5 Technology Trends Strengthening Company Onboarding in 2020

By John Hodge, Managing Partner, Americas, Miramar Global

2019 brought a bold new trend in technological advances as part of the Connected Enterprise, and while much of the focus has been on the changes to operations and bottom lines, these technologies are also enhancing companies’ communication and collaboration.  Both essential elements of strong teams, successful organizations will reap their benefits by incorporating new platforms and new approaches from the beginning with employee onboarding.  The opportunity to communicate company culture and expectations from the outset, as well as reaffirm new hires’ choices to join the organization, creates a clearer path to more sustainable outcomes.  With strategy always in mind, these technologies are primed to help deliver more robust onboarding for companies in 2020. 

Industry 4.0 has been transforming business operations through data analytics and machine learning, but connectedness is what’s having the most direct effect on how C-Suites run their organizations.  With teams and customers spanning the globe, businesses need to reexamine what they’ve long considered to be best practices for how they stay in touch and address projects.  Leaders have to create more opportunities for individuals to take ownership of their work within the existing culture.  If the goal is driving company success into the future, executive teams cannot afford to skip over elements of cultural understanding and coworker interactions when recruiting, hiring or onboarding.     

With an eye toward the increasingly collaborative nature of work, these are the technology applications having the greatest impact on C-Suite hiring and onboarding for 2020:

• Connected Enterprise is Increasing Communication & Collaboration: Encouraging collaboration through chat and progress tracking apps can lead to stronger work product and personal bonds, especially with new hires.  The collaborative nature arising from this technology also helps to catch problems or mistakes quickly so they can be addressed faster, with further direction given if needed.
• Utilizing Technology as an Aid in Recruiting, Hiring, Onboarding: When it’s time to hire a new team member, gauging priorities across the company helps focus the search strategy and determine the essential elements of a candidate profile.  New platforms and programs allow C-Suites to better standardize organizational expectations throughout the entire process to find candidates who are the best fit for skill and culture. 
• Improving Employee Experience & Training with New Platforms: Connected Enterprise technology can put critical information from employee manuals and training programs at people’s fingertips, allowing the company to spend more time highlighting culture, operations, etc. from the very beginning.  They also create openings for the team to communicate what’s working and not with the executive team well beyond their onboarding window. 
• Honing Performance Management through Data Analytics: Newly available data and its applications will likely have an impact on KPIs, meaning employees and those who manage them could be personally affected by a transformation that’s critical for your company.  Clarifying expectations during the transition, and goals for growth beyond, will help new executives become better leaders who can address this growth with confidence.
• Increasing Shared Ownership of Output: Helping the entire team develop their understanding of new technology & cultural initiatives leads them to feel more engaged with the company, making them more likely to perform at their peak.  Effective onboarding processes and Connected Enterprise tools increase the availability of information, and alongside a directive to seek ways to increase efficiency and reduce risk, will encourage employees to develop more thorough analytics and adapt for better solutions.

Technology is bringing robotics, sensors, new platforms and more to every industry, but failing to acknowledge the emotional journey of new employees will set companies up for reduced efficiency and performance in the long run.  With a clear understanding of the company’s culture and strategy for growth, incorporating technology into onboarding processes can put the organization on a path to continued success and innovation in 2020 and beyond.   

About Miramar Global

Miramar Global Executive Search was founded in 2009 in London, England to provide CEO and C-Suite leadership for national and global enterprises in the science, engineering, industrial and technology sectors.  Distinguished by its technological innovation in executive search, the company conducts management analyses, executive search, on-boarding and other services.

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