturing, landscaping, and distribution. The last thing you need is a tedious, paper-heavy onboarding process adding to your headaches. It's high time you considered how to automate the onboarding process to alleviate some of these burdens!

Onboarding for a distributed workforce should be specifically designed to help your new recruits hit the ground running, well-prepared, and fully engaged in their new role from day one. That's why our holistic view of onboarding reaches beyond the standard paperwork and administrative tasks. It extends to a complete training program that focuses on both the functional training and the nuances of your unique company culture.

The automation of this process offers consistency, reduces human error, and saves precious time.

In this fast-paced world of hiring, we don't want you to get bogged down with the routine. Automate onboarding and allow yourself to focus more on quality workmanship, meeting deadlines, and satisfying your customers. Now that's something worth raising your hard hat to!

Here's a path to get you started with automating your onboarding process:

Best Employee Onboarding Experiences

Successful businesses in 2023 prioritize creating an engaging onboarding experience. Just handing over a manual and expecting new hires to acclimate on their own is no longer sufficient. Instead, the best employee onboarding experiences weave in functional onboarding, which involves clear task instructions and performance expectations, combined with a strong introduction to the company culture.

This not only bridges the gap between expectation and reality but also ensures that your new hires feel valued and like part of the team from the get-go.

Blending functional onboarding with cultural immersion, and topping it off with a dash of automation, results in an engaging and efficient onboarding experience for both candidates and the company. And in construction, manufacturing, landscaping, and distribution settings, this can be the difference between a successful hire and a costly turnover. Something that’s well-worth avoiding in the current climate of the skilled labor shortage.

Sample Onboarding Plan For New Employees

For businesses in the blue-collar sector, a structured onboarding plan for new hires can be a game-changer. Let's take a brief look at a sample onboarding plan for new employees, which spans over a 30- 60- and 90-day period.

On day 1, the onboarding experience should kick off with a warm welcome, a tour of the workplace, introductions to key team members, and an overview of the job role and expectations. This sets the tone for the employee's journey in your company.

As we progress into the 30-day mark, new hires should be well-versed in their job roles, with consistent feedback and support. By the 60-day point, they should be comfortable with their tasks and start to contribute independently. By the 90-day mark, employees should be fully integrated into the team and contributing to the company's goals.

Now, this onboarding process is not set in stone – it should be tailored to your team's needs and unique culture. That said, having a structured onboarding plan makes the process much more organized and manageable for both new hires and HR departments alike.

Following this basic timeline, combined with automated systems to streamline the process, can foster a successful onboarding experience for every new hire.

→ Get our employee onboarding template

Onboarding Automation Software

In the heart of every robust manufacturing plant, resilient construction site, or bustling distribution center, there's a secret weapon; automated HR onboarding software that streamlines the process of bringing new hires on board.

This automated employee onboarding software is like the foreman of your onboarding process, ensuring that no task is left undone and every new hire is guided through their journey, from their first handshake to their first task completion. It simplifies the process, allowing you to automate onboarding and offboarding with precision and consistency.

An automated onboarding checklist, with automated reminders and follow-ups, can help you ensure that no steps are overlooked. Plus, data-driven metrics can help you track the progress of your onboarding process in real-time, helping you to make quicker and more informed decisions.

Workflows like this save time and effort, leaving your HR department free to focus on building relationships with new hires and expanding your talent pool. Imagine new hires that are no longer left fumbling with paperwork on their first day. Rather, they're introduced to a well-oiled machine through a process as smooth and efficient as your production line.

Onboarding Automation Best Practices

Onboarding automation best practices are an essential part of your toolbox. Here are a few of the most important ones consider:

First, know that automation isn't a one-size-fits-all strategy. You'll need to tailor your automation to the specifics of your organization and industry. Understanding the needs and preferences of your team and having a clear view of the onboarding process will help you design an onboarding automation plan that fits like a glove.

Second, be ready for human interaction when a new hire replies to an automated message. Let's take a page from the Team Engine playbook, as seen in our work with O’Neal Steel. This steel giant enhanced new hire engagement with a robust orientation program branded as “The 180-Day Experience”. While the program ran on our onboarding automation software, real people were always ready to engage, ensuring that the human touch was never lost amidst the automation​.

Last, if you ask for feedback, be prepared to act on it. Automating feedback collection is one thing, but acknowledging and acting on that feedback is crucial. Just as O’Neal Steel saw improved communication and reduced turnover, your organization can see similar benefits if you humbly and sincerely act on the feedback your new hires offer.

Remember, in the world of hard hats and heavy machinery, the most effective automation still has a human heart. These best practices will help you find the perfect balance between automation and engagement and achieve an effective employee onboarding process.

Improve Employee Retention

In industries where hard work, dangerous conditions, and a labor shortage are the reality, effective onboarding is a strategic investment that can significantly improve employee retention.

Consider online onboarding solutions as your company's welcoming committee. But instead of party hats and balloons, you're offering consistent check-ins, practical training, and cultural immersion. So forget simply filling out forms and watching orientation videos… Show your new hires that they are a valued part of the team and you want to see them succeed, right from the start.

The foundation of your business isn't just bricks and mortar, it's your people. Invest in them with a robust onboarding process and watch your retention rates rise. It's not just good business — it's smart business.

Team Engine can transform your hiring and onboarding process with automated candidate screening, intelligent sourcing, smooth onboarding, and much more. Learn more about how hiring automation can help you cut out manual tasks so you can focus on creating the best employee onboarding experience possible!