Effective onboarding is crucial for new employees to feel welcomed and integrated into a company’s culture. Onboarding done right is so important in fact, that according to a guide from BambooHR:

80% of employees who have a positive onboarding experience continue to hold their organizations in high regard.

65% of employees know if a job is the right fit within the first month, which means every second of those first 30 days will make or break your retention metrics.

It reduces the time-to-productivity (TTP) for new hires.

Great onboarding sets the stage for great employment, while bad onboarding…well, you get the picture. But how can you ensure a smooth transition for new hires? 

There are many challenges standing in the way, from lengthy paperwork to lack of personalized communication to inconsistent training experiences. Automation strategies using Slack present a solution to all of these challenges. By leveraging tools like Risotto, GreetBot, and Workflow Builder, companies can streamline the onboarding process effectively. 

In this article, first we’ll discuss more about why there’s such a need for employee onboarding automation. Then we’ll provide numerous, practical strategies you can use with Slack to streamline employee onboarding.

The Need for Streamlined Employee Onboarding

The old, manual way of handling employee onboarding is broken. For new hires it can lead to inconsistent communication and confusion, delays to integration and that all-important time-to-productivity, and be a hindrance to their performance improvement due to lack of timely feedback.

Even something as simple as a new hire having someone to ask questions about their new job is a difficult challenge. In their “Definitive Guide to Onboarding,” BambooHR says that as many as 65% of new hires remarked that they had “No clear points of contact for questions” during their onboarding.

And the struggles don’t stop there. Fifty-eight percent of new hires can’t access essential tools and 51% have IT issues.

Not only does great onboarding have an impact on company culture, engagement, productivity, and all-around happier new hires, but onboarding also has a financial impact on organizations. Losing an early hire can cost a company as much as $7,500 to $28,000, according to BambooHR.

Using automation to streamline employee onboarding is a necessity. With Slack, it’s a piece of cake for HR departments. Let’s get to actionable strategies for the automation of employee onboarding.

Employee Onboarding Automation Strategies with Slack

Because it’s estimated that millions of workers use Slack every day, your HR department doesn’t have to look any further for a platform to begin employee onboarding automation. Use what your employees already know and eliminate any learning curves.

To get going quickly with using Slack for employee onboarding automation, use what features Slack has to offer built-in, then, from there, incorporate more of the automation strategies below.

1. Use Slack’s Built-in Features for Employee Onboarding

Let’s start with the basics–features that already exist within Slack workspaces that you can use for employee onboarding automation.

• Set up huddles and dedicated channels

Set up huddles and specific channels for different onboarding aspects, like orientation and training. Have communications focused on certain topics and specific resource sharing. Allow teams to engage in real-time discussion and information, water cooler-type conversations.

The goal is to establish a welcoming, collaborative culture from the start. Slack is a collaboration and communication tool, after all.

• Leverage templates

To make things easier on yourself and your HR team, use Slack’s assorted templates for repetitive onboarding tasks. For instance, use a message template for easy communication each time a new hire onboards.

• Create checklists

Instead of you having to tell every new employee everything they must do during their onboarding, structure onboarding checklists that give them self-guided tours through their first days. For example, here are some items you could include in your onboarding checklist:

[  ] Complete your tax documents.

[  ] Fill out your contact info in the employee directory.

[  ] Introduce yourself in our main channel.

[  ] Review your employee handbook.

[  ] Get your company photo ID made.

• Set reminders

Use Slack’s handy reminders to schedule periodic feedback sessions, remind new hires to fill out important paperwork during their first week, or to congratulate a new hire on their first 30 days.

2. Send Automated Onboarding Welcome Messages

Now that you’ve used Slack’s basic features to get started on automating your employee onboarding, let’s look at how tools like Risotto, Dropbox, and GreetBot can be used for more robust automation.

Using GreetBot with Slack, you can send personalized greetings to every new employee and tailor the message to their role and department. Sending an inviting, welcoming message creates belonging. It also encourages new hires to engage with teams and encourages current employees to engage with new hires.

For example, you can send a simple “Welcome!” message to share a warm greeting to a new employee and use the opportunity to get them started right away by including their onboarding checklist.

Because it's automated and you’ve already crafted the checklist it ensures consistency. The same friendly welcome is for all new employees.

3. Streamline HR Support During Onboarding with Risotto

Similarly to GreetBot, Risotto can help streamline HR responsibilities, more specifically HR support. 

Risotto offers an AI-powered helpdesk chatbot that can answer routine questions for employees. This frees you and your HR department from repetitive tasks. For instance, let’s take our onboarding checklist from above. What if an employee got to the final item on the checklist, “Get your company photo ID made,” except they had some questions: Should they go to security at the front desk or is there another office? Instead of messaging HR, the employee can easily ping Risotto from their Slack account and get an instant response. 

Risotto [App]

Hi! Get your company ID photo taken at the security office on the 2nd floor. The best time is between 2 and 3 PM. Ask for Sheryl and tell her you’re a new employee.

John Smith

How long does it take to get the ID?

Risotto [App]

Based on other employees’ responses, it should take no more than 2 days to get your ID card printed and returned to you.

Check out some other great ways to use Risotto’s AI help desk to improve employee satisfaction.

4. Streamline IT Support During Onboarding with Risotto

In addition to streamlining HR tasks, Risotto’s automation capabilities can also greatly enhance IT support efficiency. Using Risotto, organizations can automate ticket management, answer common IT support questions, and handle software requests directly within Slack. This AI-powered IT co-pilot not only saves time and money but also improves security by streamlining IT support processes.

For instance, let’s look at that checklist again. What if a new employee goes to open the employee handbook, but can’t access the password-protected folder it’s stored in? Just like for an HR-related request, the employee can ping Risotto right in Slack and ask for access to that folder. The Risotto chatbot can respond with efficiency and accuracy.

Learn more about using Risotto for access management automation and reducing time-consuming tasks for your IT department. 

5. Integrate Other Tools Like G Suite and Dropbox for Employee Onboarding

Besides AI apps like Risotto and GreetBot that are specifically designed for onboarding and HR automation, you can utilize popular apps like Dropbox and G Suite.

Using these apps and connecting them to your organization’s Slack workspace, you allow all new employees centralized access to essential onboarding resources like documents, schedules, and training materials directly. Connecting Dropbox or G Suite to your Slack workspace also enhances collaboration, allowing current employees to share files and calendars with new hires, without having to switch away from Slack.

For example, say a new employee wants to read more in-depth about the health insurance benefits your organization offers. Having that coverage information stored on Dropbox and having Dropbox connected to Slack allows them easy access.

To take this a step further, with the Risotto helpdesk chatbot’s advanced capabilities, it can even direct employees to where such a document is stored and learn from the information. Say a new employee pings the Risotto chatbot in Slack asking how much is covered in your company’s vision benefits. If the Risotto AI chatbot has been given access to your company’s health benefits information, it can answer the employee quickly. It saves time for everyone–HR, IT, and even the new employee, who doesn’t have to read through the document.

Conclusion: Streamline Employee Onboarding with Slack Automation Strategies

Streamlining employee onboarding through automation strategies with Slack transforms the experience for new hires. Key benefits include:

• Increased Productivity: Automated processes reduce manual tasks, allowing HR and IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives, while reducing the time-to-productivity for new hires.

• Enhanced Engagement: Tools like GreetBot foster connection and support from day one.

• Centralized Support: Integrations with platforms such as Risotto offer 24/7 assistance and streamline communication.

Adopting these automation strategies not only improves the onboarding experience, but also sets a positive tone for employee success and satisfaction within the organization.

Book a demo today with Risotto to streamline your HR and IT teams’ operations.