Barbora Halfarová is an HR specialist at PROMEDICA, a market leader in distribution and logistics in the healthcare sector. And she excels not only in this area. The company is also successful in the field of HR - thanks to a sophisticated onboarding system that its employees praise. We talked to Bára, one of the HR representatives responsible for the company's onboarding processes, about how the company's onboarding processes work.
New employees praise the onboarding process at your company. But what does the whole recruitment process look like before onboarding begins?
First, determine with the manager or person in a leadership position who they need on their team. Based on this, we write an advert and send it out to the world through various advertising portals, including LinkedIn. For more specialized positions, we also work with an external agency. However, I have to say that quite often our colleagues who recommend suitable candidates to us themselves work well.
After evaluating the submitted CVs, we will select the most suitable candidates and meet them in person. Usually there are two personal meetings before a final decision is made.
What does preboarding, or the so-called grey area between the selection process and the employee's entry into the workforce, look like?
Grey area? That's different. Depends on how much time we have before onboarding. We keep in touch with the new colleague and send the necessary documents and information for onboarding at the earliest one month before the start date, through Pinya HR. A week before the start date, we specify by phone what the new colleague will expect on the first day.
What if an accepted candidate decides not to join the company? How do you deal with this issue in preboarding?
Frankly, I don't recall if such a situation occurred in Promedica.
Preboarding is the grey area of onboarding.
When do you start preparing for onboarding a new employee? How do such preparations take place?
The preparations are as follows. I create an employee profile in Pinya HR, send him a personal questionnaire, a medical examination form and details of his recruitment. The moment the completed personal questionnaire is returned to us, I pass the information on to my colleagues. That way, everyone who has to do with the new employee will know at the same time who is joining us, in what position, and what tools and access to our systems they will need. And then we all try to make sure that on the day of the start everything is ready and the new colleague doesn't have to wait for anything.
Let's say a new employee has joined you. Today is his first day at his new job. What's waiting for him?
We start with our classic round...the HR department, where the contract is signed and other documents are checked. Followed by the IT department and handing over the necessary tools. If the person joins the sales team, after visiting the IT department, he goes to the service department to pick up the company car and then the basic training begins, which includes information about the company including where and how to make coffee, etc.
Employee adaptation is the most important part of onboarding.
What is the process of adaptation of a new employee in your company?
Employee adaptation at our company starts practically on the day of joining, when I give new colleagues information about the company. Who we are, what we do, what systems we use, who to contact in case of a car breakdown or how to book a vacation, etc. This training lasts for two to three days and then I hand the new colleague over to his line manager, who provides training specifically for the role, whether it's product training for sales people or other training if it's for office people.
One week after joining, each new colleague receives a short questionnaire via Pinya HR asking how their first week was. Whether the induction training was easy to understand, whether his supervisor was dedicated to him, etc.
At the end of the probation, we have a personal meeting during which we find out how the new colleague perceives the atmosphere in the company and in his team. I like these meetings because there is no substitute for a personal meeting. It's valuable feedback for me to find out what we can improve. It's also a reminder to new colleagues that they can turn to me if they don't know what to do.
Do you have any tips for improving onboarding for companies whose onboarding process is currently "Here's your materials, study them"? What can they start with?
When we thought about our onboarding process, we weren't afraid to call in the experts. After consulting, we created a project specifically for our environment. And that's where you come in. Your software helped us optimize our onboarding process. It facilitated our initial communication with newcomers and the distribution of information within the company. The timing was right.
And that brings me to the tip for other companies. Time! That's what this is all about. Give your new colleagues time. Let them know they are welcome and needed on your new team. It's also important that they know who to go to if they don't know what to do and that their manager is ready for their new colleague. Time is a necessary initial investment that usually pays for itself immediately.
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