Ninety percent of information technology professionals say including team building is critical to the onboarding process, and another 73 percent say employers should cover job responsibilities, according to a recent survey by TEKsystems, a provider of IT staffing solutions.
But in reality, respondents say is learning human resources and administrative information at 54 percent. Although 61 percent of respondents say learning the HR and administrative information should receive much of the focus, only 41 percent say learning about the job role receives high levels of attention in onboarding programs.
"Onboarding programs and HR orientations are not the same," says TEKsystems Director Rachel Russell. "While it is critical to share important HR and administrative information with new hires, great onboarding programs take it to the next level, including detailed information about the company, clear job expectations and team-building activities. IT professionals need exposure to these more strategic components of the job to efficiently and effectively forge a bond with their new employer and new team."
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Most respondents say they approach onboarding with formal HR orientation programs at 41 percent while 14 percent of respondents say they use self-directed learning. The least used onboarding program is direct manager instruction at 8 percent.
About half of respondents say regular manager interaction should be required for at least a month for entry-level at 49 percent, mid-level at 51 percent and high-level at 58 percent. Of the respondents who believe managers should frequently interact with the onboarding process are 20 percent for entry-level, 13 percent for mid-level and 12 percent for high-level positions.
"IT managers have the most to lose or gain from the onboarding process," Russell says. "Formal HR orientations can help a new hire get more comfortable with the company, but direct manager involvement is critical to clarifying performance expectations and sharing the inner-workings of the team and company. "It's also important to note that the only way to really gauge how a new hire is progressing is to be actively involved throughout the process."
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