According to the report Upside of disruption, in the future of work, the ultimate resource that companies will use more efficiently is the human one. In preparation, labor-intensive firms are reinventing business models, deploying smart technologies and increasing people productivity in order to remain nimble and competitive.

So it makes sense then that the onboarding process also gets a major overhaul. At EY, we just enhanced our framework for our onboarding experience… and we learned a few things along the way.

Don't expect an instant win

First, companies have to consider the onboarding process as a period of transition, and a significantly longer one than you might think. For full-time hires who are looking to build a career at EY, the onboarding process doesn't stop when they finish orientation and have lunch with the team. Their first few weeks are just the beginning of a well-planned, 12-month onboarding journey.

Although the up-front investment to build the program was significant, the collaborative result was our First-Year Experience (FYE) program. Since inception, FYE has improved EY's retention of first-year hires by 2 percent and saved the firm more than $7 million in rehire and retraining costs. In fact, the process was deemed so successful, we recently extended the EY onboarding process to 18–24 months and are developing a newly expanded framework.

Centralizing programs reaps big benefits

Centralizing our orientation program has provided consistency, quality control and efficiency, but it can also be expensive and resource intensive.

EY made the change from a decentralized, region-based approach to a centralized offering for all experienced new hires in the US almost two years ago. New joiners continue to share their thoughts about how they felt EY made a personal investment in each of them for having such a milestone event. EY's centralized program focuses on delivering an understanding of EY's brand and culture, and is a kick-start to building a new hire's network. Joiners have the opportunity to network with peers, facilitators and even retired partners, who host an opening plenary and share stories about their EY experiences and career.

During the last two years, EY has seen very consistent scores across the welcoming phase of our onboarding framework, and much of that is attributed to their successful milestone start with the firm. Whatever method you choose, be sure to keep your onboarding programs consistent across geographies, sectors or verticals, and business units. A common employee experience fosters a much stronger culture.

Focusing on who you are onboarding is a critical component

One of the biggest questions companies should ask is, "who are we onboarding?" Successful programs need to be customized for each audience; there's no one-size-fits-all solution. When we asked ourselves this question, we realized just how much our contingent workforce had grown. Our brand and company culture — two of our most coveted assets — could be compromised if we weren't thoughtful in our approach. We had to find a way to uphold both, and maintain high quality for our clients and engagement teams when bringing on contractors.

The contractor experience is different in many ways. Contractors may represent EY on client engagements and internal teams, but they are not EY employees. They don't have EY credit cards or business cards and they participate in different types of learning activities.

A custom onboarding plan is created and shared with the contractor's local office contact. Once on-site, the local office contact hosts the contractor and coordinates a meeting with our IT team to ensure the contractor has the necessary tools and resources to get started. Once local training is complete, the contractor is transitioned to the team they will be supporting. A successful handoff is key so the contractor can dive in on Day One.

Don't risk your greatest investment

As our clients' businesses change, so do our service offerings. We are continually hiring new executives who bring experience and new skills to meet market demands. But in order to optimize this investment, it's essential we get our new executive hires acclimated and market-ready effectively and efficiently.

One way we do this is through our Direct Admit Program, an event we've been refining for nine years. We've developed a curriculum designed exclusively for executive hires, focused on networking, knowledge sharing and culture building. The two-day milestone event takes place three times each year in our New York City headquarters, where we convene our Americas Area senior leaders and other firm leaders to prepare our new executives to hit the ground running.

The experience doesn't end there. We take a high-touch, concierge approach to the executive onboarding process. Each new executive is presented with a year-long transition plan that outlines everything he or she needs to become immersed in our firm's culture — including a transition relationship map, learning plan, business-unit-specific plan and a personal onboarding plan. And to guide them along the way, every new leader is assigned a transition support team and an executive coach, who helps them establish priorities, build strong relationships and establish a personal brand during their first year.

Always consider the future

It's not easy to focus on delivering for clients and employees while looking ahead to future-proof your organization. Based on our experience, onboarding is the best place to start as a key component of your overall talent strategy.

When it comes to onboarding, the stakes are high, as turnover and lack of productivity are costly. Whereas getting it right up front can improve job performance and retention, reduce costly turnover, heighten employee engagement and speed to productivity, and strengthen your overall brand. Our data shows a 5% increase in engagement since FY16 for our managers and senior managers, which is an undeniable ROI.

Don't ever underestimate the value of an impactful beginning. Our hope is that whether our people join EY as an intern or an experienced executive, they will gain insights and experiences that last a lifetime.

Michele Nelson is a 20+-year Ernst & Young LLP veteran and serves as the Americas Director of Onboarding and Transitions.