How the Right Onboarding Platform Works Behind the Scenes
HR today is sitting on a Himalayan mountain of data. Think about it. Recruitment data. Career progression data. Training data. Leave and absence data. Productivity and personal development reviews, competency profiles, and staff satisfaction data. The list goes on and on.
Then, as futurist and author Bernard Marr points out, in addition to those traditional HR data sets and sources, you have a raft of newer ways to gather even more grist for the HR data mill. Marr offers, for example, scanning social media data, or analyzing the content of emails to measure employee sentiment.
Maybe you’re questioning the moral and ethical aspects of scrubbing personal (although public) social posts or examining company email. We wonder about those concerns too. But we think you get our point here: HR data is more accessible and potentially more valuable than ever before.
Even better, HR is starting to realize the value of all of that data. A 2018 report by KPMG International and the Economist Intelligence Unit found that 82% of organizations were planning to either begin using or increase their use of big data and analytics in HR in the short term. It’s numbers like this that have given voice to the phrase “intelligent HR.”
OK, we get it. You’re asking yourself, “Isn’t HR data analysis all about standard KPIs to measure things like absenteeism – you know, metrics like that are easily quantifiable and already measured by most companies?” That’s still true. But what’s also true – wait for it – is that the right onboarding platform can use other unique and valuable HR metrics to drive incredibly better employee experiences and greater employee engagement, starting with the day a new hire accepts the job offer. And the right platform can do that with very little added effort on your part, and even while you’re fast asleep.
Here are four ways the right onboarding platform can use HR data to work for you behind the scenes, to keep things headed in the right direction, even in your sleep. Now, that’s intelligent HR.
1: You can focus on actions, not numbers
It sounds a little counterintuitive, but when your onboarding program uses the right data in the right way behind the curtain, you don’t need to focus on the numbers. Instead, the system uses feedback data, for example, to help managers take relevant action at the right time.
The right system can do this without any effort on your part by automatically sending nudges to managers – reminders to send notes to new hires – based on the new hire’s feedback data.
2. Automatically trigger new-hire journeys
The data is in there, and the right onboarding platform will put it to work to automatically segment new hires based on their role, type, demographics, and other factors – even if you’re off the grid on a tropical beach or tucked deep into your dreams. From there, the system can apply the data it’s got to automatically send highly personalized messages to your new hires.
No matter the day, the time, or where you are or what you’re doing, the data is used to automatically add new hires as soon as they sign their contract, automatically triggering their new-hire journey by integrating with your ATS, and doing the segmentation for follow-up communication.
3: Guide and engage new hires throughout their onboarding
The right onboarding platform automatically helps you analyze each new-hire experience, and from there, set goals for your managers to achieve and track their progress in enhancing the employee experience from Day One.
Behind the scenes, the platform is collecting hugely valuable data into each new hire’s engagement level. That information automatically generates reports that let you see manager and new-hire engagement levels throughout the journey. Want a little gravy with that entree? How about data being turned into instant notifications of actions that are incomplete or overdue, sent straight to you and managers? How about identifying areas in the employee experience that could be improved?
4: Smart and personalized communication
When it comes to the employee experience, what’s good for the goose isn’t necessarily good for the gander. The right onboarding platform will collect and analyze data (yes, for example, new hire’s responses to questions about how they like to receive information), and then trigger and adapt that employee’s journey based on that data and other feedback.
The right platform will be data-driven behind the scenes to deliver a truly one-to-one onboarding experience, delivered easily through visual automation software that helps you connect, engage, and wow new hires.
Learn more in our onboarding buyer’s guide. It’s got everything you need to know about the latest game-changing innovations in onboarding technology – and how to avoid investing in the wrong one.