The skills shortage —accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic—shows no signs of easing. In fact, recent data suggests it may even be getting worse.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ most recent survey, one in five Australian businesses have reported difficulty finding suitably skilled or qualified staff. Two thirds (65%) of medium and large businesses plan to employ new staff over the next three months, and around half of medium (49%) and large (52%) of businesses expect to re-train or upskill existing staff to fill skills gaps.

And it’s not just a HR problem: over a third (36%) of Australian businesses also say current staff shortages will impact their growth.

HR teams, however, usually bear the brunt of pressure to find quality staff, while keeping current employees motivated and engaged. It’s a problem compounded by dated, overly manual HR processes, which can impede employee recruitment and retention. It’s also why many businesses are turning to automated and data-led technology, to help ensure a positive experience at every step.

So, what does a quality employee experience look like in the current climate? And how can a solution such as SAP SuccessFactors help? Here are a few key factors:

More Efficient, Effective Onboarding

First impressions are critical, and a poor onboarding experience can negatively impact employee engagement, productivity, and retention. The more time an employee spends manually filling out forms, or waiting for their technology to be installed, the less time they spend doing productive and meaningful work.

Despite this, only 12% of employees agree that their organisation has a good onboarding process. For most organisations, the main challenge with onboarding is that it’s overly manual and involves reams of paperwork. The average new hire is still expected to complete a staggering 54 activities during the onboarding process—many of which are repetitive.

By contrast, research indicates that a quality onboarding process can boost retention of new hires by 82%.

So, In Today’s World of Work, What Does This Look Like?

Effective onboarding is about making processes as seamless and consistent as possible for every new starter. It’s about automating laborious tasks, enabling self-service, and reducing manual data entry—so employees can get on with their actual job, sooner.

This is where a powerful HR solution like SAP SuccessFactors makes all the difference. It fast-tracks the hiring process, with step-by-step wizards, intuitive dashboards, and built-in electronic forms. In addition to onboarding, it also includes tools for cross-boarding and offboarding for new hires, internal transfers, and outgoing employees. Automated workflows and notifications in SAP SuccessFactors also reduce the administrative burden for HR teams. Onboarding managers have a comprehensive dashboard which provides full visibility, and through which they can initiate and complete tasks.

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