Employee onboarding portals are not the ideal solution for onboarding in 2024
In a world where the average attention span is shorter than ever, HR professionals are trying to create exciting onboarding experiences but struggle with current solutions on the market.
The immediacy and ease of use of platforms like TikTok and Instagram and the expectations of the generation entering the workforce with tools like Chat-GPT make current solutions less attractive than just a few years ago.
Communication preferences are changing:
When new hires, especially the younger generation entering the workforce, are met with clunky portals requiring multiple steps and complex navigation, e-mails, username and passwords, their engagement drops. With Chat-GPT and AI, we see the rise of new conversational platforms, which will be the next platform shift.
Read this article and learn why this is the case and how companies that want a world-class onboarding experience are moving from employee onboarding portals to Preppio.
Employee onboarding portals suffer from:
- E-mails overload: For an employees to access an employee onboarding portal, you need to send an e-mail during pre-boarding. According to Statista the open rates of e-mails was 30% in 2023, and in some industries that hire young people, the open rates are even lower. The open rates are declining year by year.
- Click-Through Rates: According to the 2023 Mailchimp metrics, the Click-Through Rate (employees clicking on the e-mail that sends them to the onboarding portal) is 4,5% for government-related e-mails and 3% for HR and staffing.
- Complex Access: Unlike the no-click, easy-access of social media, portals ask new hires to remember login details they've barely had time to memorize. So, few employees go back again and again. It is not hard to understand why people do not like to spend time and want instant access.
- Information Overload: Instead of the straightforward, bite-sized content they're used to from apps like Instragram, Snapchat and TikTok, portals can overwhelm with too much information up front with no clear path.
- Managers and buddies do not engage: Portals pull managers and buddies out of their work rhythm, and it "another tool". Making it tough to integrate onboarding into their daily tasks and few companies succeed getting managers to go to new portals and complete tasks.
- Post-Day-One Drop-off: Engagement with the portal typically plummets dramatically after the first day, as new hires are eager to learn about their new work before day one and willing to go through the hurdles, but after day one, these portals are not a helpful tool for the actual onboarding process
The conclusion is that onboarding portals struggle to engage managers, new hires do not go back into the platforms, and it does not deliver a WOW experience. It is also not how the future of onboarding technology looks like.
Say hello to Preppio:
Preppio recognizes these challenges and presents a solution that caters to the natural behaviors of the world we live in today. Our onboarding Journeys are designed to be intuitive and straightforward, eliminating the barriers that traditional employee onboarding portals present. With the option to add AI chatbots to message people during onboarding and answer questions, you also have a solution that is modern and more effective.
Our design mantra is for new hires to be engaged from the first second and remove all friction for managers, new hires, and other stakeholders. 
Science-driven approach to employee onboarding with Talya Bauer Ph.D
At the heart of Preppio’s approach to onboarding is the renowned 6Cs framework, developed by Dr. Talya Bauer, a leading figure in onboarding research and the Chief Scientist at Preppio.
Read more about the 6C onboarding framework that covers Compliance, Clarification, Confidence, Connection, Culture, and Check-back here.
The onboarding framework helps companies go from a portal and compliance-driven onboarding to designing an onboarding journey for new hires ensures that truly WOWs them at critical milestones. With Preppio you can design a journey and onboarding process purposefully designed to enhance the new hire experience and create a more effective and automated process for all parties involved, especially hiring managers that are critical for employee onboarding success.
By integrating these six critical components, Preppio streamlines the onboarding process with a human approach to onboarding that is proven in multiple studies to significantly improve new employee retention, time to productivity and satisfaction. This scientific approach distinguishes Preppio from traditional methods, making it a powerful tool when transforming new hires into fully engaged team members.
From employee onboarding portals to a Human first Onboarding Journeys
Preppio redefines employee onboarding with its unique approach. Customers that have moved from employee onboarding portals to Preppio journeys for employee onboarding experience up to 80% higher completion rates of the communication sent and onboarding tasks done.
Managers are 70% of the onboarding experience:
The average managers has to login to multiple apps and portals on a daily basis, and the average company has about 200 different tools according to Octa.
Adding another system for managers to onboarding might not result in better onboarding if it does not make the life of the manager easier. At Preppio, we have seen numbers as high as 95% more engagement VS employee onboarding portals. This is not an isolated case, but a pattern. Managers have completely disregarded the employee onboarding portal HR has invested in and the automated e-mails are not opened.
SMS during Pre-boarding and no apps or login needed:
Unlike traditional employee onboarding portals, Preppio leverages SMS-driven communications that eliminate the need for apps or cumbersome logins. One click on their mobile, and the new hire is in the Preppio web-based experience (no apps or log in needed), that feels more like Instragram and consumer like experience people are used to and love from their private lives.
One of our customers went from e-mail communication to SMS-driven communication and increased their open and completion rates with 56%. SMS is the way to go if you care about user engagement during pre-boarding
This is especially important for the young generation entering the workforce, deskless workers and operational staff that do not use e-mail as a daily work tool.
The use of SMS and no apps or login needed with instant access with no barriers to Preppio, ensuring that every interaction is straightforward and timely. This results in higher completion rates, engagement, and better onboarding results across the board.
Leverage MSTeams and Slack:
Preppio's integration of AI chatbot technology in tools like MSTeams, Slack and Workplace adds a layer of interactive, on-demand support, guiding new hires through their onboarding journey with real-time, conversational assistance.
Again, without it being a new app or log in that creates friction, but onboarding in the "flow of work".
Onboarding that WOW's:
Preppio's approach is built for the modern world we live in today, a consumer-like experience. The results are higher completion rates of content consumed, tasks done, and processes completed.
This enhances the employee experience and makes your managers better at offboarding; it also offloads routine inquiries from people operations, freeing up their time for more strategic tasks.
In essence, Preppio doesn't just onboard; it engages and excites!
Curious to learn more?
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