The Benefits of Electronic Employee Onboarding within Microsoft Dynamics

Traditional onboarding is often an underwhelming experience. New hires arrive for their first day at work enthusiastic to make an impact and, in many cases, they are whisked off to a gray, windowless room where they are expected to manually fill out an array of forms.

In fact, the onboarding of new employees is one of the main HR processes that continues to be paper-based. After all, why change what works?

Improved Accuracy and Experience

Sometimes it’s easier to train with paper documents, as there is no need to instruct new hires on how to use software that is new to them. However, the switch to digital is well overdue, as paperless versions of key forms help ensure much higher levels of accuracy and consistency. You can also save money on those expensive HR packets.

A much smoother, dynamic system is preferable if you want new employees to feel they are part of the team more quickly. With electronic onboarding, they can access important documents (like an employee handbook, confidentiality agreements, or acknowledgment statements) well ahead of time, so that their first day on the job is more productive.

For example, if your new hire is able to finish and submit all relevant paperwork in advance, this frees up additional time for much warmer, one-on-one interactions on that first day. The time is better spent on discussing the company culture, expectations and responsibilities, team dynamics, and meeting new coworkers.

Reduced Cost Per Hire

Covering the formalities before the new hire even steps foot in the office (an approach sometimes referred to as pre-boarding) makes organizations 1.6 times more likely to achieve a lower cost per hire, according to Aberdeen Group.

However, that calculation is based on research from nearly ten years ago, when early adopters of e-onboarding were forced to muddle their way through a confusing choice of poorly integrated, lone wolf third-party providers — they weren’t able to operate within Microsoft Dynamics, which makes the process much simpler.

Customized Task Lists and Self-Service

A few years ago, Gallup discovered that close to 90% of employees reckoned their employer put on a poor show during the onboarding process.

It seems that much closer attention to detail is needed, which is why Integrity Data moved to create custom onboarding task lists for new hires. These can be monitored on our administrative onboarding dashboard.

Remember that a significant part of the employee onboarding process involves the collection of personal and financial information from new staff, including their residential address, Social Security number, banking information, and income tax withholding details.

The great thing about a paperless onboarding system is that it returns this vital contribution back into the hands of the individual who knows best — the employee. Self-service onboarding is the ultimate way to cut administrative headaches, as new hires can personally submit e-signatures for the electronic W-4 and I-9 forms, consent documents, direct deposits, and much more.

Not to mention that all relevant information collected on the new hire can sync automatically to other departments, like HR and payroll.

In this digital age, onboarding should be about more than getting a bunch of forms filled out. With our avant-garde software, you can rest assured that your organization is getting the most out of its onboarding process.

Ready to create a more exciting and positive onboarding experience? Contact our HR and Payroll experts for professional advice and a free consultation.