Seamless Beginnings: How Banks Are Shaping the Onboarding Journey

By Katie Reiser

New hires too often describe their first days on the job as being stressful and headache-inducing. It’s not unusual to hear the expression “It’s like trying to sip from a firehose.” A disheartening finding from a Bamboo HR survey disclosed that one in four new hires cries during their first week on the job. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

WBA spoke with three members who have developed innovative approaches to onboarding and their banks are reaping the rewards: PJ Childers, president of Crossbridge Community Bank; Stella Terry, senior vice president, director of human resources with Port Washington State Bank; and Sarah Ziemba, chief talent officer at American National Bank Fox Cities, all shared their insights.

But before getting to those, here’s eye opening data which indicates just how integral the onboarding process is to the success of new employees.

Data: The Good, the Bad, and the Promising
According to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), employee turnover can be as high as 50% in the first 18 months on the job and it can cost a company six to nine months of an employee’s salary to find and onboard a replacement. More data from SHRM reveals that as much as 20% of staff turnover occurs in the first 45 days of employment.

Gallup found that only 12% of new hires thought their organization has good onboarding.

But here are some numbers that may inspire you: Harvard Business Review reports that 51% of employees say they would go above and beyond at work if they had good onboarding experiences. Even more positive is news from Gallup: 70% of employees who had exceptional onboarding experiences say they have “the best possible job” and these employees are also 2.6 times as likely to be extremely satisfied with their workplace.

Scholarly Research Yields Helpful Onboarding Framework
Portland State University Professor Talya Bauer has studied onboarding for over 30 years. Bauer originally developed the Four C’s of successful onboarding (which has now grown to the Six C’s) after her ongoing research showed that what happened during recruitment and onboarding were related to key outcomes like employee performance, job satisfaction, and retention. Here are Bauer’s Six C’s which can help you structure your bank’s approach.
•   Compliance: the mandatory actions needed for all new employees (the housekeeping of the onboarding process)
•   Clarification: how well new employees understand their roles and performance expectations
•   Confidence: employees’ feelings about doing the job well and their competence to tackle new challenges
•   Connection: how accepted and valued new employees feel
•   Culture: how well new employees understand their new organization’s norms, values, stories, and symbols
•   Checkbacks: onboarding feedback

Preboarding Tips for Smoother Onboarding
Ziemba with American National Bank Fox Cities explained that after the phone interview and in-person interview have revealed a good fit, the preboarding process begins in earnest, “from the moment that a candidate accepts our offer, we do a lot of preboarding which includes sending information about the job, who their manager is going to be, and welcome emails.” This helps to make new hires feel part of the organization.

Terry shared that Port Washington State Bank also gets an early start, “We feel like onboarding starts with our recruitment process, so we try our best to tailor information just in our job postings themselves that highlight the culture here at the bank.”

Terry went on to explain that candidates for certain positions who come for an in-person interview receive a candidate packet that includes a company newsletter and a letter from Terry with a QR code that links to photos of company events and milestones. The packet also goes over ten reasons to consider working for them.

Terry added that management level positions almost always include a final interview with PWSB President and COO James Schowalter because it provides a key opportunity for candidates to hear about the bank’s vision and ask questions.

The limbo time between an accepted offer and day one can be stressful. Terry acknowledges that candidates have many employment choices and remarked, “those short two weeks can really make or break it, so we try to keep people engaged and make sure people know that we’re excited for them to come onboard.”

Childers, who created Crossbridge Community Bank’s onboarding program while serving on the WBA BOLT Board, described the bank’s preboarding process, “We communicate prior to the employee’s first day by mailing out a welcome letter and new employee paperwork so they can review, complete and bring it to their first day of employment.” That letter also includes their agreed upon wage, benefit package, payroll dates, PTO hours available, insurance options and 401K program. Childers added, “This is where we communicate their expected work hours, where to park, and our company dress code as well.”

Communicate About New Hires With Current Staff
Crossbridge sends an email announcing new employees to all staff with key information like their name, start date, job title, and responsibilities along with the name of the new hire’s supervisor.

Terry shared that new hires are asked “get to know you questions” so that information can be given to their managers before the employee starts. From there, the information is used to create a welcome blurb that goes in their company newsletter and an all-company email that introduces the employee.

First Impressions
We’ve all heard the cliché, “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” Bamboo HR survey results indicate that 62% of new employees found that their first impression on the job was accurate and 60% agree that once made, a first impression is hard to change. It’s clearly worth it to make that first impression a positive one. As Ziemba pointed out, “You have this one opportunity to really set the stage and showcase what you can do as an organization.” She added, “you can’t ever get that time back.”

It’s important to plan a first day that isn’t too overwhelming. Building in a little downtime can help new employees avoid headaches and stress.

Having the necessary tools and resources available includes making sure technology is set up and ready to go for the new employee so day one is as glitch-free as possible.

Avoid using too much job specific lingo and acronyms (and wow, the banking industry has so many acronyms).

You can calm potential new job jitters by openly discussing realistic and manageable goals for training. Sharing weekly training itineraries can show new hires that they won’t be expected to learn it all in a few days or their first week on the job. Setting a reasonable tempo and timetable is key because average productivity rates for new employees hover around 25% during the first 30 days.

Realistically, it can take three to eight months for an employee to become fully productive.

Position HR as an ongoing resource beyond day one. Terry shared, “we always explain to new hires to think of us as like the information desk,” because “one of the hardest parts about starting a new job is knowing who to go to.”

Day One Done Right
Childers described first days at Crossbridge, “We acclimate them with their new work area, go over any additional equipment they think they will need, and supply them with their new keys or access card and show them the enter/exit procedures of the building.” The bank also shares an organizational chart, employee directory, and facility map. Crossbridge provides a welcome package that includes branded items such as a piece of apparel, bank swag, and gift certificate to the company store, along with their new company nametag and business cards. This is followed by a tour of the facility, restrooms, and break room. The new hire is introduced to the rest of the staff, and a group of senior management takes the new employee out for lunch on their first day.

As training starts, Crossbridge shares the bank’s history, culture, brand, core values, and mission with the new employee. This includes a welcome video and brand story. Next is a review of the employee handbook, along with pertinent policies and procedures. The employee then gets training on programs and receives any network passwords they need to begin performing their job duties independently. The new hire also learns the vendors the organization works with in regard to their specific position which includes pertinent web addresses and login information.

Little Things Can Make a Big Impact
Welcoming new employees doesn’t have to be a budget busting proposition. A gift card to a nearby gas station or coffee shop would please most new hires. Terry shared, “when we put flowers on people’s desks, or a welcome sign up at reception, those little things definitely don’t go unnoticed.”

Additionally, PWSB sends a handwritten note to candidates’ homes, welcoming them to the team once they’ve accepted the position. “Employees tend to really like that handwritten card welcoming them before their first day.”

Childers mentioned a positive action that costs the bank nothing, an introduction to the board of directors. She said, “the new hire can come to the next scheduled board meeting to introduce themselves and get a personal welcome from the board members. This helps to put faces to names, both for the new hire and the board members.”

Terry, Childers, and Ziemba all described lunches with staff as important touchpoints to help create bonds. New Crossbridge employees have lunch with senior management on day one and during their first week of employment the bank orders in lunch for all employees and has a meet and greet with the new employee in a community room.

The Power of Feedback
Ziemba has made feedback a priority, “We work with new employees to gauge feedback through regular check-ins and touch points with their managers.” Some feedback the bank has gotten is that new employees feel appreciated and part of the team from the first day and that the personalization of their training itineraries is also impactful.

Terry considers the institution of their post-hire survey an easy lift that has given the bank a good return, “We do a 30-day, six month and a one-year survey that gets pushed out from our payroll system.” The survey asks the same questions every time and allows the bank to identify trends or a one-off situation that they might not have known about. Their HR department looks at responses and when there is constructive feedback, decides how to work with the employee and their manager to get things back on track smoothly.

Crossbridge schedules reviews at 30/60/90/days, six months, and one year. Childers said, “we schedule reviews right away so the new hire and supervisor can discuss expectations, goals, and a training plan that they can track during these evaluation periods.”

Pitfalls to Avoid
Bamboo HR cautioned that employers have just 44 days on average to influence new employees to stay long term. Here are some of the most vexing problems that new employees shared in a survey, whichreveals how much can go wrong in that short window of time:
•   No clear points of contact for questions
•   Not enough training on company products/services
•   Lack of access to essential tools
•   Technology issues (e.g., malfunctioning computers, lack of setup, etc.)
•   Not having a single person acting as an onboarding guide
•   No clear manager

Continue to Revise and Refine
Terry shared that when revisiting their onboarding process, she’s always, “found a way to make it better,” and advises reviewing often adding, “you’re never done, but just do one small thing when you can and it’ll be better than it was the last time that you visited it.”

Ziemba stressed the importance of being flexible and evolving. She looks forward to doing even more during their preboarding process to help new hires feel comfortable with the culture and setting expectations, because “the last thing you want them to feel is surprised.”

Childers discussed the possibility of assigning a peer mentor to new employees in the future. The peer mentor would be someone besides their acting supervisor who possesses good interpersonal skills and a strong knowledge of the organization’s history, core values, and its mission. Assigned for up to 12 months, the peer mentor would be a direct resource for the new employee for processes, procedures, and any other pertinent information.

Investing in Employee Success
When it’s done well, onboarding can boost retention, engagement, and productivity. When it’s done poorly, or not at all, it can cause new employees to disengage or leave the position prematurely.

Childers summed things up this way, “We’ve learned that a good onboarding process can reduce anxiety of starting a new job. This in turn helps the new hire learn about the bank, culture, and brand more easily making it second nature to them sooner than later. Success will then follow.”