Putting people first: Transforming onboarding for lasting engagement
01 Nov 2024
At the recent HR Indaba, Kindred Technology’s Roland Glass, alongside Khaya Linaya of Discovery and Terryn Palani from Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), discussed the urgent need to place employees at the heart of onboarding, with culture and compliance naturally following suit.
In today’s evolving landscape, traditional onboarding methods are insufficient. Factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, new technologies such as ChatGPT, and calls for inclusivity have shifted responsibility onto companies and CHROs to create mentally supportive work environments. Roland highlighted the importance of reducing disengagement, with Gallup’s study showing only 23% of employees are engaged. Effective engagement strategies can boost this figure, reaching 75% among managers in high-engagement organisations.
Khaya emphasised connecting new hires beyond onboarding, introducing buddy systems, and cultural integration to ensure they feel valued and understood. The discussion centred on four essential onboarding elements: Compliance, Culture, Clarification, and Connection. Roland stressed that while onboarding typically focuses on paperwork, more attention should go toward culture and personal connections.
Terryn shared CCBA’s unique onboarding model, which spans a full year and includes journaling to track experiences, helping CCBA adapt its processes and build meaningful, lasting relationships. She noted that hybrid work environments add to employee isolation, making in-person engagement vital for quality interaction and collaboration.
Roland summarised, “As technology reshapes onboarding, CHROs must ensure human connection remains central.”
You can find the full article here: Connection is an essential part of the onboarding experience, an HR Indaba 2024 panel discussion reveals · CHRO South Africa
The presentation and research shared during this panel can be found here: Onboarding that connects: Navigating challenges with tech-driven solutions
