Onboarding sets the stage for an employee’s first lasting impression of their new employer. Further, since employees almost always arrive with preconceived expectations, employers have a short time to meet or exceed an employee’s expectations.
As many as 20% of new employees leave within 45 days of onboarding. The Brandon Hall Group found that strong onboarding improves employee retention by as much as 82%.
Employee recognition is an integral part of a successful onboarding experience. First, it welcomes the employee and helps them feel that they are a part of the team earlier.
Second, becoming involved in recognizing others helps that employee form greater connections at work and deepens their engagement. This is especially important as new employees can struggle to know what to do in their new positions and can have more periods of idleness or boredom training.
Recognition Should Be Monetary and Non-Monetary
Potential employees spend some time negotiating wages, benefits, and other financial-related aspects of the new job. It makes little sense for employers to neglect new hires by refusing to spend money during orientation.
In a study by O.C. Tanner, new hires were asked to judge their orientation and report on what it consisted of. 43% of employees received an orientation that was little more than a day of orientation, a folder of benefits, and a water bottle.
Instead, successful recognition programs integrate with orientation and include personalized acknowledgment of the employee and monetary and non-monetary awards.
Monetary awards for new employees include catering food or taking the employee out for lunch. It includes handing out company gear. If the gear is customized with the employee’s name or favorite color, then the act of appreciation means even more.
Non-monetary awards include personalized notes, social time for the employee to start becoming part of the team, and one-on-one training experiences.
Onboarding Should Be Recognition Rich
Creating a strong recognition-integrated (RI) culture starts before an employee’s first day. On the new hire’s first day, a personalized note should be given to the employee from management. A welcome card signed by the teammates can be given to the employee.
Other tokens include company swag and a token symbolic award to celebrate the new employee’s first day.
These four simple acts welcome new hires and make them feel appreciated, increasing enthusiasm for their new job. Sadly, less than one-third of new hires experience a foundational onboarding experience that includes these basic tokens of appreciation for the new employee.
Employers who score high in an onboarding recognition experience also offer additional appreciation experiences for new team members. Ideal recognition experiences include bringing in food for the new employees, time to socialize with other new hires, time to thank others involved in their onboarding experiences, and other foundational experiences.
Previous Experiences Affect Employee Recognition Perception
Employees come with their own recognition experience and baggage that’s based on previous employers and experiences. Employers with an integrated recognition solution are prepared to overcome negative previous experiences.
When employees have previous negative experiences with recognition, they are more likely to initially perceive recognition shortcomings or feel insecure at the new company. Initially, when they do receive recognition, they perceive it as insincere.
But, as those employees continue with employees with a strong RI that’s interwoven into company culture, they begin to respond positively to ongoing recognition.
When employees view recognition positively and feel regularly recognized, they blossom in their jobs. Employee happiness and satisfaction increase as do loyalty and instances of good work.
New Employees Engage In Recognition During Orientation
Employees who score high in engagement usually agree that they are recognized multiple times weekly. New employees should be a part of the recognition program right away. They were hired above other candidates because of their exemplary skills and experiences, so it makes sense to celebrate their joining the team.
Too often, new hires report disappointment in their onboarding experience. Many new hires report that they were excited to start after the interview but that they experienced a disappointing onboarding experience. This led them to question if they had made the right decision in accepting the job offer.
Involving employees in recognition from the beginning helps to solidify their onboarding experience, reinforce that they joined the right team, and engage them from the start.
Recognition Training; An Integral Part Of Onboarding
Onboarding should include training and expectations that recognition is a part of the company culture from day one.
The first day of orientation new hires should be introduced to the recognition system, employer values, and training that shows and encourages employees to start participating right away. New employees can be given points to give when they express appreciation to colleagues. Even though new employees are in training, they can still recognize and thank those who make their orientation easier and mentor them in their new position.
Ohio Living, an aging services company, sets the expectations on the first day of work that employees express appreciation for each other. New hires are given tools to start showing gratitude right away.
Conclusion
Creating an onboarding system that’s strong in recognition will improve the employee experience from day one and can reduce employee attrition in the first 90 and 120 days. For more information on creating a successful employee recognition program, schedule a demo with Thanks today!
About Thanks
Thanks is a leading provider of a recognition-based platform that increases communication, builds teamwork, and makes recognition a part of company culture. Fast, easy and simple Thanks makes it easy to bring data-driven employee recognition to your entire organization. O.C. Tanner purchased the Thanks platform in 2019 to fulfill the recognition needs of smaller businesses.
Thanks customers benefit from the same decades of research in employee motivation and company culture that O.C. Tanner enterprise clients enjoy, but in a product that is geared for fast, easy and simple deployment. Whether you’re starting a recognition program or improving and expanding on what you already have, Thanks has everything you need to engage your people with effective, scalable recognition.