Employee onboarding is best defined as the first impression an employee gets of a company.

In today's talent-driven market, organizations can't afford to let great workers slip because they were underwhelmed by the onboarding program. Especially since 51% of employees continue looking for other jobs when an offer has been extended and they're going through the background check process.[1]

Figuring out how you can meet new employee expectations with your hiring process is crucial to ensure you retain top talent over the long term.

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What Are The Common Employee Expectations From A Company?

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In today's modern workforce, meeting the expectations of new hires is a crucial element in increasing employee engagement. Setting clear employee expectations will allow a team member to have a clear understanding of what to do moving forward in order to achieve business goals. There are a few key expectations that most employees want.

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Realistic Expectations

Employer expectations and job responsibilities help workers have a positive attitude toward their job and keep employees focused on producing outcomes to meet a particular goal. Without clear employee performance expectations and job description, a worker may feel demotivated and frustrated. This could lead to poor-quality work, high employee turnover and a disengaged employee.

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Career Advancement

All employees, even a new person in the company, generally look for some kind of career growth and development in their workplace, either through adequate training or being promoted to a new role.

A company that does not place importance on career advancement risks undermining the commitment, morale and productivity of employees. This may also make new hires feel like they are not valued by the organization and its HR leaders and managers.

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Flexible Work Schedules

Work-life balance is now more important than ever. Employees with hectic work schedules and work pressure can feel dissatisfied. This may lead to a drop in productivity and employee retention. Hence, employees are now looking for companies that give them flexible work schedules to balance their work-life and personal life.

The era of digitization has made it easier for companies to provide employees the benefit of remote working if required. Many employers also implement work-life balance programs to bring more awareness to personal wellbeing.

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Positive Relationship with Colleagues

Respect and trust are two of the work expectations that employees value the most. Employees want to work in a business that expect employees to build trust among colleagues is just as important as being productive.

Employees who feel like they are not on the same page with their team due to a lack of respect, unwanted behaviors or microaggression are more likely to quit if management and team leaders does not take proper actions to address the concerns in a professional manner.

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Recognition

Job seekers want genuine recognition for the work they do. Every person has needs, one of them being the psychological need of being compensated for their work and their role in achieving business success.

One of the easiest ways to show an employee that you value their work is by implementing a rewards and recognition platform. The platform can also help improve their communication skills and encourage internal communication among teams.

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Constructive Feedback

Feedback is a great morale booster. It is also imperative for goal setting and managing expectations. Lack of feedback in the work environment can create miscommunication and employee dissatisfaction.

Managers or leaders must master how to provide feedback that would help the employee improve their performance.

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How to Meet Employee Expectations?

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1. Provide All Required Documents

Joining any organization is a complex process, and employees expect that they'll have to read through dozens of pages on their employee handbook and sign plenty of forms. Instead of making things difficult by sticking with paper, meet employee expectations by giving them digital and easy-to-access versions of any required documents.

Your HR professionals can include training materials, compliance guidelines, and any forms new hires might need to complete before they can officially join your organization. Excellent onboarding apps and solutions include “form engines” that allow for digital fingertip signatures.

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2. Anticipate and Answer FAQs – Be Ready to Clarify

Even with detailed documents, your company's new employees will have questions. It reflects well on your company if you can anticipate those questions and generate their answers ahead of time. Compile everything you think is relevant into an FAQ section, including your company culture, company's mission, employer expectations and job descriptions. You can also create a detailed knowledge base that employees can peruse that their discretion.

This is particularly attractive for self-learning and self-driven individuals. It's also important for employees that may be telecommuting from across the globe while your HR department is offline due to a time zone difference.

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3. Demonstrate Your Company's Culture – Show an Employee What They Can Expect

A company's culture can ultimately determine whether or not an employee fits the work environment over the long term. This is especially true for millennials, who are more likely than other generations to look for a new job when their company doesn't fit their morals or personality type, with 86% who would consider leaving an employer whose values no longer met their expectations. [2]

To this end, make sure that your onboarding process thoroughly demonstrates and explores your company's culture. Be honest and upfront about your values, how you do your work, and whether or not you have Casual Fridays for example. Make this a multimedia experience if possible for added engagement, including videos and images.

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4. Connect with Employees via Chat and Messages

Proactive employees will want to talk to your HR department at their leisure – let them! A great employee engagement solution should make it easy for employees to contact your company's HR department, coordinator or mentor they may have been assigned to. 51% of employees expect HR to check in with them regularly throughout their first year of employment, so effective communication through chat mechanisms are essential. [3]

This can allow for secure communication and give employees the chance to make requests or chat with HR managers about expectations, payroll, and much more. Communication is key in all things, but especially in employee onboarding.

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5. Pre-Boarding Training for First-Day Responsibilities

Nothing unnerves a new employee more than being dropped in a hot seat and asked to tackle tasks they don't know how to solve. Remove this possibility from your onboarding process by offering training materials that employees can check out and complete ahead of time. According to The Wynhurst Group, 22% of staff turnover occurs in the first forty-five days of employment, so the transition period should be made as seamless as possible.[4]

Instructional videos, tutorials, and even training games are all available and staples of modern onboarding apps and websites. They can make learning first-day responsibilities fun and help your employee feel confident and comfortable when they clock in for the first time.

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In Summary

Your employer will set clear expectations from your first day. However, you also have the right to set expectations. Employee expectations can include timely wages, training, one on one meetings, and safe working conditions. If any of your expectations are not being met, you should consider having a discussion with your manager.

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Qualee Can Handle All Five Aspects

Qualee has the tools and features to tackle all of the other major employee expectations described above! Qualee is the number one choice for revitalizing your employee onboarding program.

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With Qualee, you'll be able to improve your new hire experience and ensure a solid foundation for future success. Try Qualee for free today with our Starter Plan!

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[1] http://press.careerbuilder.com/2018-10-30-Job-Seekers-Are-Now-in-the-Drivers-Seat-and-Expect-Next-Gen-Recruiting-and-New-Hire-Experiences-Survey-Finds

[2] https://www.pwc.com/co/es/publicaciones/assets/millennials-at-work.pdf

[3]https://b2b-assets.glassdoor.com/the-true-cost-of-a-bad-hire.pdf

[4] http://thewynhurstgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Help-New-Hires-Succeed.pdf