According to HR specialists, successful onboarding involves proactively incorporating the four Cs. The 4C model stands for: compliance, clarification, culture and connection

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First impressions

You never get a second chance for a first impression. That’s especially true when new employees first start working in your organization. When the onboarding process is chaotic and outdated, new employees will assume that the company is not well run. They may even begin to doubt their decision to join you. Definitely not the feeling you want new team members to have on their first day!

Please also read the article what is onboarding in the knowledge base where we discuss the importance of onboarding

What are the 4Cs?

The 4c model examples

Marketers all learn the four pillars of marketing strategy. The 4 P’s – product, price, place and promotion – are in the marketing world from day one of training. Even these 4 P’s are now increasingly being adapted in the marketing mix to the 4C’s: Consumer wants and needs, Cost, Convenience and Communication. These 4Cs focus not only on marketing and selling a product, but also on communicating with the target audience from the beginning of the process to the end. But of course, in the context of onboarding, we are not talking about the 4Cs in marketing, but the four Cs in onboarding

What are the 4 Cs in onboarding?

The first of the four Cs: Compliance

Most companies, regardless of their stance on onboarding, deal with the first of the four Cs, Compliance, when a new team member is hired. It is, after all, the law. Compliance measures usually include a review of company guidelines, terms around confidentiality, security guidelines and more

The second of the four Cs: Clarification

This second of the four Cs is often a challenge for many companies. As an HR professional, you must ensure that the new team member clearly understands their role in the company and what is expected of them. This ranges from the general goals of the company and to whom the new employee should report to details about where they should park. All of this is essential for a smooth and successful onboarding experience

The third of the four Cs: Culture

Corporate culture is the third of the four Cs and is often taken for granted. Culture is also confused with perks like catered lunches or unlimited leave. Real culture goes deeper and includes an organization’s mission, values, vision for the future and how team members interact with each other. Culture should be a priority during the induction program but should actually begin before the new employee starts. Learning the company’s unique language is a key indicator of how employees adapt and is often later associated with commitment, satisfaction and turnover

The fourth of the four Cs: Connection

To achieve business success, connections must be made between employees. Staff are more than random individuals performing specific functions. They are teammates working together to achieve ambitious goals. At least, they should be

Promote connectedness by introducing new employees to their new colleagues. If there are colleagues within your company who you think match the new colleague’s personality and/or interests — for example, a group of people who play tennis together on Monday nights — arrange an introduction. It can certainly help to assign a buddy to a new employee, who can teach him/her the ropes during the first few months, as well as point the way in customs and habits. In short, a true familiarisation buddy

The 4Cs of onboarding and ENBOQ

In its approach, ENBOQ can support the 4Cs model in an effective and fun way

Compliance; by getting employees to work with (boring) guidelines in a fun way, we ensure that they are better remembered but also that every employee knows where to find them. See for example the story we developed for Edge.

Clarification; through storytelling, we ensure that every employee has a consistent view of the organization’s priorities and its policies

Culture; ENBOQ translates the organization’s story into an experience. Culture is at the heart of every story we develop and is reflected in the visuals, tone of voice, types of assignments, etc

Connection; it is possible to work as a team with any story in ENBOQ. Nothing more fun than discovering new guidelines or the new strategy with colleagues, right

Employee involvement

Successful employees who are committed and move the company forward are engaged employees. There’s no getting around it. If a company’s employees are not engaged in their work, they will produce poor results. Engagement starts from contract signing and requires attention during pre-boarding and onboarding. In fact, studies show that companies that implement structured onboarding programs produce 50% more productive employees!