Start-Ups Adopting Innovative HR On-Boarding Policies

NDTV

In a competitive marketplace where talent is in short supply, some start-ups have introduced a “free-look” period wherein all new hires have the right to leave or stay based on a deeper understanding of the company’s working culture.

In a start-up ecosystem, engaging with the employee for the first 30 days is extremely crucial, as some employees sometimes choose to work in a start-up because of the fat paycheck, but delivering according to the requirement often seems difficult as compared to an established corporate.

Education technology company Simplilearn has a ‘free look policy’, which applies to hires at all levels, including senior management and across divisions. Under this, new hires are required to focus primarily on their training and familiarising with Simplilearn’s process and culture.

“Similar to the free-look policy in insurance sector, we give liberty to new hires to judge our culture, understand the job profile and let them assess if they would be a cultural fit considering personal and professional parameters,” Simplilearn COO Gerald Jaideep said.

According to experts, in an overtly competitive marketplace where talent is in short supply, a well-designed on-boarding strategy is a differentiator in attracting and retaining employees.

“The on-boarding programme has been found to be valuable by all employees and has made us confident that doing this piece well would give them a great launchpad and keep them engaged. One of the direct impact of this is reduction in our first 90 days attrition,” said Rohit Hasteer, chief human resource officer, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com.

According to property portal Housing.com’s CAO, Ajay Nair, this trend is here to stay. Such variety in engagement also goes a long way in uniquely branding the employer in mention.

“When you compare this cost of engagement against the traditional on-boarding, there might be a slightly higher monetary impact on the forefront, but it has a longer retention value which compensates for the other unwarranted/unexpected costs that companies incur during the stage of employment,” Mr Nair added.

Online marketplace IndiaMART’s director, Dinesh Gulati, said earlier start-ups lacked a structured engagement process for new hires but, with time they have realised that they need to adopt strategies for dissolving their staff with the company’s goals and objectives.

“Predominantly start-ups like e-tailers and e-shopping companies are introducing upgraded tech savvy innovative ideas fastening the engagement pace of new hires. This trend has arisen due to bulk hiring practices in such firms,” Genius Consultants CMD R P Yadav said.

These industry players typically recruit new heads during extravagant festive times and celebration season like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Diwali and New Year etc.

“In a start-up, individuals have to done different hats, work more than the normal shifts and be ready to be promoted or fired any moment while working in a startup. To hire and manage such dynamic workforce, HR needs to be one step ahead in dynamism,” said Manu Jolly, CEO and founder of Digiperform, a digital marketing training company.

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