Dive Brief:
- Onboarding experiences in the post-acute care industry — a segment of healthcare that includes settings such as in-home care, long-term care and rehabilitation — have a “shockingly low bar” for quality, according to 2023 data from software vendor Viventium.
- Most of the 220 caregiver employees surveyed by Viventium said they had a “good” onboarding experience, but fewer than half said they received a warm welcome from their employers, and even fewer felt that employer communication was clear and transparent or that their questions were answered promptly and helpfully. Only 38% said they received detailed information about health and wellness benefits.
- Employees at organizations with higher quality onboarding were nearly twice as likely to feel secure about their employment compared to employees with lower-quality onboarding experiences. Better onboarding also led to gains in perceived career advancement opportunities, work–life balance and leadership support, Viventium said.
Dive Insight:
While the survey results are specific to one industry segment, onboarding strategies continue to have an important role in engagement, particularly at a time when employees’ perceived job security is in flux.
A Talent Board study found that onboarding was a top organizational priority globally at the beginning of 2023, with employees potentially souring on employers that failed to respond in a timely way to an application or provide next steps promptly during the hiring process. In 2022, a more competitive talent market saw employers adapt by focusing, in part, on creating good onboarding experiences, according to Employ Inc.
Employers in the post-acute care industry can improve onboarding by taking steps such as providing new hires personalized support with completing initial paperwork, encouraging managers to directly link new hires’ work with organizational culture and mission, and connecting new hires to peers and team members, Viventium said.