How to handle disputes during onboarding

Landing a new job is exciting. It offers the opportunity to take on fresh responsibilities, learn additional skills, and develop relationships with coworkers. Before hitting the ground running, many new hires participate in an onboarding process. The unlucky ones, however, may find themselves in conflict with their new employer before they have even had a chance to settle into their new role. That’s a lonely and confusing place to be. So to find out how best to handle this type of situation, we got some advice from three human resource professionals.

Many big companies, such as Netflix, LinkedIn and Google, have formal onboarding processes for new hires as they want to get the best from their staff as soon as possible. This can be effective. According to a report by the Brandon Hall Group, a research firm providing insights on talent acquisition, “Organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82%.”

It also aids efficiency. In a study from Talmundo, a digital onboarding company, half of respondents said they felt that “onboarding improved their time to proficiency.” In the same study, the “top five wants of new hires” were: to have their important questions answered; to have their doubts allayed; to be empowered to succeed early on; and to be part of a transparent company culture. In the real world, though, when issues arise during onboarding, they tend to be more specific than those.

Getting off to a bad start

There are almost as many types of disputes during onboarding as there are people, though they usually revolve around remuneration, communication or mismatched expectations, according to the experts. LaToya Rainwater, a human resource manager, says, “Disputes during the onboarding process are normally associated with communication.” For example, a potential employee might not be clear as to what their obligations will be.

Rainwater gives the example of one person who quit on the first day in his new job, after he had completed pre-employment screening and computer training for the role. It turns out that the company was expecting him to do manual labor, while he believed that he was taking up a supervisory or management role. He hadn’t done manual work in more than two decades. Somewhere during the hiring process communication had fallen down. “Even though the job description was reviewed and signed off on, a mistake was made by both parties in regard to organizational fit,” says Rainwater.

This type of issue is not unusual, according to Jessica Miller-Merrell, the founder of Workology.com, a HR consultancy. “Misunderstandings about job responsibilities or benefits and compensation are probably the most common disputes during onboarding,” she says, adding that it’s crucial for employers to be as clear as possible regarding monetary and job expectations.

William Uranga, director of talent acquisition at Spokeo, a tech company in California, agrees.

“Disputes generally arise when expectations are set, verbally or in writing, and are not met,” he says. For example, the employer may have changed the start date, adjusted employee deliverables, added that travel is required or failed to provide the necessary work equipment. The lack of a support system for new hires can also be an issue.

“How and when a new hire is notified of something can vary,” Uranga says. “[Take] for example, notification of company policies: an employee could claim they were not given enough notification to complete mandatory online training for something like safety before it was due.”

If there’s an issue between you and your new employer during the onboarding process, you have a choice to make. You can bring up the topic with them or leave before you even get going, according to Uranga. “Since this is early in the relationship between you and the employer, it may not be worth pursuing either the employment relationship or the dispute,” says Uranga.

What steps to take first

If you choose to tackle the issue, you should first raise it with your direct supervisor or HR representative. If you’re in a union, you can contact your representative for assistance in grievance resolution. “Solutions generally exist,” says Rainwater. If these initial conversations don’t clear up the matter, you may choose to file a formal complaint with HR.

Miller-Merrell adds that if this doesn’t work, you have the option of taking official action. “The employee may be able to file a complaint with a government agency, such as the Department of Labor or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These agencies can investigate the complaint and take legal action if necessary,” she says. Just make sure that you are familiar with local, state, and federal laws too. “Some states have laws that require employers to provide certain notices or disclosures to employees during the onboarding process, such as information about wages, benefits, and workplace safety,” she says.

If the dispute involves discrimination, breach of contract, or violation of labor laws, there may be justification for legal action, according to Miller-Merrell. “If an employee reports discrimination or safety concerns during onboarding and is subsequently terminated or otherwise retaliated against, this could be a violation of their rights,” she says. “[For example,] if an employer fails to provide required training or safety equipment or if they misclassify an employee as an independent contractor, this could be a violation of labor laws.”

Uranga adds: “Your legal options for pursuing a dispute can vary from city to county to state.” In California, for example, employees are employed at will. This means that either party – employer or employee – may terminate employment at any time, including during onboarding, without giving notice or cause.

What to do if you want to raise a dispute

It’s important to be prepared, understand the labor laws pertaining to your place of employment, and to make sure that you communicate clearly and that you understand what is being communicated to you. That said, if a disagreement should arise, here’s what you need to do:

1. Keep a record of work documents. “It’s important for candidates to ensure they have everything in writing from a company when they accept the job offer, from salary to benefits to perks to work duties,” says Miller-Merrell. If you need to file a complaint later, the procedure will be smoother if you’ve kept copies of all your documents.
2. Think through the issue carefully before reporting it. Rainwater says, “Take a moment to think [about what happened] and determine if escalation is necessary.”
3. It’s also valuable to think about how a dispute will play out in the workplace as there will be repercussions. “Evaluate what this dispute means for a future relationship with your new employer,” says Uranga.
4. If you decide to proceed, Uranga says, “Work in good faith with your employer and look for compromise where possible.”
5. Talking to your boss and to HR are essential steps, but if the dispute isn’t resolved, you might need to file a legal complaint.

While most onboarding processes are not perfect, it might be worth speaking out. Rainwater says, “Onboarding done correctly requires a continuous review of efficiency and identification of improvements along the way.” A smoother, fairer process will be better for everyone.

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