50 million. How big is this number?
12 years is the time mobile phones took to reach that number of users.
19 days is the time Pokémon GO, the augmented reality-based game app from Niantic took to reach the same number of users.
Enterprises are increasingly working towards incorporating new technology! The more modern the better, in order to ensure that they do not lose out on the race. With the adoption rate on an exponential rise, the roots of technology have spread into almost every business arena that exists, HR included. Onboarding is one of those HR processes that exhibit limitless opportunities to harness technology and maximize benefits.
Let’s look at various instances where emerging technologies are enabling forward-looking companies to turn onboarding into an employee-centric, engaging process.
- Onboarding with Extended Reality is the reality
A decade ago, an extended reality in business scenarios was a sci-fi concept. What seemed to be a pipe dream is now a reality! Enterprises are now waking up to the opportunities of leveraging extended reality. So, what is an extended reality? Extended reality (XR) is an umbrella term that denotes the immersive technologies that combine the physical and virtual worlds. It is a superset of virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.
Enhancing new hire orientation through virtually guided workplace tours is a successful use case that organizations have been accomplishing in recent times. Such tours smoothen the path for new hires while getting introduced to their teams and responsibilities. These technologies make immersion possible even before the new hires complete their education. For instance, Bosch joined hands with GMetri to create an immersive experience for the new joiners to help them run through the company’s business verticals.
With XR, employee training will no longer be a monotonous process. Training modules powered by virtual reality are designed to force employees out of the slumber that mundane online sessions create. A company’s employee retention strategies should revolve around creating an effective onboarding program that incorporates a comprehensive onboarding checklist. This checklist should be tailored to interactively educate employees with an immersive learning experience.
A recent HRTechnologist article states that by 2022, 58% of companies will have adopted these XR technologies. Organizations that take the golden opportunity to incorporate these technologies will thrive amidst disruption.
- AI-powered onboarding
A winning solution AI has been commonly referred to as ‘analytics on steroids’ and this is no mere exaggeration. The digital saturation of reality has offered companies the potential to transform themselves digitally. This ties in with leveraging core robotic process automation (RPA) and machine learning. With AI-powered onboarding solutions, companies can automate the onboarding process by teaching themselves over time, ultimately making the overall onboarding process for new hires efficient.
This is exactly why EY deployed IBM’s Watson. EY created Buddy, an AI-enabled chatbot particularly dedicated to onboarding. Buddy can address the paramount challenge of onboarding new employees globally and cost-effectively through a standardized approach. The chatbot was designed to immediately anticipate and answer the queries of new employees. The bot was fed with hundreds of thousands of questions as input so that it learned the priorities of employees and self-updates in order to provide information even before the recruits ask for.
- Gamification is the game plan
According to Sapling, an average new hire needs to complete 54 activities as a part of their onboarding process. With so much to do, even the most motivated employee would get tired of the process. Now imagine a gamified employee onboarding process that is as interesting as your favorite video game. Who doesn’t love gaming! What is likely to stay in an employee’s memory – a boring Powerpoint presentation or an interactively gamified training session? Option B, right?
A gamified onboarding process has a phenomenal impact on employee engagement and performance. It encourages employees to enthusiastically participate in orientation and training activities.
Deloitte’s employee onboarding strategies to gamify the process of getting new recruits on board is beyond excellence. The company designed an onboarding program that follows a digitalized gaming model that resembles a typical zombie apocalypse video game. As a part of the interactive game, newly hired analysts were offered an opportunity to learn the company policies, organizational ethics, compliance procedures, and consulting skills. Unsurprisingly, the game was an exceptional hit. This ultimately played a significant role in retaining employees, and the annual employee retention costs went record low.
Employee experience is the key. In today’s customer-centric world, people do not just buy products – they buy experiences. As each day passes, these emerging technologies are helping organizations move one step closer to offering a superlative experience to their employees and retaining the best talent.
Are you interested to know how you can enhance the experience of new recruits further? Get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help you.
This article was first published in www.neeyamo.com
