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5 Good Reasons to Include IT in Employee Onboarding

June 8, 2022

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Highlights

There are very few processes technology can’t improve in a business. In fact, IT can make things easier from the moment an employee walks through the door for the first time. First impressions last and one of the biggest mistakes businesses make with new hires is assuming the job’s done when they accept the role, when in reality, they’re just getting started.

Recruitment for key employees and popular skillsets take time, so if your business has bagged itself some new talent, chances are you’ve already invested heavily. The search may have started months ago, you’ve paid a recruitment company to organise interviews and negotiated on the package that would eventually win them over. So why stop trying the minute they decide to come onboard?

Onboarding 101

How you handle an employee’s first few days in the business is crucial. We’ve all been hired at some point by a business that was totally unprepared for our arrival and the experience is not a good one.

A lack of preparation can lead to the employee feeling out of place, unhelpful – a burden even. And in many cases, they’re at the mercy of another colleague stepping in, simply because they feel sorry for this ‘IT nomad’ who doesn’t know where to start.

It’s an embarrassing start for any business and is completely unnecessary. Onboarding using IT isn’t a new phenomenon and it’s something growing businesses will have to repeat regularly, so why not take a little time to crack it once and for all, and let the process run itself?

Here are five good reasons to get onboarding right from day one

1 - A good onboarding strategy can save money

Replacing an employee costs money and putting them on the clock (and payroll) before you have:

A desk
A phone
A computer
Login details
The right software
A functioning printer
An email address and account
Access to folders, online information and the company’s cloud

….all the things you need to make them a productive member of the team, is a massive waste of their time and your money.

2 - It speaks to who you are as a business

The onboarding process is the first step in the employee lifecycle and one of the most important opportunities you’ll get to demonstrate how you operate as a business, the kind of culture you foster and the importance you place on helping employees settle in.

Using smart technology, less paperwork and automation, businesses of any size can create fun and engaging onboarding processes that:

Allow employees to take more ownership of the onboarding process
Make the process more dynamic, efficient and effective, and
Empower new starts with the tools, information and access they need to start contributing as soon as possible

3 - It arms the employee with the right tools to do their job

Different roles need different tools and by including your IT experts in the process, you can make sure any IT investment is business-appropriate and justifiable.

Roles and responsibilities can be assessed and recommendations made on the best devices, networks and software, to do the job well.

Machine management and parity has a huge role to play here too, allowing businesses to roll out like-for-like systems for employees who do similar jobs, or customised set-ups for more specialised roles like coders, designers or site engineers.

4 - It aids retention

Not everyone who walks through the door is 100% convinced about their new role. Sometimes jobs are offered on a trial basis or an employee might make the leap with a ‘we’ll see how it goes’ mentality.

According to this article in Forbes, close to 20% will leave in the first few weeks, if no one has given any thought to their immediate needs, such as setting up their devices, whether in-company or their own device, and providing necessary training.

5 - Employees will take onboarding as their cue on how to act

Businesses who adopt a lacklustre and unattentive approach to onboarding run the risk of setting the bar low. On the flip side of that, appreciation breeds motivation, so the earlier you invest in your employees, the sooner they’re likely to give back.

IT can support all of this and help grow your business

Onboarding shouldn’t be regarded as something to get out of the way, or even a single event. It’s the first step in what should be an exciting journey for each new employee and an on-going talent strategy for the business.

IT can help with that. If you have in-house resource or work with an outsourced service provider, ask them to put employee onboarding on the IT roadmap and make good on their knowledge and expertise to improve the process and make life easier for everyone.

Discover how IT can help in onboarding and all other aspects of your business.

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Why a wayleave isn’t always needed for fibre installations

For many landlords and building managers, the word “wayleave” feels like the responsible route whenever a fibre circuit is being installed on their property. It sounds formal and safe – a neat legal box to tick.

In many cases, however, a wayleave adds unnecessary complexity and delays, frustrates tenants, and can expose landlords to long-term legal risks.

At Vorboss, we’ve connected thousands of office spaces across London without a wayleave, keeping landlords in full control and getting tenants online faster.

What is a wayleave?

A wayleave is a written agreement between a landowner and a telecoms operator. It gives the operator permission to install and keep equipment on private property.

What many people don’t realise is that signing a wayleave also activates “Code rights” under the Electronic Communications Code. These rights go beyond simple permission, they give the operator legal powers to stay on the property indefinitely, access it when needed, and even refuse removal of their equipment in certain situations.

For a typical connection into a commercial building in London, a wayleave can make the fibre installation process slower, more expensive, and limit the landlord’s flexibility long term.

Why a wayleave isn’t required for standard in-building fibre connections

For a standard in-building fibre connection serving a tenant, a wayleave isn’t a legal requirement. Important protections, like building access, fire safety, repairing any damage, and removing equipment, are already covered by the tenant’s lease and usual building rules.

If no wayleave is signed, no Code rights are triggered, meaning the landlord retains full control and the installation exists under a simple, fully revocable licence.

In practice, this gives landlords far more protection and flexibility:

No legal lock-in – the telecoms operator has no long-term rights to stay or refuse removal.

Landlords keep full control – equipment can be moved or removed when the building changes.

Faster fibre installation – no time lost in drafting contracts or solicitor reviews.

Happier tenants – connections go live quicker; tenants get to move in faster.

By contrast, signing a wayleave and granting Code rights introduces a complex and expensive legal process for any fibre removal or relocation. This can take at least 18 months, plus potential court or tribunal proceedings, making it slower, and far less flexible for the landlord.