Turnaround time to get new hires onboarded.

Anonymous

February 5,2023 at 2:50PM UTC

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Turnaround time to get new hires onboarded.

Hi - in my organization ,recruiting and HR are separated. I manage the recruiting department. The process for the handover to HR is that recruiting handles the background and reference checks, gets the signed offer letter, and send the new hire the new hire paperwork to HR. HR then takes it over.

HR wants 1 week to set up in the system and then sends to IT to get them set up. It takes HR (their own admission) 20 minutes to put them in the system and depending on the position, it may take IT the same amount of time (maybe a little longer depending on accesses).

My question is: do you think 1 week is an appropriate amount of time considering the tight market we are in?

I was wondering what your thoughts were or what you were experiencing with your onboarding.

Thank you.

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Kerstin PurvisFebruary 5,2023 at 3:12PM UTC
I guess it would depend on what the candidate start date is on the offer letter. And do you wait until the background is completed to send to HR? That might be the misstep.. do you often have people fail backgrounds?
I would probably get IT involved sooner than waiting for HR to do it. Maybe set up a new hire distribution list that emails IT, HR, Training (if you have one) or admins, and includes things like start date, department, manager, contact info, etc.
one week is fair and sufficient for that process.
You should work to understand their weekly tasks and deadlines already in place and work with them, you might not be the same department but you’re the same team.
AnonymousFebruary 5,2023 at 7:11PM UTC
Not enough information to provide enough feedback IMO, but in saying that, IT has a lot on their plates. ALSO, expectations of a candidate needing 2 weeks notice does allow the process to be followed. Even if they don't need to give 2 weeks that's a respectable professional amount of time. They shouldn't be giving a notice until they have a passed background check on your company's side. That is irresponsible on their end. Companies differ on what they allow on their records to pass. Offers are contingent on a passed background check. Depending on the size of the company also plays a role on timing. The control of how long a background check takes to come back is also an important factor. 2 weeks outside of a holiday hiring influx for courts for a hiring process to take is average all on it's own. Once hired onboarding should be done first day or second to 100% completion. Allow the process, or put a project together with others from the depts together and see where there are opportunities. You never know.
AnonymousFebruary 5,2023 at 7:19PM UTC
Don't argue with the process. It is what it is. Sure you can second guess the timing but why?
All I have ever cared about is the transition once I start. I want clear instructions, links that work and paperwork that handles things. I am the new person so having Onboarding take an extra week is not a huge deal.
AnonymousFebruary 5,2023 at 9:18PM UTC
It depends on what else they are doing and how many new employees are onboarded each week. Say they are doing this onboard paperwork up to 1/3 of their time. Each HR person could enter 25-35 new employees weekly (simple math). For IT, it would be the same, but I suspect the ratio is more IT people per employee than HR has. Since new employees typically have to give two weeks' notice, a week is not unreasonable if the new employee is expected to be in the system and IT systems authorized as soon as they finish their orientation. Who negotiates the start date? You or HR? Is the start date in the offer letter, or is it negotiated after it is received?
Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistFebruary 5,2023 at 10:48PM UTC
A lot of this depends on how many candidates you're on-boarding. Roughly how many new candidates is HR/IT responsible for on-boarding each week? How many HR people are available to do the on-boarding?
At the last three companies I have worked at, we have had on-boarding coordinators. They turn the paperwork around in less than 24 hours.
Annetta MosesFebruary 6,2023 at 5:56AM UTC
At my company, we make a written offer. Once the candidate gives us verbal acceptance, we start the background check which usually takes a week. Once the check is finalized, we give the candidate the go-ahead to resign and select a start date. We need 5 business days to get a new employee in the system.
I hope this information is helpful as a comparison for you.
AnonymousFebruary 7,2023 at 1:35PM UTC
As a job candidate/seeker, the turnaround time for making decisions is ridiculous. I know the economy is in the dumps but why do potential employers insist on drawing the process out, making us have multiple rounds of interviews and feel no closer to getting an answer. It's discouraging and frustrating!
Stephanie F, MSHRMFebruary 10,2023 at 5:05PM UTC
I agree with you on the turnaround time from the interview and selection. It can definitely be discouraging and frustrating in all aspects.
However, I believe the original poster's question is geared towards the onboarding of a selected new hire and that internal process. How long it takes to enter a new hire on the payroll system for access, etc...
Stephanie F, MSHRMFebruary 10,2023 at 5:01PM UTC
As someone who used to lead recruiting and work with our records team, that processes new hires, 1 week is not bad.
Although it takes a few minutes to enter into the system, we have to take into account how many transactions they are processing. And their other task. Ours handles all changes, new hires, contracts, runs payroll reports, etc. Also for our industry, we have a small team who handles the whole institution's transactions in the system.
AnonymousFebruary 10,2023 at 5:59PM UTC
I think one week seems short. I am running both sides of these functions in my current company and we take minimum 2 weeks ZERO exceptions, no fire drills. We assure the new hire has a fully vetted properly set up computer, is on all the right slack channels internally and has all the documentation and a robust onboarding tracker with meetings with all of their new cohorts and counterparts pre-scheduled. Our onboarding process is top shelf and our new hires one month in are ready for anything because of it. You don't say why you want to rush this sooner but remember hiring a FTE is a marathon, not a sprint and you want their new hire experience to be wonderful and to be right and not sloppy. Most new hires that leave quickly do so because of how poor their onboarding setup is. For IT its all about proper mapping to what they are and are not gated into system wise. Sometimes they have to procure new licenses for new hires to add them. And for HR payroll setup is the most important thing to do. You miss a pay period for a new hire, and you have a ghost. Maybe mapping out the timeline and creating a structure around this will help you to understand why things take the time that they do.