Optimizing the onboarding process neatly fits the current hyperfocus on reaping immediate gains from reducing expenses and increasing employee output. In fact, 50% of all executives surveyed for Aberdeen Group’s research paper, Fully On-Board: Getting the Most from Your Talent in the First Year, indicate that the current state of the economy will increase the importance their organization places on onboarding in 2009.

Taleo customer Rockwell Collins has saved approximately $200,000 in shipping fees alone and considers their formal onboarding program a key component of a successful employee retention strategy. El Paso Corporation has reported savings ranging from $15 to $100 per employee by using onboarding technology.

Productivity gains are also significant, as the study notes:

The ability for new employees to accurately and quickly complete all required forms is key to help them concentrate on the job at-hand, get up to speed quickly, and be productive.

Follow-up conversations with several organizations that achieved Best-in-Class results and have automated onboarding forms and/or tasks management uncovered cost savings and productivity gains that ranged from a couple of hundred to more than one thousand dollars per new employee onboarded.

A well-designed and automated onboarding process reduces costs, hastens time to productivity, and improves retention. As an element of an organization’s talent management strategy, streamlined onboarding also increases efficiency, reduces process variances, provides better service levels for hiring managers, improves compliance, and creates more staffing process consistency.