A digital on-boarding process does not only mean saving on long boring paper work. It also means being more personal, engaging and accessible to its digital workers. Previously available information can easily be carried forward and duplicated in a digital process. Information about the company can be animated and interactive, using visuals, games, videos and content maps. The whole process can be monitored and can evolve with live discussion and interaction. The self-service and collaborative elements possible in such an offering build for far greater engagement and retention than routine paper work.
Companies like Appical, HROnboard use gaming technologies to give new hires a visual and realistic experience that can be delivered anytime, anywhere. New employees are taken through representative organizational situations; they attend talks by key people, and also interact with their peers using mobile and social networking technologies. The questions, problems and frustrations of new employees as they navigate through the induction process, can be better captured, and attended to in a digital experience, so as to continuously improve the process.
Managing people
Allocating work, monitoring, and feedback processes can be captured in current HR management systems. The systems however need to combine social, mobile and cloud technologies, with apps, videos, animation, and design thinking, to improve on accessibility, speed and flexibility of systems. While companies like Taleo, SuccessFactors, SumTotal, WorkDay, Kenexa and DATIS have all strengthened their Cloud HR offerings, companies like Fieldglass have specialised in contingent and variable workforce management, and others like SnapHRM have specialized in small and medium scale businesses.
These systems manage the regular processes of leave, absence and work attendance policies, compensation, rewards and incentives, performance management while integrating with work calendars, planning and scheduling activities of the distributed digital work force, all in a self-service, engaging and empowering employee experience.
Workplaces are physically becoming more fluid and flexible too. Use of technology has meant more collaborative spaces. The on-boarding process must get the new employee acquainted with all the collaborative spaces, the people and resources that can be accessed digitally, and the company-specific tools for greater productivity in the digital environment.