EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING PRACTICES

By
Himanshi Sethi

A report submitted in partial fulfillment of

PGDM Programme 2017-2019

Company Guide - Mr. Sachin Dhamija Faculty Guide – Mr Sanjay Chaudhary

Designation - Team Leader - HR Designation – Associate Professor

I
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this project report “Employee Onboarding Practices’’ is my own work, to the
best of my knowledge and belief. It contains no material previously published or written by another
person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other
degree or diploma of any other institute, except where due acknowledge has been made in the text.

Signature: ____________________

Himanshi Sethi
Roll no.- 201705013
2017-2019

II
CERTIFICATE FROM COMPANY GUIDE

III
 CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY GUIDE

This is to certify that work entitled ‘Employee Onboarding Practices’ is a piece of work done by
‘Himanshi Sethi’ under my guidance and supervision for the partial fulfillment of degree of
PGDM at Delhi School of Business – VIPS TC.

To the best of my knowledge and belief this study embodies the work of the candidate. This
requirement of the rules and regulations relating to the summer internship of the institute, is up-to
the standard both in respect of content and language for being referred to the examiner.

Signature ____________________________

Name: Professor Sanjay Chaudhary

Date: 17 – 09 - 2018

IV
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I was given a golden opportunity of doing summer internship with Andritz Hydro Pvt. Ltd. (New
Delhi) which proved to be an eminent turn for research and skillful development. On that account
I review myself as a very fortunate individual. I am also filled with gratitude for having an
opportunity to interact with so many amazing professionals who guided me through this internship
period.
I want to convey my gratitude and significant thanks to Vice President of HR department Mr.
Sharad Mishra and the team lead Mr. Sachin Dhamija for permitting me to execute my project at
their highly esteemed organization.
I also express my gratefulness to Ms. Sabita Kumari and Mr. Anirudh Nair for helping me in taking
useful decisions and giving inevitable instructions and guidance. I am thankful to them for
providing me all the facilities which made it easier to carry on my research project.
It is my intense view to place on information my best regards and gratitude to all the employees
who gave their valuable time for filling questionnaire and sharing their views on employee
onboarding practices at Andritz. Their feedbacks were extraordinarily useful for my study both
practically and theoretically.
I perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in my career growth. I will try my best to use gained
knowledge in the best possible manner, in order to achieve my desired career objectives. Hope to
continue cooperation with all of you in the future.
I would also extend my sincere thanks to Neerja Arora ma’am who helped in statistical part, my
faculty mentor Prof. J.L Gupta for guiding me in this project.

Sincerely,
Himanshi Sethi

V
 ABSTRACT

I had started my summer internship in Andritz Hydro Pvt. Ltd. for two months (16 April, 18 – 16
June, 18). The topic of ‘Employee onboarding practices’ was given to me by my mentor Mr. Sachin
Dhamija who helped me a lot in doing my internship project. I closely observed onboarding
process followed at Andritz.
This report includes the overview of the company and onboarding practices followed there.
Employees’ feedback is also there on existing and lacking practices in Andritz and their
recommendations. These were taken by a primary research survey through a questionnaire on
onboarding practices. Responses were taken from 30 employees from different departments.
In this report, responses of all the respondents have been analysed and interpreted.
Recommendations and conclusions have been drawn through employees’ feedback.
I have also assisted my mentor in some onboarding practices.
With limited knowledge and experience I have tried my best to make this report understandable as
possible. The various boundaries to process improvement and maintaining ethical standards in a
corporate environment have also been experienced.

VI
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No Title Page No

Acknowledgement v
Abstract vi
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction to On boarding 2
1.2 Importance of the study 3
1.3 Objective of the study 3-4
1.4 Focus and need of the Study 4
1.5 Contribution 4
2 Literature Review 5-7
3 Industry Overview & Company Profile 8
3.1 Corporate ethos of Andritz Hydro 9
3.2 Products and services offered by Andritz Hydro 9 - 10
3.3 HR Department overview 10
3.4 Employee Onboarding practices at Andritz 11
4 Research Methodology 12 - 13
5 Findings 14 - 15
6 Analysis & Interpretation 16 - 31
7 Conclusion 32 - 33
8 Limitation of the study 34 - 35
9 Recommendations 36 - 38
10 References 39 - 40
Appendix 41 - 43

VII
 CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION

1
1.1 Onboarding
Employee onboarding is the procedure of assisting new employees adapt to communal and
working aspects of their new jobs swiftly and easily and learn the attitudes, knowledge, skills, and
behaviors required to function effectively within an organization.

In short, employee onboarding involves the processes that help you ensure that your new hires get
started on the right foot.

Getting your new hires up to full productivity as fast as possible brings many advantages: be in
touch with your new employees, help them overcome their fears and concerns, and show them the
right directions to move in, and they will succeed in your company.

When the new hires physically come to work on the first day, they feel frustrated; they have a lot
of concerns and questions that have to be addressed. But in some companies, the onboarding
process is far down the priority list, or hiring managers make errors and do not understand how
positive things impact the productivity of the new hires.

Formal vs. Informal Onboarding

We already know that employee onboarding involves helping a new hire get started on the right
foot. However, it can be broken down into two types; formal and informal onboarding.

 Formal onboarding involves extremely structured and controlled environments wherein

each new employee must receive the exact same orientation or training. It covers the
organized tasks and procedures that help new employees adjust to their new positions. With
this type of onboarding, new employees are often kept apart from current employees to
experience coordinated activities for orientation, in-classroom training, and socialization.

 Informal onboarding refers to the ad-hoc and semi-organized activities through which a
new employee learns about their new job. It can include job shadowing and impromptu
one-on-one coaching or meetings with management and new colleagues, as well as the
minutiae of getting started at a company, such as receiving badges and equipment.

2
1.2 Importance of the study

An adept and proficient manpower is essence of any organization. As the battle for talent and
aptitude is increasing, companies are expeditiously getting the importance of having the right
people at right place and then retaining them.

This study is important so that one should become familiar with the benefits of employees
onboarding program. Another importance is that such practices can be improved in the
organization through the feedbacks of onboarding surveys and study. Particular opportunities
can be identified which need change for implementing/ improving onboarding practices in the
organization. This also helps in evaluating workplace situations that works as a driving force
of employee engagement and retention. This study can unveil the strengths and opportunities
of employees’ onboarding programs.

Formal and well-structured onboarding programs make new employee feels like he/she is now
being associated with a great organization. It will help in increasing retention rates. As one of
the study revealed that 60% more employees continued to be with the organization for more
than three years where there was well-organized onboarding program. In other study, 15%
respondents came to a decision of quitting their current job simply due to inefficient or no
onboarding practices. So, this study will help in knowing that onboarding process plays a
major role in retention of employees.

If a proper onboarding system is introduced in the organization, it will help in building

employees’ workplace relationships and will also cut down the period of time a new employee
needs to get settle in an organization and contribute to the organization.

1.3Objective of the study

Following are the objectives of this study
 To evaluate onboarding practices during three phases that is pre-joining, during
joining and post-joining in this company
 To understand employees’ attitudes towards their workplace conditions which
works as one of the driving forces of engagement
 To know the level of interaction of new joinees with rest of the team

3
  To take feedback from employees regarding onboarding practices in this company
 To spot areas of strengths and best onboarding practices followed
 To recognize potential risks and areas of improvement
 To recommend which onboarding practices lack in this company and should be
introduced
1.4Need and focus of the study
It was observed that there was something missing when a new employee joins the
organization. Onboarding practices appeared to be unorganized. Moreover, employees
were not clear about various HR policies of the organization. Therefore, there arises a need
to be familiar with the onboarding practices at Andritz Hydro, Delhi. Thus, it was also
important to know what employees think about onboarding practices followed at Andritz
and take their valuable feedback.
Focus was on receiving feedback from employees of not only one department but from
different departments namely Global IT, Marketing management and business
development, SR-PM, Penstocks and gates, etc. It was also emphasized that one
employee’s response and views should not shared with any other employee, so that
everyone could express their own views without any biasness.
1.5Contribution
I observed some practices followed in this company when a new employee join. I found
something was missing in onboarding process. Then I took initiative in conducting this
study on ‘Employee onboarding practices’. I prepared a questionnaire which made it easier
to take feedback from employees of different departments. I conducted a personal survey
and got hard copies of questionnaire filled from some employees. Some of them were
personally interviewed about ‘in which organization they were working before joining
Andritz?’ and ‘what onboarding practices were followed there?’ etc. I have given some
recommendations on the basis of my study, for improving onboarding process at Andritz
which I hope will prove to be useful and fruitful for the organization.

4
CHAPTER - 2
LITERATURE
REVIEW

5
The procedure of bringing new employees into an organization is called onboarding. All
organizations recruit, interview, orient and train employees to some degree. Onboarding can be
described as the direct bridge between the promise of new employee talent and the attainment of
actual productivity. An effective onboarding process enables new team members to gain access to
information, tools and materials needed to perform their function more quickly. Executive
onboarding should be strategic, so that it not only prevents executive derailment, but also expedites
the executive's contribution to optimizing strategic achievement.

While many government agencies understand that a good first impression is important in
recruiting, this image is often not reinforced during a new hire's first year on the job. That's where
onboarding -- integrating new employees into an organization and equipping them to succeed --
comes in. The private sector uses onboarding to engage new employees, accelerate their path to
productivity, and retain them. Four fundamental principles ensure that onboarding is
comprehensive, integrated, reflects the organization's needs and, most importantly, leads to
positive outcomes. These principles are: 1. Align to mission and vision. 2. Connect to culture,
mission, and strategic priorities. 3. Integrate activities. 4. Apply to all employees. Onboarding is
not just the first day or two of orientation. Good onboarding has five phases, beginning when the
employee accepts the job offer and continuing through the end of the first year. Two essential
elements of onboarding should be embedded across all phases: technology and measurement.

The topic of onboarding employees has not been fully understood by busy organizations. The
process for onboarding and assimilating new employees in the modern organization is often
ineffective - despite the fact that this important task is acknowledged to be vital to the success of
those employees and important to their organizations. Onboarding is not done well by
organizations, that employees expect that they will be treated with appropriate concern for their
interests as part of their assumptions in coming into a new organization, that onboarding new
employees is fraught with ethical implications

Ineffective onboarding has significant ramifications not only for the efficiency of organizations
but also for the effectiveness of incoming employees. Understanding the implicit ethical issues in
the onboarding process enables organizations to improve the employer-employee relationship and
honor their responsibilities to incoming employees.

6
In a world where trust in leaders and organizations has declined, understanding the implications
of the psychological contract expectations of incoming employees and honoring an organization's
obligations to those employees is likely to increase employee trust and commitment while
benefiting the organizations.

Participants who are on boarded at the highest level, Connection, have higher perceptions of
onboarding utility, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support, and job
satisfaction.

7
 CHAPTER-3
INDUSTRY
OVERVIEW AND
COMPANY
PROFILE

8
3.1 Corporate ethos of the company
Andritz Hydro Pvt. Ltd. is one of the supreme global distributors of electro-mechanical equipment
and services for hydropower plants. Andritz is a leader in the world market for hydraulic power
generation. It is a subsidiary of Andritz Hydro Gmbh in Austria. It has leading technology by
global research and development. Constantly updated quality procedures are being followed.

Andritz administers more than 250 sites in over 40 nations. Andritz has its publicly registered
headquarter in Graz, Austria. Approximately 25,800 employees work there.

Andritz work on a “from water-to-wire” concept. It also has a pole position in the Indian
subcontinent. Andritz Hydro has been active in the Indian market for more than 100 years. It has
two fully equipped state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located at Mandideep and Prithla. It
has executed projects with a total capacity of more than 21,000 MW in India.

Research and Development team is working on a constant basis to upgrade its technologies and
products. Andritz Hydro has set highest level manufacturing standards to cope up with customers’
needs in terms of quality, cost, and time

3.2 Products and Services offered by Andritz Hydro Pvt. Ltd.

 Products
1. Penstocks and gates
2. Turbines
3. Valves
4. Generators
5. Electrical power systems
6. Automation
7. Hydro matrix
8. Tidal current turbines
 Services
1. Plant assessment
2. Inspections
3. Maintenance
4. Spare parts

9
 5. Troubleshooting
6. Emergency repairs
7. Field services
8. Training

3.3 HR Department Overview

The Human Resource Department serves as a resource center for 800 plus employees on a wide
variety of employment related questions. The Human Resources Department prides itself on an
"open door" policy and encourages staff members to contact the Department as a first line resource
for questions. Examples of support services that the Human Resource Department specifically
provides to staff members include benefits, Workers Compensation, certification,
parenting/medical leaves, absence request processing, personnel file review, and employment
opportunities.

One of the chief duties of the human resources office of the company is to ensure the
business operates in compliance with all labor laws. The department has to know and
comply with that state’s particular set of rules employment regulations.
Recruiting and training new employees are primary responsibilities of the human resources
team. This part of the job often entails advertising open positions, interviewing and hiring
candidates and setting aside hours devoted to training the new recruits.
he HR office is in charge of record keeping for the business. The human resources
department also maintains employees’ records including their individual tax forms. The
company’s business license, inventory statistics, insurance records and all other pertinent
business information is also be on file.
The dispensation of payroll comes under the responsibilities of the human resource office.
Health care benefits are also handled by the human resource department.
HR department manages employee relations. When there is a dispute or misunderstanding
between employees or between employees and a manager, human resource officers
mediate the situation. Employees are encouraged to bring relational problems to the
attention of the human resources staff for resolution.

10
3.4 Onboarding Practices at Andritz
Before joining of an employee, HR team stay in regular touch with the employee. Then
there are some joining formalities which every employee needs to comply with. These
include filling of forms, submission of copy of educational certificates and I’d proofs for
maintaining company records. Separate files are maintained for each and every employee.
Then the company overview is given by an HR Executive along with an office tour. There
is a two days induction program which is conducted by Vice President-HR to provide an
introduction to the working environment and the set-up of the employee within the
organization. The process covers the employer and employee rights and the terms and
conditions of employment. Health and safety related policies are also conveyed to the new
joiners.
As per the requirement of different departments, some new joiners are taken for Prithla
Plant visit to give them a clear view of all the operations and functioning.

11
 CHAPTER-4
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

12
The main goal of this study was to investigate how to implement a proper and organized
onboarding program for Andritz (New Delhi). Action Research was chosen as a research
strategy for the study because according to Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill (2012, 183–184) it is
designed to develop solutions to real organizational problems through a participative and
collaborative approach. The purpose of the Action Research strategy is to promote
organizational learning and to produce partial outcomes through identifying issues, planning
action, acting and evaluating action.

Then there was a need to collect data to evaluate onboarding practices. The objective of the
data collection was to achieve a holistic view of the status of onboarding at Andritz. This was
done by preparing a questionnaire and getting it filled by thirty employees choosing ‘Random
Sampling Method’.

The questionnaire was created based on the research questions: how onboarding is currently
planned and implemented at Andritz and what are the good practices and required development
items of onboarding. Basically the questionnaire was divided into three phases namely pre-
joining, during joining and post-joining. The themes of the questionnaire included onboarding
process and content, and feelings and experiences of onboarding. Additionally, the survey
included questions related to the onboarding outcomes which presented in the theoretical
framework; performance, job clarity, social integration and engagement.

13
CHAPTER - 5
FINDINGS

14
Findings of the study
As a primary research survey was conducted through questionnaire on Employee
Onboarding Practices and as per their feedback, interaction with HR department and other
employees, it was found that:
1. Pre-joining onboarding practices like sending of introductory emails, regular touch
with employees before their joining etc. are very well in the company
2. During joining, Induction program is being conducted for two days but it is not well
structured because of which the employees are not aware of the different HR and
company policies
3. Orientation program is not there in the company which is a critical tool in making
employees feel part of the organization and increasing employee engagement and
loyalty
4. Moreover, employees are not given ID/ access badges on the day of joining because
of which they sometimes face difficulty in entry/exit
5. There is less scope of interaction of new employee with team members and other
colleagues because no step is taken for that, such as organizing casual lunch party
6. Feedback from employees on’ how was their first day on work’ is taken from very
few employees
7. Some of the employees are unaware of their Key Result Areas (KRA)
8. Introduction only with team/ department and not with cross-functional departments
9. Less interaction with HR team
10. Less organized plant visit
11. No occasional get-togethers
12. HR policies are not clear to most of the employees, nor they have access to many
company policies

15
 Chapter-6
Analysis and
Interpretation

16
Pre-Joining
1. Introductory email with well-planned schedules and other details was sent before arriving

None of the employees strongly disagreed to this question. More than 50 percent of the
employees agreed that necessary details were mailed to them before first day of their job.

2. Company was in regular touch with me during the time gap of accepting the offer and
starting the job

17
 It is a positive sign as only 3% of respondents disagreed to this question. This can help in
building positive attitude of new employees about the company before their joining, which
can help in employee retention. Nobody disagreed but 20% of respondents were neutral.

3. All the papers that I needed to sign were sent to me before first day of job

Total of 60 % (37+23) of respondents agreed to this. But it should be more as signing of

papers before first day of job could save time and that time can be invested somewhere else
like in interacting with the team members, etc.

During Joining

4. Office security/ reception was pre-informed about my arrival and I had no hard time
getting in

18
 60% of total respondents agreed to this which is indeed a good percentage as compared to
respondents who disagreed that is 10%. But 30% of respondents were neutral.

5. A peer buddy was assigned to me for at least two weeks

In this question percentage of respondents who agreed and strongly agreed is 40% (33+7).
But the respondents who disagreed is also not less, that is 27%. There are variations

19
 because peer buddy is assigned to new employees in some departments and not in all
departments. 33% of total respondents were neutral. The reason could be some experienced
employees may not need a peer buddy and mostly freshers may need it.

6. I received a nice gift as a welcome gesture

Total of 67% respondents disagreed to this, that is majority of the respondents said that
they did not receive any welcome gift at the time of their joining. 20% of total
respondents remained neutral to this question.

7. I was taken to a quick office tour

20
 Only 23% of respondents disagreed which means that most of the employees are taken to
office tour. 27% respondents acted neutral.

8. I was introduced very well to the team

Only 3% of sample employees disagreed which is actually a very less percentage. Majority
of respondents were of the view that they were introduced to the team on the very first day
of their job which helps in interaction among the employees.

9. Organizational structure, functioning, mission and vision, benefits, and policies of the
organization were communicated to me in an effective manner through an induction
program

21
 23% of respondents were inducted properly, that is their induction was formally organized.
30% of respondents agreed. 20% (13+7) employees did not agree. These variations could
be because of different dates of joining and number of joinees on a particular date. 27% of
respondents did not give their views on conduct of induction programs. This could be
because they were unable to decide whether the induction was enough or not for
understanding the organizational structure, policies, etc. of the company.

10. A pleasant Orientation program was organized for interaction with other employees

22
 Aggregate of 57% respondents marked agree and strongly agree, which is not a bad
percentage though. But if importance and need of orientation is given a look at, then it is
less. 27% of respondents marked neutral.

11. A proper flow/schedule was designed for me

23% of total answerers strongly agreed to this question and 40% agreed, which means more
than 60% of respondents agreed to this question. Among all the employees who were
responding, none of them strongly disagreed.

12. My seating and equipment logistics was done well in advance

23
 27% respondents marked neutral. If we keep this percentage aside and see how many
agreed to this, then the percentage is 50%. If it would have been more, then it would be
beneficial for the organization as it saves time.
13. I received my ID/access badges on the very first day and I faced no difficulty in entry/exit

Only 10% of answerers strongly agreed and 23% agreed, that is 33% agreed to this question.
40% of respondents disagreed (strongly disagree + disagree) and it might be possible that they
had faced some difficulties in entry without access badges. 27% remained neutral. May be they
didn’t face any problem in entry/exit.

14. I had access to email ids and documents from the first day of my job

24
 23% respondents strongly agreed and 305 agreed to this which is quite a good percentage.
23% respondents preferred to remain neutral. Total of 24% disagreed.

15. A brief overview of security practices of the company was given to me

60% respondents agreed that they were introduced about the security practices of the
company. Only 10% disagreed and nobody strongly disagreed, while 30% were neutral.

16. A useful starter task was assigned to me

25
 It would not be wrong if we ignore the other responses other than the agreed ones. Total of
57% respondents agreed that they were given useful starter task when they joined which is
commendable. Only 20% disagreed to this. 23% remained neutral. It can be because they
might not remember or they do not differentiate between the tasks.

17. A casual lunch with my team was organized on the first day

Only 47% employees agreed to this which is a very less percentage. As team lunch is a
very good way of interaction of new employee with the other team members.
18. My first day on work was good

26
 The responses to this question are just commendable. 80% respondents agreed that their
first day on work was good. None of the respondents disagreed and 20% were neutral to
this. Still 80% is a very good percentage and can be an achievement for the company.

19. Appropriate feedback on ‘how was my first day on job’ was taken from me

There are mixed responses to this question. 43% agreed and 30% disagreed. This can be
because of different departments and different superiors. Some may had taken interest in
taking feedback from the new joinees but some did not. 27% respondents preferred to
remain neutral.

Post-Joining

20. Clear job description including my roles and responsibilities was given to me

27
 70% respondents agreed and nobody strongly disagreed. But it can’t be ignored that 10%
respondents disagreed and 20% were neutral.

21. Scope and limits of my authority are well known to me

73% agreed which is indeed a good percentage of respondents as it is very important for
employees to know scope and limits of their authority. 7% disagreed and 20% were neutral.

28
22. Key result areas (KRA) were being established

It’s very important for employees to know on what basis and standards their performance
will be evaluated, that is their key result areas. 60% agreed to this which means KRA were
established for them but 10% disagreed and 30% were neutral. Some of the respondents
were new joiners, they might be unaware of the same.

Subjective Questions

23. Any practice/(s) you find best in Andritz?

Employees gave the following responses:
 Cooperation across functions and teams
 Introduction part on the joining day
 Team is open to listen to new joiners
 Sharing knowledge
 First meeting gesture of everyone
 Sending cakes on employee’s birthday
 The team helps new joiners to get accustomed to Andritz culture
 Friday quiz

29
  Workaholic environment
 Employee development program
 Everyone’s willingness to collaborate and work as a team
24. On the basis of your previous experience, which onboarding practices lack in this
company?
The following answers were given by the respondents:
 Information of all departments’ new joiners on share print/portal
 An employee handbook consisting of HR policies, Do’s and Don’ts were handed
to every new employee
 A senior introducing new joiner to cross-functional teams
 Arranging team lunch
 Having a welcome hoarding at main door and a good corporate gift
 Availability of HR policies and other information anytime
 More employee interaction with HR team
 A common platform containing all HR policies and forms required by employees
25. In your opinion, which onboarding practices should be there in this company
Following were the respondents’ responses
 Documents should be available at one place
 Before joining, there should be proper communication of all the details
 HR department should be more responsive
 Introduction with the team and colleagues by HR or reporting manager
 Induction procedure with respect to site/ factory visit needs to be organized
 Orientation should be a part so that new employee can be aware of every point of
contact
 Organizing of essentials such as laptop, email etc. could be smoothen
 HR policies should be made more clearer to employees
 A peer buddy may be assigned
 Monthly party or small events to provide a chance to new employees to tell about
themselves there
 Employee should be given access to all general HR company policies
30
  Occasional get together and team building exercises should be there
 There should be a PPT for all departments’ introduction as HOD is often not
available due to busy schedule of work and meetings
26. Any other suggestions
 Provide Andritz Hydro printed T-Shirts
 Organizing extra-curricular activities
 A common platform to interact with other employees for any concern and request

31
 CHAPTER-7
CONCLUSION

32
It can be concluded that there is employee onboarding process at Andritz but it is not well
organized. There is a two days induction program being conducted at Andritz but maybe it is not
enough. Because employees are aware of the Organizational structure, functioning, mission and
vision but unaware of the HR and company policies. It means that purpose of induction program
is not met to the fullest.

Although none of the employees said that their first day on work was not good but onboarding
process is not just a one-day activity. Onboarding new hires at an organization should be a strategic
process that lasts at least one year, staffing and HR experts say, because how employers handle
the first few days and months of a new employee's experience is crucial to ensuring high retention.
But this could only be done if there is sufficient interaction of HR team with the new employees,
which found to be missing.

Orientation is not there which is very necessary for introducing a new employee to the company,
its policies, the coworkers and the job itself. Its characteristics include introducing the employee
to the company's culture, roles and responsibilities, job description and other important things an
employee will need to know. But there is no introduction of new employee with cross cultural
teams. New and even existing employees are not familiar with policies of the organization.

There are many onboarding practices in which the company is doing really good, such as

 Introductory email with well-planned schedules and other details are sent to joinees before
arriving
 Company stays in regular touch with the employees during the time gap of accepting the
offer and starting the job
 Well introduction with team members

But the areas in which the company is lacking, strong actions should be taken so that it will lead
to high retention rate.

33
 CHAPTER-8
LIMITATION OF
THE STUDY

34
As every employee may have different views regarding his/her onboarding process followed by
the company. But it was difficult to get in touch with all the employees of the company because
of the large number of employees. So first it was necessary to target some 30-40employees for my
research survey.

Then most of the prospective respondents were disinterested in responding to research

questionnaire when it was mailed to them. It was evident from the very less responses I got. So, it
was then became necessary to go personally and request them to fill the questionnaire and share
their experiences regarding onboarding process in this company and the previous one (if any).

Some of the interviewees did not want to properly engage with the researcher. The reason could
be again disinterest or some of them were busy in doing their work.

Then it was necessary to fill some details in the questionnaire like name, department, designation
and date of joining. It was done to know if there is difference in onboarding practices of existing
and new employees. Also, it was necessary to know if there is any designation wise or department
wise differences in onboarding practices. So, the limitation arouse was that some of the
respondents did not give their true and fair feedback. Also, most of the answers to questions were
marked neutral. This might be because of issue of data protection raised its head. Therefore, the
quality and depth of the answers were limited. Even with further prying by the researcher, very
little additional information was forthcoming.

Moreover, the number of interviews performed and responses taken through questionnaires was
small and probably a direct indication of the lack of transparency. .

Other limitation was to not be able to get into the financials regarding onboarding practices as it is
a confidential information for a company and could not be shared with an intern. So, cannot
recommend any practice related to cost.

35
 CHAPTER-9
RECOMMENDATIO
NS

36
 Onboarding process should be given importance as other tasks like recruitment, selection
in the organization.
 Budget should be decided for onboarding process and investment for the same should be
made
 All the documentations and paper work should be done well before joining date to save
time
 A peer buddy should be assigned to new employee. Because just knowing there is someone
there to listen who is genuinely interested in helping them can make new staff members
feel supported
 A welcome gift should be given on the date of joining or some other welcome gestures like
a welcome hoarding, etc. must be there
 New employee should be introduced to cross-functional teams also
 There must be a well-structured Induction and Orientation program and all the missions,
vision, policies, benefits should be conveyed very well to the employees
 Seating and equipment logistics should be done well in advance like documents. E-mail
ids and desk
 Access badges should be given on very first day so that employees face no difficulty in
entry and exit
 A casual lunch with the team should be organized so that there would be more scope of
interaction
 Feedback should be taken from employees on how was their first day and should be
followed up by timely feedbacks so that employees really feel like a part of the organization
 KRA should be known to every employee
 Information of all departments’ new joiners should be on a share print/portal
 An employee handbook consisting of HR policies, Do’s and Don’ts should be handed to
every new employee as employees are not familiar with HR policies
 There should be more employee interaction with HR team
 A common platform containing all HR policies and forms required by employees should
be there

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 Induction procedure with respect to site/ factory visit needs to be organized
 Orientation should be a part so that new employee can be aware of every point of contact
 Organizing of essentials such as laptop, email etc. could be smoothen
 Occasional get together and team building exercises should be there

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CHAPTER – 10
REFERENCES

39
References

1. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2008318297?accountid=173681
2. https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/onboarding-best-practices/
3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141110053210-112837408-why-is-onboarding-so-
important
4. https://www.nsca.org/importance-employee-onboarding-get-started/
5. https://search.proquest.com/docview/2043342563?accountid=173681

40
 Annexure

Questionnaire on Employees Onboarding Practices

Note: This questionnaire has been designed to evaluate onboarding practices at Andritz Hydro
(New Delhi). You are requested to share your fair and valuable feedback.

Name
Age
Gender
Designation
Department
Date of joining

Pre-joining
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
agree disagree
1. Introductory email with well-
planned schedules and other details
was sent before arriving
2. Company was in regular touch with
me during the time gap of accepting
the offer and starting the job
3. All the papers that I needed to sign
were sent to me before first day of
job

During joining
4. Office security/ reception was pre-
informed about my arrival and I had no
hard time getting in
5. A peer buddy was assigned to me for at
least two weeks
6. I received a nice gift as a welcome gesture
7. I was taken to a quick office tour
8. I was introduced very well to the team
9. Organizational structure, functioning,
mission and vision, benefits, and policies
of the organization were communicated to

41
 me in an effective manner through an
induction program
10. A pleasant Orientation program was
organized for interaction with other
employees
11. A proper flow/schedule was designed for
me
12. My seating and equipment logistics was
done well in advance
13. I received my ID/access badges on the
very first day and I faced no difficulty in
entry/exit
14. I had access to email ids and documents
from the first day of my job
15. A brief overview of security practices of
the company was given to me
16. A useful starter task was assigned to me
17. A casual lunch with my team was
organized on the first day
18. My first day on work was good
19. Appropriate feedback on ‘how was my
first day on job’ was taken from me

Post-joining
20. Clear job description including my roles
and responsibilities was given to me
21. Scope and limits of my authority are well
known to me
22. Key result areas (KRA) were being
established

23. Any practice/(s) you find best in Andritz

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
24. On the basis of your previous experience, which onboarding practices lack in this company?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________
25. In your opinion, which onboarding practices should be there in this company?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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26. Any other suggestions
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

43