Most large organizations do a fairly good job when they onboard new hires and provide new employee orientation, but far fewer have processes that address offboarding.
As critical as onboarding, you need a similar passion to define how you offboard employees.
You can send out a generic thank-you letter to people leaving your company, but you can do a lot better to improve your offboarding process and, eventually, build a healthy workplace culture. While it’s essential to make your new employees feel appreciated and comfortable with your company culture, you should not stop showing appreciation and support the day they decide to leave you.
Why does offboarding matter?
It’s all about ending up things on a good note and maintaining a positive relationship with your past employees. The following are some of the benefits of having a sound offboarding process in place:
The boomerang effect
When an employee parts ways with your organization, a well-thought-out offboarding process will leave the door open in case they want to rejoin. Re-hires are often called boomerang employees. Since the competition for talent is getting fiercer, your offboarding process can help win back your former employees.
So, keep your doors open for high performers. If we look at the current trends and stats, HR professionals are more likely to hire boomerang employees. It’s a good practice to give high priority to boomerang job applicants who left your organization in good standing.
Your past employees’ opinions matter. How do your ex-employees think or talk about your organization online or off? Obviously, you want them to spread the good word about your company.
A study found that 52% of surveyed jobseekers go to social media or company websites when evaluating employer brands. What if most of your former employees had a bad offboarding experience, and they shared negative reviews on the web? Having negative remarks on your social media or employer review sites could be very damaging. This would make it really hard for you to attract new talent in the future.
The Solution? Treat your present and departing employees as your company’s employer brand. A good offboarding process will make your employees share positive reviews on various platforms for years to come. Moreover, keep in touch with them. For this, you must maintain a database to reach your ex-employees and share company news and job alerts.
Increased security
Organizations can’t afford security breaches or risk company or customer data leaks. Consequentially, one of the best ways to prevent security-related issues is to have a controlled offboarding process. As breaches cause significant damage to organizations, you need to shift from traditional perimeter defense to a holistic understanding of where your organization is exposed or what causes the damage.
According to a SANS report, one-third of all companies have experienced an insider threat incident. Therefore, if you want to protect your company against these kinds of threats, start crafting a proper offboarding process.
Tap into industry knowledge
Departing employees possess valuable industry knowledge that can benefit your organization. They may have insights, shortcuts, or information not found in standard operating procedures. That being said, involve departing talent in the process of finding suitable replacements and training them. Demonstrating confidence in their abilities and valuing their advice creates a positive offboarding experience.
Invest in outgoing employees for organizational benefit
While hiring the right talent is vital, it's equally important to invest in outgoing employees for organizational success.
Here's how:
Create a memorable offboarding experience
Design offboarding processes that support departing employees' needs and offer an opportunity to launch an alumni program. Avoid personalizing the departure and focus on creating a positive experience.
Leverage technology for connection
Use advanced HR software to stay connected with high-performing employees who have left your organization. Automation tools can send them future career opportunities and updates, increasing the chances of re-engaging former employees.
Preserve confidentiality in offboarding
Establish safe spaces during exit interviews to ensure confidentiality. Employees are more likely to share honest feedback when they feel their opinions are protected. Consider developing custom exit surveys for each position.
Add former employees to referral programs
A strong offboarding process can enhance your company's referral program. Therefore, you should focus on building good relationships with past employees, increasing the likelihood of them referring top candidates to your organization.
Implement employee offboarding automation
Automating the offboarding process from start to finish helps manage a talent pool of former employees who left on good terms. Nurturing this talent pool can reduce recruitment efforts in the future.
Pro Tip: Automate the offboarding process from start to finish using a platform like Wiggli.
When an employee decides to leave, view it as a learning experience. Engage in a conversation to understand their reasons and plans, uncovering valuable insights about your company's culture and workplace issues. Furthermore, express appreciation for their contributions and talent.
Final thoughts
On the whole, offboarding is just as important as onboarding. Regardless of the reason for an employee's departure, gather information that can help you improve in the future. Saying goodbye to an employee positively encourages them to speak highly of their experience working for your company.
Employee offboarding is a crucial part of the employee life cycle that is often overlooked. It's time to address this issue and realize that last impressions matter too.
When you give due attention to outgoing employees, you can distinguish your organization's value proposition and culture. Transform departing employees into advocates who promote your company.
Candidate Experience 101
As HR professionals, we live in a world revolving around talent management, compensation, and workplace safety. Even so, we often tend to lose sight of one of the most important aspects of the very first role itself: the candidate experience.
It wasn’t long ago when companies focused on becoming the employer of choice. Today, the savviest HR people know that harnessing the power of candidate experience is critical to creating lasting brand impressions.
But what is candidate experience, and how does it impact your employer brand?
Let’s examine what makes the best candidate experience — and leave you with some key takeaways to help you offer a “positive” one.
What is candidate experience?
Candidate experience can include everything from the first touchpoint of the initial job search to applying for a job, appearing for the interview, and even beyond. It’s the overall experience jobseekers have when interacting with your brand during the recruitment process.
Getting off on the wrong foot can hamper not just a candidate’s experience, but also your chances of attracting the right talent. So, ensure that all your recruitment processes, methods, and approaches align with the candidate's experience. For it decides not just your recruitment and hiring success but also your company’s overall success.
Why does positive candidate experience matter?
Here is why you must treat positive candidate experience as a top priority rather than an afterthought:
1. More opportunities for attracting top talent
Candidate experience is an underrated tool when it comes to finding the best candidates. A company that’s known for its negative candidate experience usually puts off top talent, preventing them from applying for a job there. And in such a scenario, the company loses not just the best talent, but also the growth and revenue they bring along.
2. Streamlined, faster recruitment process
Candidate experience can be the starting block of a systematic, standardized recruitment process. When you know what candidates like or dislike about your company’s hiring approach, you can make the requisite changes and chalk out a streamlined and faster recruitment process – which is a win-win.
3. Improved employer branding
Word-of-mouth stays as relevant with jobseekers as it does with customers. Although the number of people going through your recruitment process may seem meager, the impact that they can leave on your employer brand isn’t.
Candidates with a bad experience will talk more about you than those who have had a good experience. So, the next time you put a candidate alone in a conference room for twenty-five minutes before beginning their interview, think of the repercussions.
And with career sites like Glassdoor, you can’t really afford to share with the world all the not-so-good things about your recruitment process.
After all, over 74% of Glassdoor users read at least four reviews before forming an opinion about a company. That’s huge. And it makes a strong case for taking candidate experience seriously.
Candidate experience: best practices
Investing in an efficient candidate experience is easier said than done. Learning the ropes from the companies offering the best candidate experiences can help a great deal. And at Wiggli, we have got you covered. We bring you some of the best practices that you can take inspiration from and convince candidates that yours is the perfect place to work.
1. Offer more than just content
Your website’s career page is the magnet that pulls candidates. It must offer more than the regular content (read: job opportunities). Think beyond those boring job descriptions and take some time to inform and attract. And while you are at it, do it the P&G way.
Procter & Gamble adopts an easy-to-follow hiring process and makes sure that jobseekers get all the information they need right there on their hiring page.
The company brilliantly breaks down the hiring process into four simple steps: Application, Assessment, Interviews, and Offer. And each stage comes with individual details highlighting what a candidate can expect from the recruitment process and vice versa. They also get the option to submit a Disability Accommodation Request. Recruitment simplified.
2. Keep them moving forward
Let’s be honest: no jobseeker is a fan of oblivion. That’s why businesses need to help their candidates keep moving forward by giving them regular updates about their recruitment journeys. After all, there’s nothing more off-putting than investing your time in a job application that has gone on “mute” mode. So, be upfront with your decision and state it clearly rather than leaving your candidates hanging or chasing you for updates.
3. Personalise the process
Move beyond the common practice of sending random job alerts to potential job seekers. Embrace personalization.
Booking.com is a fantastic example here. The company helps candidates create personalised job alerts, which makes finding their perfect job more straightforward.
When you put extra effort and deliver more than ordinary to the candidates, your chances of making a positive impact increase multifold. Capitalize on it.
4. Think unique
Finding the right people isn’t always about a match of skills, qualifications, and experience. It’s also about matching the candidate’s personality with the role they are applying for.
Manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark understands the importance of personality traits pretty well. And so, the company uses a quiz to test the candidate’s personality type.
While it’s not a screening tool, the company sees it as a great conversation starter between recruiters and candidates. Plus, it highlights how people with different personalities bring their unique advantages to the team. The perfect ice-breaker, we’d say!
Uncover the benefits of a positive candidate experience
While it may not be the magic cure-all of all your talent management woes, remember that attracting the right talent starts with a great candidate experience. So, go ahead and follow the tips mentioned above to uncover the benefits of a positive candidate experience.
At Wiggli, we ensure that you don’t have to worry about missing the connection with your candidates. With our knowledge and information, we offer you a holistic view of what successful HR means. Leave your comments in the section below and we’ll be happy to help.
How To Stay Focused In A Connected World
Undoubtedly, we’re rapidly moving toward a fully connected world at an unprecedented pace. From mobile work environments to smart homes, technology is reshaping the way we work and perform our day-to-day things. Most organizations have already realized the numerous benefits of hyper-connectivity as it leads to improved collaboration, agility, and productivity.
People go online to work, play games, buy their favorite products, and spend quality time. Everything is at the tip of your fingers. For instance, you can control your devices at home whether you are at the office or miles away from your city. The growing trend of remote work is making it possible for people to get rid of geographical boundaries.
You can stay home and work with a company that is thousands of miles away. The new digital era is simply accelerating innovation and disruption in every walk of life. Companies are creating new business opportunities, discovering new audiences, and creating new business models.
While most of us understand how hyper-connected is beneficial to businesses and daily life, it’s critical to address the negative impacts of an excessively connected environment. For example, it is becoming increasingly difficult for workers to stay focused.
We have so many things around us that can distract us. Take your smartphone as an example. Whether you’re an employee or run your own business, you have to maintain a work-life balance.
In this blog post, we’ll find out how to stay focused in a hyper-connected world. We’ll cover the following:
Blog Summary
What is a hyper-connected world?
Living in a hyper-connected world - Key Stats
Common workplace distractions
How to Stay Focused
Staying focused during the pandemic
Let’s get started!
What is a hyper-connected world?
Simply put, being hyper connected means that everything is communicating from your dishwasher to the fuel sensor. It is an environment where information sharing is streamlined from people to people, people to machines, and machines to machines. When we say machines, it refers to every device that can be connected to the internet: home appliances, industrial equipment, vehicles, computers, medical devices, etc.
Here is what Wikipedia tells us about hyper-connectivity:
“Hyper-connectivity is a term invented by Canadian social scientists Anabel Quan-Haase and Barry Wellman, arising from their studies of person-to-person and person-to-machine communication in networked organizations and networked societies. The term refers to the use of multiple means of communication, such as email, instant messaging, telephone, face-to-face contact and Web 2.0 information services.”
Living in a hyper-connected world - Key Stats
We regard our smartphones, computers, and tablets as indispensable both personally and professionally. But they can seriously affect our ability to stay focused. Spending too much time on social media and email reduces engagement and productivity at work and home.
Here are some important stats to consider:
An average manager spends 16 hours a week attending unnecessary emails and meetings.
According to a global Gallup survey, only 13% of employees are engaged at work.
Not sure what the word “engaged” really means in this context? The term “engaged” is defined as being psychologically committed to work and contributing to the organization.
Workfront surveyed 3,750 knowledge workers. It found out that, on average, workers are interrupted by email, instant messages, and other digital distractions nearly 14 times per day.
According to a survey from Adobe, average US office workers spend more than 3 hours each day keeping up with emails.
ResueTime analyzed data from 50,000 workers, showing that the average knowledge worker checks in with communication tools every six minutes. It also found out that 40 minutes was the longest amount of time an average worker could go without checking emails during work. Surprisingly, nearly half of the workers never get 30 straight minutes of focused work.
Udemy conducted a survey of 1,000 workers in 2018. It found out that 36% of Millennials and Generation Z say they spend 2 hours or more checking their smartphones during a workday. 56% of them said they couldn’t make it through a day without checking their social media.
A survey from Tata Communication shows us that people in Europe and Asia spend an average of more than 5 hours on the internet a day.
A productivity specialist, Geraldine Markel says, "when you are distracted or interrupted, you lose your focus, and you feel frustrated and irritated when you don't complete tasks with accuracy or completeness. Distracted workers have lower morale and loyalty and higher fatigue. People who work in a state of constant interruption report higher levels of stress."
Common workplace distractions
Whether you’re working in a busy office or from home, distractions are an inevitable part of our professional lives. A study found out that a typical office worker gets interrupted every 11 minutes.
It’s important to note down that our brains need 25 minutes to refocus on the original task.
Udemy conducted a survey and found out that workplace distractions negatively impact workers’ performance, potential, and productivity. When people get distracted often, they tend to work faster. Which ultimately affects work quality and leads to stress and anxiety.
Research from Michigan State University tells us that a short interruption like silencing the buzzing smartphone can have a negative impact on your ability to complete a task. It found out that an interruption of about three seconds doubles the error rate. Let alone the brief interruptions like checking out your Snapchat or text messages.
Before we dig deep into strategies to improve focus in a hyper-connected environment, let’s take a quick look at common distractions that can seriously kill your productivity or ability to efficiently perform the task at hand.
Smartphones
Background noise
People interruptions
Multi-tasking
Emails
Meetings
Social media
How can you deal with digital overload? What are the strategies to live in a hyper-connected world while staying focused and productive? Let’s get down to answering these questions.
How to Stay Focused
Digital overload is turning out to be the single biggest workplace problem. Everybody in your team and organization is likely to be bombarded with notifications and messages every day. And in case you’re prone to put off tasks until the last minute, diversions are only a click away.
To stay focused, all you have to do is learn how to control the digital overload rather than letting it control you. But what does it take to conquer digital distractions?
Alexandra Samuel, a technologist, and Larry Rosen, a psychologist came up with two different solutions.
Rosen is of the opinion that we should pull away from technology to regain focus. In other words, we should limit the time we spend on our devices by taking breaks and doing other things like meditation and exercise.
Samuel, however, thinks differently. She recommends that we should embrace technology and manage information overload.
These are two entirely different techniques to deal with hyper-connectivity. But it will help you start your journey toward a more focused and dedicated worker or household.
The following are some of the most effective strategies to consider:
Restrict what comes your way
Technology itself isn’t a problem, but the way we use it can be problematic.
First of all, you need to understand what’s important in your life and whatnot. If you can’t resist looking at your phone all the time, whether at the office or evenings at home, you’re not alone.
But it’s high time to set clear priorities and use technology correctly. With so much work, communication, and socializing taking place, turning off your devices is not a viable solution. Nonetheless, we can certainly minimize our digital overuse by restricting the flow of information. For example, you can control what emails should reach your inbox. After all, you don’t work for your inbox.
Some tools can help you make online communication more productive and focused. But first, you have to realize that you don’t have to check out all of your emails or things going on in your social media. In other words, filter out the noise.
People who successfully restrict what comes to their inbox are likely to be more effective at communicating with clients and colleagues. Email tools like Gmail and Outlook enable you to filter messages. Use them to ensure that only essential messages reach your mailbox.
There are emails that you don’t have to see immediately. Here is a quick tip: set a short-term, autoresponder explaining what you’re doing and when you will be back. For example, “I’m stepping away from my inbox to complete this task. I’ll be back in 30 minutes.”
Multitasking is not always a good idea
We like to multitask. It’s possible to do two or more things at the same time. For example, you can walk and listen to music simultaneously. But doing multiple things at the same time can hurt your performance and the quality of your work. For instance, looking at your Facebook during a meeting or conference call will impact your ability to focus on things that matter the most.
Earl Miller, an MIT Neuroscientist, states that multitasking causes mistakes, ruins productivity, and impedes creative thought. Therefore, it’s advisable not to multitask and focus on one thing at a time. That’s how you get things done quickly and correctly.
Strengthen your attention management skill
You must learn how to control your attention because it will determine the life you live. In today’s digital world where so many things are interconnected, distractions are everywhere. So, it’s critical to practice controlling distractions and being present in the moment.
Pro Tip: Be intentional instead of reactive.
Digital addiction is a common condition. Instead of using technology to streamline our lives, we get hooked by it. Digital devices steal our attention and make it hard for us to direct our attention to important things. Improving your attention management skill will help you stay away from distractions and have control over your priorities and time.
Control your environment
When it comes to working, you should set boundaries with others whether you’re working from home or in an open-office setting. It would be a good idea to put up a “do not disturb” sign when you need to focus. If your environment makes it hard for you to focus, try to work in a different part of the office or home. Letting your colleagues and family know that you have to do heads-down work can be helpful.
If you’re using productivity or automation tools to get your work done, use the “do not disturb” feature to avoid distractions. Most mainstream workplace tools offer this feature.
Turn off notifications
Let me say it again: technology is here to serve you and not the other way around. The good news is that it’s not hard to control your devices. For example, turn off notifications or put your devices on silent when you need to focus on important things.
Remember, notifications are designed to steal your attention. Take social media as an example. Social networking sites want us to stay online all the time. Non-stop stream of our favorite content can be hard to resist. So, keep your phone out of your sight.
People often think notifications are not that distracting because those notifications’ sounds last for only a few seconds. But when we get distracted, it becomes difficult to regain the focus and get back on track again.
Take phone-free breaks
Most workers turn to their smartphones during breaks. Studies tell us that employees who use phones on breaks feel less productive and restored after getting back to work. In 2019, a study was conducted to explore what makes workers happy. It found out that less happy employees are more likely to spend time on social media during lunch breaks.
Another study explored the effects of breaks on regaining vitality at work. According to this study, people who take quick breaks without their phones feel more energized and less emotionally exhausted than people who spend their breaks staring at screens.
Therefore, make sure you or your team adopt positive break habits such as moving around, meditating, or talking with colleagues.
Automate
It’s a brilliant idea to fight fire with fire. If hyper-connectivity is making your life a mess, use technology to resolve the issue. Apps like Feedly or Flipboard can help you find the most relevant information on social media and blogs. Automating some of your online work can make your life easier.
For instance, tools like Hootsuite can help you schedule posts or reach multiple platforms from one place. We’ve already talked about email filters.
Coexist with technology and still have inner peace
The hyper-connected world is here to stay. But we must practice how to disconnect on a frequent basis. Prioritize spending time with family and friends. Also, schedule some time alone every day to reflect and re-energize.
Instead of sending text messages and pictures, try to interact with real people. If you’re a business leader, engage your team and teach them how to co-exist with technology while losing your inner peace and focus.
It’s possible to find your inner peace in a noisy world full of digital distractions.
While new work management and productivity tools help us save time and expand our creativity, workers are becoming more and more dependent on technology.
Constant stimulation in the form of digital media is killing our creativity and productivity. Don’t let that happen to you or your team.
Convert hyper-connectivity into Hyper-productivity
Virtual meetings, interviews, and video conferencing are inseparable components of today’s work environment. However, the rise in the use of communication tools doesn’t necessarily boost employees’ productivity.
To convert hyper-connectivity into hyper-productivity, organizations have to come up with the right mix of technology, workspace design, work practices, and management styles. For example, a combination of talent management solutions, best HR practices, and face-to-face interactions can help HR leaders and managers achieve excellent results.
Let’s say you’re a recruiting manager. When you automate most of your repetitive or time-consuming tasks, it becomes easier for you to focus on the most important things like building relationships with top talent. A tool like Wiggli can help you stay focused on your main business objectives: finding the right talent in a cost and time-efficient way.
More tips
Here are some more tips for avoiding distractions in a hyper-connected world:
Batch-check everything. Instead of spending all of your day checking notifications and emails, batch check your social media and emails.
Rank tasks in terms of their importance and then focus on what’s crucial.
Practicing good social media hygiene will help you avoid unwanted distractions. For instance, unfollow people or pages that no longer deliver valuable content.
Putting yourself in a new environment can help you regain your focus and creativity flow.
Give your full attention to one task and take breaks when feeling exhausted.
Do not let the mind veer off in its own direction. Learn how to control thoughts and get your focus back to where you want to.
How to stay focused when working from home
Remote working seems like a dream until you face the challenge to stay focused due to distractions. Some distractions are easy to avoid when working in an office setting. But it can be a real challenge to draw a line between professional and personal life at home.
The most successful and effective remote workers set up clear boundaries and don’t violate them. The following are tips for staying focused when working from the comfort of your home:
Establish working hours to avoid a chaotic schedule
Explain to your family, friends, and others your work-from-home policy.
Get organized by scheduling your work and creating to-do lists.
Designate a specific space for a home office.
Final Thoughts
From an organizational perspective, leaders must help their workers create a more positive digital culture that encourages creativity and happiness. Whether you’re an individual worker, a team, or a business leader, learn to stay focused.
Make the right use of technology and excessive connectivity. Minimize distractions coming from outside sources. Control what’s coming your way. Gardening your attention in today’s digital world is more important than ever. As a business leader, give your team the tools they need to stay focused on things that really matter.
