Microsoft 365-based solution to streamline employee onboarding

Transitioning from outdated paper-based processes

The HR department of our customer sought to modernise their onboarding process, moving away from a cumbersome paper-based system to better manage the growing number of new hires amidst the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Outdated processes: The existing paper-based method involved multiple steps like printing and scanning, overburdening the HR team.
• Company growth: Rapid expansion increased the administrative load, hindering strategic HR initiatives.
• Pandemic restrictions: Remote work and health safety measures during Covid-19 made paper handling impractical.
• Diverse workforce: The mix of permanent employees and contractors added complexity to the onboarding process.
• Risk to growth: The need to efficiently onboard new hires became critical to sustain the company’s development.

Automation using Microsoft Forms, Lists and Power Automate

After engaging with the HR admin team, we designed a modern onboarding solution based on the Microsoft 365 platform to address the customer’s priorities.

The solution leveraged Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Forms and Power Platform tools to create:

• A SharePoint site that new joiners could access to find all resources they needed as part of their standard training
• A Microsoft Team that new company members would join to ask questions and get guidance on various subjects
• A collection of digital Declaration Forms and Quizzes that new joiners could fill in and submit as part of their training
• A set of SharePoint Lists, including a top-level Dashboard, that HR admins could use to keep track of onboarding progress for new hires
• A set of Power Automate workflows that kept track of Form and Quiz submissions and sent automatic notifications to both new employees and HR admins regarding onboarding process completion status.

Our solution enabled a self-serve experience for new hires whilst streamlining and simplifying the overall management process for the HR admin team

• Onboarding throughput was allowed to continue during the pandemic and was not impacted during lockdown periods imposed by the government.
• Significant time savings for the HR admin team resulting from the removal of activities such as printing, signing, photocopying, scanning and saving onboarding documentation, typically including 15 documents per new employee, each ranging from 2-16 pages
• The onboarding digital dashboard enabled the admins to more efficiently track and manage stage completion progress, thus accelerating the entire end-to-end onboarding process for new hires which could now be completed 3 times faster on average vs. previously
• The new system received positive feedback from new joiners who could now begin the onboarding process before they were able to physically attend the company premises and prepare in-time for their new roles
• Legal and Commercial compliance was incorporated into the process saving additional time from having to email and chase new hires on relevant subjects
• The new digital process reduced carbon footprint, brought time and material savings related to printing, and eliminated physical space requirements for storing onboarding documentation for the company.