Acculturation Onboarding and Your Intranet

Do you ever get the feeling that every vendor on the planet is trying to sell you something you don't really need? In the case of some acculturation portals, your instincts may be right on target.

When you socialize your employees, you want them to get comfortable with using the same communication platform and information resources as all your other workers. They don't need to be segregated into one program and then have to acclimate to another structure later on. That would be obviously counterproductive. But this fact doesn't keep software vendors from promoting just such an approach!

Work with What You've Got

If you already have your intranet up and running, there's often no point in setting up an additional program that duplicates capabilities you already have. Organizations that use solutions like the SharePoint platform from Microsoft don't need to buy redundant software. Certain employee self-service portals may also offer acculturation potential without the need for a separate system.

The more flexible your current solution is, the less sense it makes to add yet another program that you will have to manage and maintain. Instead, you can simply work with what you have to meet the changing needs of your company. You should only invest in an acculturation portal if it offers you something really special.

MS SharePoint

When your organization is a Windows Server user, you get the SharePoint program as a freebie. In this case, free doesn't mean low-quality. You can actually use this information management system for a huge number of applications.

The document-enabled characteristics of this program alone make it remarkably useful. As HR or other departments make changes to company documents (such as policies or training materials), the links in your onboarding portal are automatically updated to show the latest version to your employees. That's certainly simpler than having to get IT involved in every little tweak you need to make in your onboarding modules.

Windows Workflow Foundation is now part of the SharePoint package. The WWF can be integrated with your existing Business Process Management (BPM) system. This provides yet another opportunity to seamlessly connect acculturation and transactional onboarding functions. For example, you can encourage employees to become socialized by assigning them the task of filling out their personal profile in the SharePoint network. Then, your workflow rules can be set up to prompt the employee again later if needed.

Continuous Improvement in Acculturation Onboarding

As I've mentioned in previous posts, one goal of acculturation is to get a new hire operating at full capacity as soon as possible. Shortening the time from the hire date to the highest level of productivity decreases the costs associated with turnover.

Many employers purchase an acculturation onboarding product to help them achieve this goal. However, without a system in place to actually measure the results it's hard to say if the investment is really worth it. You will also have no idea what steps to take to improve the entire process. It's time to take a clear-eyed look at what acculturation can do for your company.

Collect, Analyze, Improve...Repeat

Used properly, an acculturation onboarding program should gather data that allows you to identify areas that could be improved. This means you need some way of measuring, testing, and scoring employee performance each step of the way. Such data collection should take place during orientation, training, and subsequent development.

There aren't any limits to the type of information you can collect. You also aren't restricted in the creative ways you can go about taking measurements. For example, you might email employees a quiz that tests their knowledge of everything from safety procedures to company policies. The results would give you several pieces of information:

1. What percentage of your workforce is engaged enough to respond/participate
   
2. How well your employees understand company policies and best practices
   
3. Which areas in your training program need to be revamped to make them more effective
   

Measure the Envelope - Then Push It

To get the most out of any product or system, you have to know what the optimal outcome would look like. Generally, organizations have some objective standards in place that allow them to measure various aspects of productivity. However, many don't take this to the next level. Do you know what maximum productivity would really look like? It is possible that you are settling for less than your employees have to offer.

Developing your new hires to their highest potential is simplest when you integrate your acculturation onboarding software with each of your competency measurement systems. Fortunately, Emerald Software Group products are designed to interface with other platforms you already have in place. You can readily create a closed-loop process that promotes continuous improvement.

Accomplishing Acculturation Through Tasks & Training

The welcome letter, meet & greet, and general business of making a new hire feel emotionally "at home" are all well and good. However, the one thing that will make an employee feel most comfortable is having a good grasp of how to perform his/her job. That's why training is such an important aspect of acculturation. The sooner workers are able to feel like they are really contributing to the greater team effort, the better.

Training is obviously something that doesn't happen all at once. The "Path to Productivity" has many steps as you can see in our Emerald Software Group graphic. Orientation and skills training generally involves face time with instructors so that new hires can ask questions in an interactive setting. However, there are a number of ways an onboarding software system can be used to pave the way for this ongoing employee development.

Easy Monday Job Description Module

Universal onboarding makes it possible to get all the paperwork squared away in short order. This means you will have time to jumpstart the acculturation process on that first Monday as well.

One of the biggest questions on an employee's mind is "What exactly am I supposed to be doing?" You can answer this question by providing a clear, detailed description of the tasks/duties involved in the position in question. This can be an expanded version of the job description used during the recruiting process.

If possible, enlist the help of the department manager as well as an employee who has filled the new hire's entry-level position in the past. They can offer valuable insights and tips for this section in the onboarding module. Keep the language relaxed and friendly - like you are just giving your new hires the "heads up" about what to expect. Format this page to be easily printable. That way, employees can run off a copy to use for reference during their first few weeks on the job.

Employee Acculturation - Working Together For A Cause

As an employer, you know that building your workforce into a cohesive team is the key to maximum productivity. However, this isn’t something that just happens naturally without any effort on your part. Practicing employee alignment by matching individuals with jobs that match their skill set is important. Slotting new hires into departments where their personality is a good fit for their immediate peers is another way to facilitate acculturation.

The Broad View

Your company also has to have a vision that acknowledges the value of connection between people - not just cooperation between coworkers. One way to accomplish this is by becoming more involved in the local community. Don’t just pass the hat for a charity and pledge to match the amount raised.
For a refreshing approach that really gets people involved, promote volunteerism. Give workers a day off with pay if they are willing to donate this time to working for a local non-profit organization. Here are a few ideas for places employees might volunteer:

• Soup kitchen or food pantry
• Habitat for Humanity
• Animal shelter
• Roadside cleanup
• Walk for a Cure
• Big Brothers & Sisters or HOPE tutoring
• Nursing home visitation or Meals on Wheels

There are, of course, many more options depending on your location. Choose one or two causes that your company will support. Consider taking a poll and letting employees be involved in the selection process. If possible, pick an organization that has no religious affiliation so all your workers can feel comfortable volunteering there.

Get Your New Hires On Board with This Concept

During the onboarding process, introduce employees to the ways your company is connected with the community. You don’t have to pressure them to get involved. Just add a page in your acculturation module that includes photos of company volunteers working together as a team.
Include links to more information along with statistics on the number of hours donated. Include an overview of the difference this makes in the community. That way, when the next volunteer opportunity arises, your new hires will already be excited about participating.