Its survey of 250 senior HR practitioners also found that 19% of employees stay in their roles for less than a year.
Cezanne HR’s research also revealed that 60% of gig workers aren’t included in the organisation’s onboarding process. The report said that with the gig economy quickly becoming the fastest-growing section of the UK workforce, the visibility and retention challenges this creates are set to increase.
In addition to the gig economy, a third (33%) of HR teams are still not tailoring onboarding experiences to include those returning from periods of leave; including maternity, paternity and long-term sick leave. Similarly, nearly a third (32%) of organisations offer no support to employees as they move into a new role within their organisation.
When asked which onboarding communication tools were deployed within organisations, 75% used email and 66% used phone, followed by 25% relying on post to communicate. With a significant 87% of respondents lacking a web-based onboarding tool or portal UK HR departments are lagging in the digitalisation of their processes, the research stated.
The research follows from Cezanne HR's 2018 onboarding survey of 1,000 employees, which showed that almost a third (31%) of ‘non-starters’ cited bad experience, poor or no follow-up from the organisation, while 45% said they would have liked more communication before their job started. More than half (51%) left their jobs within the first six months because their role did not meet expectations, also suggesting a lack of communication.
Sue Lingard, a director at Cezanne HR, said: “In the race to acquire talent the focus has fallen on improving the candidate experience through digitising recruitment. And, while this is a great step forward, many companies have not until recently lent the same attention to onboarding processes.
“With a new generation entering the workplace, and a fast-growing gig economy, the need to optimise onboarding is now a point of competitive difference. Organisations that don’t deliver a consumer-like digital experience for their new staff will struggle to keep up in the war for talent.”
