What is onboarding?

Onboarding is an HR process of integrating employees into an organization and familiarizing them with management teams, coworkers, and cross-functional departments. It is also a good time to give new employees a sense of the organization’s culture and business model. The process typically consists of orientation, official training, and going over the codes of business conduct. Employees may also be given reference materials on the organization’s products and services, as well as specifications of their roles. If carried out successfully, onboarding may serve as an opportunity to engage new hires from the beginning of their time with the organization, and this may lead to increased retention and productivity.

The employee onboarding process

Having established a foundational understanding of onboarding, the following list entails steps an organization can take to create a smooth onboarding process for new hires:

1. Provide information on company policies and benefits
   Providing employees with comprehensive information about the company’s policies and benefits is crucial on their first day. This information includes everything from compliance and insurance to tax liabilities, as well as the company's policies on leaves, diversity, and inclusion. When this step is complete, the new employees must have a way to acknowledge that they have read and understood the aforementioned policies. Digital signatures are an example of this acknowledgement if onboarding is completed in digital format. Furthermore, digital onboarding also allows organizations to bring remote employees onboard quicker.
2. Provide clarity on their role, duties, and responsibilities
   It is essential for new employees to understand their roles and responsibilities in order to succeed. This is why an onboarding program should include a breakdown of their daily tasks and overall duties. This information can be best communicated to the new employee by their immediate manager or supervisor.
3. Facilitate training
   Employee training is an essential part of the onboarding process. Even experienced employees require a training period to learn how processes work in their new organization or team. With the help of employee onboarding software, training materials can be shared, and employees can be provided with a breakdown of the tasks they need to accomplish.
4. Help integrate into the organizational culture
   The process of assimilating into an organization's culture is continuous; however, it is important for HR managers and team leaders to provide new employees with a comprehensive understanding of the company culture when they join. One way to achieve this is by ensuring that the culture is reflected in the organization's vision and mission statement. Employee onboarding software can also be an effective tool for providing new hires with insights into team members, the company profile, and ultimately, the culture of the organization.
5. Help form social connections with coworkers
   Although this is not solely the responsibility of the manager or HR, it can be helpful to employees to have an environment where they can freely communicate with colleagues. HR or managers can encourage this through the implementation of a new hire “buddies” system. This system involves dedicating one employee to help the new employee navigate the workplace and pick up some “institutional knowledge” that often doesn’t appear in an onboarding program.

Benefits of an effective employee onboarding process

There are a number of benefits of having a thorough and effective onboarding process. These include:

• High employee retention
• Increase in job satisfaction
• Higher productivity
• Improved understanding of the organization’s culture and values
• Better understanding of expectations from the role
• Enhanced team culture
• Time and cost savings as employees can begin contributing sooner

Smooth onboarding plays a key role in retaining quality employees and in promoting high performance that is aligned with the organization’s overall goals. New hires may look at the onboarding process as the first glimpse into how your organization operates and treats its staff. It is a good idea to leverage this time and make the most of it to improve employee motivation.

Why is onboarding important?

The first day for new hires can generally be exciting and nerve-wracking. If they do not receive adequate guidance and support, it can impact their motivation negatively and they may struggle to get up to speed in their new roles. Some employees may even quit if their onboarding is a failure. This is a significant loss for a company, as it would need to go through the costly hiring process to find a replacement so soon, in addition to the resources spent on training and compensating the new employee during their time with the company. Therefore, having a good onboarding policy is crucial to improve employee retention rates.

Remote onboarding

The recent trend of remote work has brought about new challenges for HR professionals to navigate. It can be overwhelming for employees when they cannot connect with their colleagues face-to-face and ask for help in a meaningful way. Remote workers can be made to feel welcomed and supported by providing them training on how to use company communication and collaboration tools and have them introduced to key managers and team members via virtual meetings or video calls. A simple and easy-to-understand onboarding software can be used to facilitate this entire process.

How long does employee onboarding take?

A formal onboarding program can last for 30, 90, 180 or 365 days. During this period, the new hire completes onboarding formalities and receives support from their supervisor and HR. Ideally, the onboarding process should start when the employee accepts the offer letter. To facilitate this, new hires can be invited to join internal platforms beforehand, helping them get a head-start on reading employee handbooks and policies and familiarizing themselves with the company’s culture, mission, and values. Here is what the general onboarding process may look like:

1. One day to one week: Familiarize the employee with their role.
2. One week to three months: Provide training on how to perform their job and introduce them to their colleagues and team members who are key to their function.
3. Three months to six months: Evaluate the employee’s performance against set key performance indicators and ensure they are equipped with the tools they need to perform their job optimally. It is also wise to take feedback from the employee to determine their level of engagement.
4. Six months to a year: By this period, the employee would typically have developed complete knowledge about their role, the company, and the industry. They should also have assimilated into the company and its culture.

Best practices for employee onboarding

A positive employee experience for new hires once they enter the organization is a critical factor in maintaining high retention. With automation and digitization becoming a key component of the onboarding process, small organizations now have the ability to pay attention to the onboarding process so they can retain talent. Here are some best practices:

• Ensure that the job matches what was on the job description and vice versa: Many employees have experienced being promised a certain role, only to find out that the actual tasks and responsibilities are entirely different from what they expected. To address this problem, it is essential to have a transparent recruitment and interview process. Hiring talent based on job descriptions that candidates want to hear, rather than what the job actually entails, can be a deal-breaker for employees. Using HR talent software to post job descriptions and extract candidates that are the right match will save companies time and money.
• Automate the onboarding process: With the advancements in technology, candidates are moving away from filling out paperwork. An efficient solution is to install onboarding software that lets you fill out basic information and automatically pull in other data. Approval processes can be configured into the onboarding workflow to let new employees know when formalities and approvals for next steps are complete. Onboarding software may also help HR ensure compliance in areas such as verification of documents and carrying out background checks. If the software comes with automated reminders, it eliminates the need to track to-dos – freeing up time for HR staff to focus on strategic areas of onboarding. Automating the onboarding process can save hours of administrative work before and after the employees joins the company.
• Develop an end-to-end onboarding schedule and ensure its implementation: To ensure a smarter and stress-free onboarding process, HR can create a schedule with a list of steps and deadlines and share it with the new employee, so they are on the same page as HR and know what is expected.
• Discuss all necessary topics: When creating an onboarding program for new employees, it is essential to clearly distinguish between what is mandatory and what is optional based on the employee's compensation, benefits, work arrangements, and other factors. For example, an employee who is paid a salary, may not need to learn about the procedures regarding a payroll Time Clock.
• Provide complete company policy information: Employees leaving an organization soon after joining is a common issue. One of the reasons for this could be the lack of information provided to them about company policies during onboarding. For example, if an employee is not informed about the leave policy or pay cuts for leaving early, and they see unexpected deductions once payroll has been generated, they can be highly dissatisfied and may even resign eventually. To avoid this, it is important to have a well-documented employee handbook that is shared with employees at the outset. This handbook can be delivered through the company intranet or onboarding platform.
• Provide the tools they need to do their job: This involves preparing the employee's workspace, organizing access cards, creating employee IDs, and setting up all necessary IT equipment. It also saves time later on to have all communication and employee self-service accounts provisioned prior to their arrival.
• Conduct a meet and greet: Welcoming a new employee is a crucial step in making them feel like a part of the team from the get-go. To ensure this is done properly, an onboarding program can include a list of people a new hire should arrange to meet in the first few days. For certain roles, a meeting with the leadership team would be more appropriate. This will make the new employee feel valued and promote a sense of inclusion. If you have geographical barriers, consider arranging a video call between new hires and senior leadership. Remember, the aim is to make the new employee feel comfortable and welcomed so that they can seamlessly integrate into the organization.
• Measure onboarding metrics: A modern onboarding system should offer analytics and metrics to track the effectiveness and efficiency of the process. Key metrics include costs, engagement levels, training costs, outcomes for new employees, succession management success rates, and retention. Some HR departments go one step further and calculate the overall onboarding ROI by linking it to performance, development costs, attrition statistics, and talent management initiatives. This gives HR a detailed idea of what areas may need improvement and how they can better manage onboarding costs for future hires.

Employee onboarding tools and software

Hiring a new employee is a significant investment that requires a lot of time, money, and resources. It would benefit an organization to be meticulous and organized throughout the process, from interviewing to onboarding. A positive impression is vital to acquiring highly qualified talent in a competitive job market. By using employee onboarding solutions, you can streamline communication, facilitate training, ensure compliance, and manage necessary paperwork. Incorporating automation and notifications into the workflow can make the entire process easier for human resources professionals and ensure that all tasks are completed in a timely manner.

Frequently asked questions

What is onboarding?

Onboarding is the process by which new employees are introduced and integrated into an organization. It encompasses the entire process from legal and tax paperwork to progress follow-ups and check-ins throughout the onboarding period.

What are the 5 Cs of onboarding?

The 5 Cs of onboarding are Compliance (policies, paperwork, and codes of conduct), Clarification (defining the employee’s role, job specifications, and expectations), Culture (emphasizing the company's values and mission/vision), Connections (introductions to management, coworkers, and relevant staff), and Check-ins (following up on progress).

How long should onboarding last?

The most comprehensive onboarding programs generally last throughout the first year of employment, but the length may vary for different roles and in different organizations.

Why is an onboarding checklist important?

An onboarding checklist is a systematic schedule that prioritizes the essential aspects of welcoming a new employee. It helps HR stay on track with the onboarding steps and the new employee can gain a sense of comfort knowing what to expect and what will be covered. This creates a good first impression of the company and helps the employee begin working in a timely manner.

What is remote onboarding?

Remote onboarding generally involves integrating remote workers into the organization through a clear process that helps them understand the company, job duties and responsibilities, and communication tools through virtual meetings, and at times, with the help of an "onboarding buddy".

Learn More

Are you looking to make the process of hiring new employees easy and less costly? You can benefit from ADP’s talent acquisition and recruitment solutions.

Talk to us about your employee onboarding issues, and we’ll walk you through our talent acquisition and recruitment solutions — including how companies like yours use them. Call 866-622-8153 or request a demo to get started.

This guide is intended to be used as a starting point in analyzing onboarding and is not a comprehensive resource of requirements. It offers practical information concerning the subject matter and is provided with the understanding that ADP is not rendering legal or tax advice or other professional services.