Also covered in: SME Magazine — smeweb.com/ten-ways-to-create-a-positive-onboarding-experience/
35% of companies invest £0 on onboarding new hires. 1 in 3 employees leave within the first 90 days. 25% of companies lose up to 60% of their entire workforce within a year.
What is employee onboarding?
Unlike induction (short-term, checklist-driven), onboarding is a comprehensive process ensuring completion of administrative items plus cultural assimilation, social integration and role-based enablement.
10 proven strategies:
- Have a pre-boarding strategy — 51% of new hires continue looking for roles even after accepting the job; use the 1–3 month gap for welcome packs, mentor intros, fact-finder surveys, paperwork and a short microlearning course about the company
- Develop personalised L&D programmes — meet specific needs and skill sets; one-size-fits-all approaches don't work
- Set clear role expectations — tasks, systems, ongoing and upcoming projects, team objectives and individual goals; schedule team meetings; celebrate when employees hit key goals or milestones
- Create a buddy/mentor system — pair new hires with experienced mentors or buddies; on hand for questions during early days; relationship can continue throughout whole onboarding process and career
- Implement a technology-first approach — digital platforms for paperwork, L&D and communication; allow new employees to focus energy on productive tasks from day one
- Encourage cross-departmental collaboration — interaction with colleagues from different teams promotes holistic understanding of organisational dynamics
- Create a performance feedback loop — regular check-ins with managers and mentors for clarification, guidance, learning and course correction
- Introduce cultural integration — team-building activities and social events cultivate a sense of belonging and camaraderie
- Celebrate milestones — completing learning modules, mastering new skills, or achieving other key milestones; makes new employees feel valued and part of the team
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your onboarding programme — 55% of businesses don't do this; collect quantitative data (attrition rates, e-NPS, KPI progress) plus qualitative data (focus groups, one-to-ones, pulse surveys)
