Are you losing talent due to poor onboarding?

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In Singapore's skills-short employment market, it is crucial to hire and retain the best talent. When it comes to retaining talent, onboarding plays a huge part, found new research by Robert Half.

The research revealed, almost half (49%) of Singapore’s financial employers have had a new employee resign during their probation period due to poor onboarding processes, with more than one in four (27%) citing they have even lost an employee during the first month because of it. While the survey is based on financial employers, Human Resources believes this may be a more widespread problem across industries.

Despite the dismal numbers, many leaders have assessed their onboarding programme to meet expectations. According to the survey of 150 Singaporean CFOs within finance, accounting and financial services, almost half (45%) believe their current onboarding process is “good”, while 9% believe their onboarding process is “excellent”, and 37% say it is “sufficient”.

This suggests a possible disconnect between employers who think they have an efficient onboarding process and employees leaving the organisation due to a poor onboarding process.

To further underscore the importance of a well-developed onboarding programme, it takes an average of 4.5 months for new employees to gain a level of proficiency where they can independently and successfully manage their responsibilities, the survey noted.

In line with that, it added that organisations lacking proper onboarding programs are exposed to greater productivity risks, as it generally then takes longer before their new employees reach the same level of proficiency as their tenured colleagues.

Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, managing director of Robert Half Singapore, said: "Companies who want their new employee to stay for the long term need to ensure their onboarding process is a positive and welcoming experience from day one. New team members should be equipped with a fully prepared workspace with all the necessary technical essentials.

"Not only this, but managers should also provide regular guidance on job requirements and goals for their new employee, and frequently check in to see if they have any questions or concerns about their new job. Having an efficient onboarding program in place will ensure companies avoid high staff turnover and help the new employee start producing results early on."

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