What Is the ROI of Automated IT Onboarding? A Complete Guide
Gregg Davis9 min read
As an IT leader, you're likely familiar with the benefits of an automated onboarding system. But before investing, you must see the value it can bring to your organization.
In this guide, we'll help you understand the return on investment (ROI) of an automated IT onboarding process. We'll also teach you how to calculate ROI and how to maximize your investment.
What Are the Downsides of New Employee Turnover?
Before we discuss the ROI of automated onboarding processes, let's explore the downsides of employee turnover. When new hires resign sooner than expected, your company can suffer from the following:
- Increased hiring costs: Finding and training new hires is expensive. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that the average cost to hire a new employee is nearly $4,700. This figure can be higher if you're seeking a replacement for IT roles, which require specialized training and knowledge.
- Lower retention rates: High turnover rates can indicate more serious problems within your company. It often points to poor management, delayed access to IT systems, and a lack of career growth opportunities. When more employees see their peers leaving, it can lead to a turnover cycle, where the departure of one person triggers another's resignation.
- Poor employee engagement: Frequent turnover can also impact the morale of your IT team. Remaining employees may feel overworked as they pick up the slack for departed colleagues. This can lead to burnout and decreased productivity. According to Gallup, this lost productivity can cost businesses up to $8.8 trillion.
- Decline in customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction can suffer if clients frequently deal with new faces who are still learning the ropes. Onboarding new employees can also decrease your IT team's efficiency. This can affect project timelines and work quality, which may damage client relationships.
- Loss of institutional knowledge: When IT employees leave, they take valuable knowledge and skills with them. This loss can disrupt ongoing projects and force remaining team members to relearn processes. Rebuilding this knowledge base takes time and resources, which further impacts productivity.
What Is the ROI of Automated IT Employee Onboarding Solutions?
After understanding the costly downsides of new employee turnover, let’s explore how automated onboarding solutions can deliver a solid return on investment (ROI).
Accelerate Time to Productivity
A Glassdoor report reveals that automation can increase productivity among new hires by 62%. It also accelerates an employee's time to productivity.
In other words, automating the IT onboarding process helps new hires become fully productive faster. New employees can access all the IT systems and resources they need to do their jobs well.
They no longer have to wait for IT staff to grant them access to key tools. They can hit the ground running from the start.
By reducing the time it takes for employees to become fully productive, your organization can see immediate gains in efficiency and output.
Improve Employee Retention Rates
A well-structured onboarding process sets the tone for an employee's experience with your company.
Automated IT systems help you effectively onboard new employees and ensure that all new hires receive the necessary software programs and tools.
When they have a positive experience, they are more likely to stay with your organization. This reduces costly turnover and improves employee retention rates.
Decrease Operational Costs
While automated employee onboarding systems seem like another business expense, they actually save you a lot of money in the long run. They reduce the time and resources spent on onboarding new employees.
For example, automating AD updates eliminates the need for manual data entry and spreadsheets. This can automatically create and update Active Directory accounts when new hire details are entered into your HR software. IT staff no longer has to work overtime to keep information accurate, which can reduce your administrative costs.
Your business should also consider the cost and compliance issues associated with human errors. Using manual methods to provide system or network permissions is prone to mistakes.
Your IT staff may mistakenly give new hires access to sensitive HR software, leaving your company data vulnerable to cyberattacks and malware. Luckily, automated user provisioning minimizes the risk of these costly errors.
Reduce IT Work
Automated employee onboarding solutions handle many repetitive tasks that would otherwise fall to your IT teams.
They help the IT department create accounts, implement effective user provisioning, and comply with security protocols. They also reduce IT onboarding tickets, which frees up your IT team to do more.
With IT onboarding automation, your staff can focus on more strategic initiatives that can increase business revenue.
Boost the Quality of New Hires
Automation can ensure that all new hires go through a consistent and comprehensive IT onboarding process.
This helps new employees understand their roles better, learn the necessary tools, and align themselves with business expectations.
Having a standardized onboarding process also helps you identify and address any technical skill or knowledge gaps. It leads to a more competent and confident workforce that can help you achieve your goals quickly.
Key Features to Look for in Automated IT Onboarding Systems
By now, you realize that investing in an automated employee onboarding system can be beneficial for your business.
But with so many solutions on the market, you're probably wondering which one is the best for your needs.
Consider the following key features to get the most value from your automated system:
- User-friendly interface: A simple and intuitive interface helps your IT teams navigate the system without extensive training.
- Customizable onboarding workflows: Custom workflows let you adapt to different roles, departments, and employee types within your IT team.
- Integration capabilities: It should seamlessly integrate with your existing IT systems and HR software to ensure accurate data transfer.
- Automated task management: This feature automates repetitive tasks like account setup and access provisioning to save IT time and resources.
- Analytics and reporting: It lets you measure the effectiveness of your IT onboarding process.
- Scalability: A scalable, automated system can handle an increasing number of new hires and data. It remains effective and efficient, even when your onboarding needs evolve.
How to Calculate IT Onboarding ROI?
Considering the features of automated IT onboarding systems is just the first step. You must also calculate their ROI before making a final decision. Here's how:
Identify Key Metrics
The first step in calculating ROI is to identify the key metrics an automated system will affect. These usually include the following benchmarks:
- Employee retention rate: This metric tracks how long new hires stay with the company.
- Turnover rate: This is the opposite of retention. It calculates how many new IT employees leave within a period, usually in a year.
- Number of changes in the company: This covers every change to your company (e.g., title, role, department, location) that requires additional work for your IT team.
- IT-related errors: This refers to any issue related to IT, such as hardware failure or improper system access.
- IT onboarding costs: It covers all IT-related expenses related to training and integrating new hires into your company. Examples include acquiring software, preparing training materials, and time spent configuring hardware.
Gather Baseline Data
Next, you should collect data on current onboarding processes. This data will serve as a point of comparison to measure improvements.
For example, you can document existing costs associated with manual onboarding tasks. You can also track the average time it takes for new hires to reach full productivity.
Use an ROI Calculator
You can use an ROI calculator to quantify the benefits of the automated IT onboarding system.
Look for a calculator that provides a detailed analysis of the potential onboarding ROI. You must also choose one with an easy-to-use interface and custom features so you can tailor it to your industry.
Sometimes, you can find automated employee onboarding solutions with a free ROI calculator. You can take advantage of this tool to learn how much a specific system can save you money.
After selecting the right ROI calculator, you must input the required data, such as the key metrics you've identified. Then, you can see the results in real-time.
Best Practices to Maximize ROI in Automated Employee Onboarding Solutions
Learning how to calculate the ROI of your automated onboarding system is crucial. However, knowing the best practices to maximize this ROI is equally important. Let's take a closer look below:
Customize Your Employee Onboarding Strategy
Every company has unique onboarding needs. It's important to customize your onboarding flows to match the unique requirements of your IT team.
For example, different IT roles require varying training resources for specific tools. Onboarding a software developer is not the same as welcoming an IT administrator.
Personalized onboarding experiences can help new IT employees feel more engaged and valued, leading to better retention and productivity.
Gather User Feedback
You should also collect feedback from new employees. Doing so helps you understand what is working well and what needs improvement.
You can use anonymous surveys or informal check-ins to get insights into your existing onboarding process.
Then, you must carefully analyze and use this feedback to improve your IT onboarding strategy.
Train Essential Teams
The best-automated onboarding software is useless if your employees don't know how to use it.
You must provide training sessions to help IT teams use the system to its fullest potential.
You can also offer ongoing support by keeping communication lines open and working closely with the software vendor.
With a well-trained team, you can manage the onboarding process effectively and address any issues promptly.
Provide Continuous Support and Resources
Onboarding doesn’t end after the first week or month.
You must provide continuous support and resources to help new employees settle into their roles. This can include additional training sessions, regular check-ins, and access to a tech mentorship program.
Thanks to this ongoing support, you can make new IT members feel supported and valued. You can expect better engagement and retention rates.
Maximize Employee Onboarding ROI with ezOnboard
ezOnboard offers a smooth and automated employee onboarding experience. It connects your HR software with Active Directory.
Once fully integrated, employee details and user accounts are automatically created and updated in AD. It eliminates the need for manual data entry, so you can maximize employee onboarding ROI.
With ezOnboard, you can also give users the right access to the necessary systems. This ensures that your new hires are ready to hit the ground running from day one. It can improve time to productivity and employee engagement.
Check their ROI calculator here, or you can request a demo by clicking here.
FAQs About the ROI of Automated IT Onboarding
What is the ROI of automated IT onboarding?
The ROI of automated IT onboarding includes faster time to productivity, improved employee retention, and decreased operational costs. By automating repetitive tasks, it reduces the workload for IT teams, leading to significant cost savings.
Why do you need to automate onboarding?
Automating onboarding processes saves time, reduces errors, and ensures consistency. It frees up your IT team to focus on more strategic tasks. This improves business efficiency and employee experience.
What is the business value of an effective onboarding process?
An effective onboarding process boosts employee productivity, improves retention rates, and enhances engagement. It ensures new hires quickly become productive members of the team. This reduces both administrative and hiring costs, which can hurt your bottom line.
What are the challenges you can face when implementing an automated IT onboarding system?
You might find it difficult to train employees on the new system. You may also struggle to integrate the software with existing apps. Fortunately, you can overcome these challenges with careful planning and clear communication.