How to Streamline Employee Process for New Hires

Employee onboarding, as well as employee offboarding, are extremely important processes, especially when it comes to the work of protected data or protected health information. Employees and staff within businesses that deal with such data need to be properly informed and trained, especially when it comes to data handling procedures.

The last thing any organization leader would want is an employee that becomes a security risk. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how you can streamline your employee onboarding processes efficiently, and how Accountable HQ can help.

Steps to Streamline Employee Onboarding

A strong onboarding and offboarding program presents two key chances to guarantee the security and compliance of your company's data. When a new employee is brought on board, they are eager and enthusiastic. This is a great opportunity to secure the new computer they just got while simultaneously fostering a culture of data security through security training and teaching.

Ensuring personnel are onboarded and offboarded appropriately becomes more important as your business expands. You run a higher risk of a data breach if you manually monitor your controls and keep track of the status of each security policy, background check, security training, and application access for all new and former workers. On top of that, it takes hundreds of hours away from your team each year.

Let’s take a look at the necessary steps involved in streamlining employee onboarding. 

Step 1 - Invest in Automation Software for Onboarding

The ability to optimize your operations, including how you acquire and onboard new staff, is now easier than ever thanks to technological advancements. By automating your onboarding procedure, you free up the HR department's time while letting your staff members concentrate on getting to know your business and their new roles. Managers may utilize software to provide paperwork in advance that can be stored in the system rather than bombarding new workers with a mountain of human resources documents on their first day. Additionally, there are software programs like Accountable HQ that lead you through the data security and training side of onboarding and let you track your progress easily.

Step 2 - Get Feedback From Your Employees

Once an employee has finished onboarding, ask them to respond to a survey you've created for them that covers the full process. Ask them if there are any areas that may use work, whether they feel prepared to manage their daily obligations, and if they see a clear route for professional advancement. Ask your management and the HR team for input on the areas they believe the administrative side of the process may be improved. Do any knowledge gaps or holes exist? Is there any information that's needed, or should more team members participate? Is there a step that could be automated more fully? Ask the people in charge of the procedure for more information. After that, organize brainstorming meetings to identify any process issues, and then put the adjustments into practice with your next hiring.

Step 3 - Establish Your Process Standards

Regardless of level, an organization's onboarding procedures should be the same for all new hires. Although there may need to be some modifications according to the particular conditions in each group, the overall criteria should be the same. For example, the onboarding of a marketing professional may differ from that of a software engineer. Employees should feel like they belong during the onboarding process, which should also prepare new recruits for their roles and offer them a basic grasp of the company's history and culture. To make sure that these requirements are met and that everyone is taking the same important actions, think about developing a checklist or onboarding step-by-step structure.

Step 4 - Figure Out Your Goals for Training

It's also crucial to consider the unique strengths and limitations of each new recruit if you want to be effective. You should have a strategy in place for role-based and security-based training before workers come on their first day. Since they are most aware of the skill gaps of each new recruit, hiring managers should take the initiative in identifying the essential requirements. Establish a one- to three-month plan with supervisors, and have them set up weekly or biweekly meetings with their new workers. This customized plan may be used by managers to monitor employee development and lay out clear expectations for new team members. It will also provide new recruits a chance to raise any questions that come up along the process and establish a line of communication of trust between management and employees.

When it comes to security or compliance training, Accountable offers both HIPAA and Security Awareness training which can easily bring your new hires up to speed on these important topics. It is easier to train employees on what data security requires of them at the beginning of their job rather than implementing new security requirements once they have established their own workflows.  

What is the importance of a strong employee onboarding process?

The purpose of onboarding is to orient new hires to their position, the company's values, and the benefits it offers. Additionally, it motivates workers to be dedicated to the success of the business and aids in the retention of new recruits by making them feel like a part of the team.

Without appropriate onboarding procedures, employee turnover rates rise and productivity suffers. Companies lose a lot of money each year as a result of this diminished employee engagement. 69% of workers are likely to stay with a firm for at least three years when the onboarding process is done well. To put it simply, onboarding protects your business from potentially dangerous human security errors, but it also helps employees feel more connected to their company if they are properly trained in all areas of their job– not just cybersecurity protocols.

How Accountable can help

One of our many strengths at Accountable HQ as a platform is our employee training and ease of employee management. Our proprietary software allows employers to assign policies and procedures that employees must read and attest to their understanding of. Accountable HQ’s employee training programs on HIPAA, security awareness, and employee policy management could be exactly what your organization needs. There’s no need to launch a program from scratch– Accountable HQ can take care of it for you. Get in touch with our team or start a free trial to learn more today!