It can be incredibly frustrating when an employee fails to show up on their first day. Not only does it severely hamper the recruitment process, it can also make your staff’s job much harder as they scramble to work around a sudden and unexpected vacancy.
While this may sound like a nightmare scenario, it’s more common than you think. In fact, 1 in 5 candidates accept a job offer before no-showing on their first day. In 2019, 83% of employers told Indeed that they’ve been “ghosted” by employees at some point during the interview and onboarding process. This phenomenon is especially common for roles with comparatively low pay and high demand, such as CNAs.
With staffing shortages on the rise, it’s becoming more crucial than ever to hire and retain staff. Read on to learn more about how digital onboarding can prevent the dreaded first-day employee no-show.
Why Don’t Some Candidates Show Up on Their First Day?
Usually, employee no-shows are due to a breakdown of communication. Most candidates are applying to multiple jobs at once. The employee may have accepted another job offer and failed to communicate with you. Sometimes, there may also be uncertainty about the start date, time, and location. Clear communication is important to avoid this kind of confusion, but that’s easier said than done when you’re overloaded with tasks.
Some employees may also interpret silence from the employer between the offer and the first day as a negative sign. This is especially true if there’s a long gap between the offer letter and the first day. Of course, some candidates may also experience health or personal emergencies that have nothing to do with the employer. It’s important to follow up about their well-being and safety before deciding that they’re a no-show no-call.
How Do No-Show Employees Affect the Healthcare Industry?
Understaffing can decrease the level of patient care and add extra workload for your staff. If you’re unaware of an employee no-show until the day of, it can be difficult to find shift coverage. This can also force your other employees to pick up the slack, both in shift time and in work volume. This added stress can create a domino effect, eventually affecting workplace culture and your employee’s work-life balance. While it’s important to try and reach your new employee, it can sometimes be impossible. If this is the case, it then takes additional time and resources to find a replacement.
How Can Digital Onboarding Help?
With digital onboarding, you can begin the onboarding process virtually and engage employees before their first day. Beginning the process early (and remotely) saves time and resources. This way, your employee can start their job faster.
No More Paperwork Confusion
Messy handwriting and the influx of forms can be a major reason for communication breakdown. Apploi prefills information such as SSN, date of birth, and previous employment so you don’t have to. Reduce the chance of confusion by going fully digital, and focus on making personal connections with your employees instead.
Increase Engagement Before They Even Walk in the Door
Digital onboarding allows employees to ask questions over text and email. In addition to getting the paperwork out of the way, it allows them to clarify their roles and responsibilities before the first day. Onboarding can be critical to building a relationship with a new employee. First impressions are important, and a smooth digital onboarding process can start the employee off on the right foot. Your employee may also be working another job before they start their new one. Mobile-friendly onboarding allows your employees to engage wherever they are.
Build Community Virtually
Do you have Slack channels or social media groups for your employees? Add your future employee as part of the digital onboarding process. Allowing your future employees to get to know their coworkers and understand workplace culture can help their first day feel less daunting. It can also decrease the chance of an employee no-show if your employees start their first day already feeling supported.
Show Employees That They’re Valued
Employees can sometimes feel uncertain when there’s a lack of communication between an offer and the first day. With digital onboarding, there doesn’t need to be a communication gap. Connecting with your employees before the first day shows that you’re excited for them to join the team. These first impressions are critical for retention. Digital onboarding allows you to be more intentional about how these crucial first conversations unfold.
Engage Applicants With Apploi
Apploi can streamline the digital onboarding process to engage employees before they even begin. Higher engagement means that no-show no-call employees can be a thing of the past. Interested in learning more about how you can recruit, hire, and onboard healthcare staff quickly? Contact us today for a free demo of our software solution.
