The Difference of Digitized Onboarding

Digitized onboarding makes a huge difference from every point of view.

Outdated onboarding processes don’t just create a frustrating experience for new hires. They also create more work for HR teams, for hiring managers, and for departments across an institution. There are so many moving pieces and things to be resolved when a new employee is joining a team. Simply keeping track of everything in a manual onboarding process is a monumental task. Digitized onboarding can change that, creating a better experience for new hires and for internal teams.

Minimize emails

One hallmark of a manual hiring process is the endless stream of emails. New hires receive forms and vital first-day or first-week information in emails from their new workplace, while HR teams are tracking sensitive information coming in through multiple emails—and if there is more than one new hire joining (which there often is), the task is even harder.

At California Baptist University, the team felt the difference of fewer emails starkly when they implemented PeopleAdmin’s digital onboarding through Employee Records. “Before, everything was on paper. We knew we needed to change—having new employees fill out paperwork was so outdated,” said Shawna Benson, Administrative Support Specialist, Information Technology Services, who works closely with the HR team. “The checklist feature is especially helpful for human resources. Previously, they were emailing information constantly and now, it’s an automated email reminder.”

Save time while making new hires happy

Beyond the email overload, digitization can save your team time without sacrificing any aspects of the new hire experience. In fact, the new hire experience is improved with less manual work from your team.

Nancy Crowell, assistant HR director for employment at Appalachian State University, said of Employee Records: “Our new hires love it. They keep telling us: ‘Wow! That was so easy!’”

Meanwhile, her team feels the same way. “We’re able to track who’s completed what, and the system allows us to send out reminders,” Nancy said. “We can also see when people haven’t completed all the required forms by a certain date — that’s been a big plus.”

Over at North Central College, John Acardo, assistant Vice President for Human Resources, felt the quantifiable impact of the improved new hire experience. “We transitioned from sending new hires a PDF to sending them a note through the Applicant Tracking System triggering the onboarding paperwork checklist,” John explained. “We reduced the wait time from employees completing their paperwork and returning it from several days or weeks to literally hours.”

Make it count

It’s not just that onboarding is easier when it’s digitized. It’s also more meaningful. When HR doesn’t have to focus on sending out and keeping track of paperwork, they can build in development-driven and institutional-specific activities for new employees. With a centralized system, it’s also easier to get more departments involved and ensure that new employees are set up for success when they walk in the door.

John Acardo from North Central College noted that he was interested in Employee Records “because we could create a checklist that allowed an employee to become immersed in our college’s culture.”

Nancy Crowell from Appalachian State was glad to empower interdepartmental collaboration with a digitized onboarding process. “We receive their new hire ‘paperwork’ before they actually start, which… allows us to make sure we have the time we need to set up their access with other systems at the university,” Nancy said. “We’ve added in certain forms — like parking and traffic and ID — to our workflows, so we can easily send that information to the appropriate offices. [Employee Records] has really helped us bring other departments into the workflow.”

Check out Employee Records

If your team is still struggling with manual onboarding, like many other colleges and universities, it’s time to embrace a centralized, digital system. Reach out to our PeopleAdmin experts to learn how Employee Records can support your team and make new hires happy.