The Complete Guide to Employee Onboarding
Create an outstanding onboarding experience that engages new hires and sets them up for long-term success and productivity.
Streamline Your Employee Onboarding Process
Watch this helpful video that demonstrates how to create an efficient, organized, and engaging employee onboarding process that helps new hires succeed.
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Check out Monday.comWhy Effective Onboarding Matters
Employee onboarding is much more than paperwork and introductions. It's your organization's opportunity to make a powerful first impression, integrate new hires into your culture, and build the foundation for high engagement and retention. A strategic onboarding process ensures new employees quickly become productive members of your team.
Research shows that effective onboarding can improve employee retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. Organizations with strong onboarding programs see significantly higher employee satisfaction and faster time-to-productivity compared to those with minimal or unstructured onboarding.
The Four Phases of Effective Onboarding
Pre-Boarding
Engage new hires between offer acceptance and day one to build excitement and prepare them for success.
- Welcome communications
- Pre-arrival paperwork
- Technology setup
- Team introductions
- Pre-reading materials
First Week
Create a structured first week that welcomes new hires, provides essential information, and starts building connections.
- Warm welcome experience
- Workspace setup
- Company overview
- Essential trainings
- Early wins and tasks
First Month
Focus on role-specific training, team integration, and establishing clear expectations and goals.
- Role-specific training
- Team integration
- Key stakeholder meetings
- Performance expectations
- Regular feedback sessions
First 90 Days
Complete the transition to full productivity and ensure new hires are fully integrated into the organization.
- Career development planning
- Performance check-ins
- Cross-functional exposure
- Ongoing training
- Onboarding evaluation
Digital & Remote Onboarding Best Practices
In today's hybrid and remote work environments, creating an effective digital onboarding experience is essential. Here are key strategies to ensure your virtual onboarding is just as engaging and effective as in-person experiences.
Technology & Access
Ensure new hires have the tools, technology, and access they need from day one to be productive.
- Ship equipment early with setup instructions
- Create a digital welcome kit with all essential resources
- Ensure all software and access permissions are ready before day one
- Provide IT support contacts and troubleshooting resources
- Use a digital onboarding platform to track progress
Connection & Culture
Build meaningful connections and transmit company culture even in a remote environment.
- Schedule virtual coffee chats with team members and key stakeholders
- Assign an onboarding buddy for daily check-ins
- Create digital spaces for informal interaction
- Host virtual team building activities
- Share culture videos and company stories
Communication & Engagement
Maintain clear communication channels and keep new hires engaged throughout the process.
- Over-communicate compared to in-person onboarding
- Use multiple communication channels (video, chat, email)
- Break training into digestible microlearning segments
- Incorporate interactive elements like quizzes and polls
- Gather regular feedback to address remote-specific challenges
Structure & Support
Provide clear structure and readily available support to help new hires navigate their onboarding journey.
- Create clear daily and weekly schedules for the first month
- Establish specific virtual office hours for questions
- Provide access to mental health and wellbeing resources
- Set up regular manager check-ins with structured agendas
- Create a digital FAQ resource that grows over time
Onboarding Templates & Resources
Use these templates to create a consistent, comprehensive onboarding experience for every new hire.
New Employee Welcome Kit
Comprehensive package of orientation materials, company information, and first-day essentials.
Download TemplateOnboarding Process Checklist
Structured timeline of tasks for HR, managers, and new hires during the onboarding process.
Download TemplateRole-Specific Training Plan
Customizable template for creating structured learning paths for different roles.
Download TemplateOnboarding Experience Survey
Feedback form to evaluate and improve the onboarding process based on new hire experiences.
Download TemplateRelated Resources
Explore these additional guides and tools to build a comprehensive employee lifecycle strategy.
What You'll Learn
- How to design a comprehensive onboarding program
- Creating personalized experiences for different roles
- Digital and remote onboarding best practices
- Building connections and culture integration
- Measuring onboarding effectiveness
- Setting up 30-60-90 day plans
- Common onboarding mistakes to avoid
- Onboarding automation and technology
Need Help With Your Onboarding Process?
Our HR technology experts can help you implement digital onboarding solutions that improve employee engagement and retention.
Get Expert AdviceKey Onboarding Statistics
- Organizations with strong onboarding improve retention by 82%
- 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3+ years after a great onboarding experience
- New employees who complete structured onboarding are 58% more likely to remain after 3 years
- Only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization does onboarding well
- It takes an average of 8-12 months for a new hire to reach full productivity
- 20% of employee turnover happens in the first 45 days