Congratulations – You’ve finally ended your long search for that perfect candidate to fill that critical role. Now it’s time to welcome your new team member properly, create a great first impression, and set them up for success.

This is where effective employee onboarding comes into play. The employee onboarding process is a long-term initiative that starts well before your new hire’s first day on the job and continues long after.

In this article, we’ll share insights about the employee onboarding process and why it matters even more in the current workforce. We’ll also provide some helpful checklists, timelines, and best practices to ensure that your employees’ onboarding experience is a great one, whether they’re on-site, hybrid, or remote.

Onboarding and its Purpose

The employee onboarding process is how new hires are introduced to your company and their team culture, in both the performance expectations and cultural norms. Great employee onboarding ensures that new team members adjust swiftly to their work environment. This allows quick integration into their roles to be productive and engaged with the company.

Why is Onboarding Important?

With a persistent shortage in labor, workers in 2024 have a wide range of options for jobs. If you want to attract and retain the best talent, you need to ensure that your employee onboarding is up to scratch.

How effectively you onboard new team members sends a signal to your new hires—and the talent market at large—about how invested you are in your people.

If new hires don’t get the information and support they expect and deserve as part of their induction process, there’s a good chance they’ll rethink their decision. Winning that enthusiasm back could take a lot of time and effort.

The Benefits of an Effective Onboarding Process

To illustrate the importance of an effective onboarding process, consider these statistics:

• 20% of workers quit within the first 45 days of employment.
• 60% of employers don’t set any milestones or goals for their new employees.
• 69% of employees with exceptional onboarding experience will likely remain with their employer for at least three years.
• Companies with smooth onboarding processes improve their employee retention rates by 52%.

Why a More Personalized Engagement is Needed in 2024

Traditionally, onboarding has been a one-size-fits-all process, but this is rapidly changing. Organizations today recognize the need for more personalized, engaging, and effective onboarding experiences.

Today, the onboarding process is becoming an interactive and personalized journey, supported by technology and guided by an increasingly mindful consideration of individuals’ location, employment arrangements, and unique needs and motivations. Several key factors are driving this positive shift:

• The rise of both hybrid roles and fully remote work.
• The prevalence of digital natives and gig workers in the workforce.
• A growing emphasis on employee retention in a tight labor market.

Key Components of an Effective Onboarding Process

First, let’s cover some best practices to ensure your new hires hit the ground running. 

*Note: these guidelines are geared toward on-site workers; we’ll explore additional considerations and best practices for onboarding hybrid and remote workers in the next section.

Before their First Day

First up is paperwork—painful but necessary. It’s a good idea to get these formalities out of the way as early and quickly as possible, so make sure everything is prepared in advance. The nature and volume of the paperwork you need to go through with your new hire will depend on your business, but here are a few common examples:

• Employment agreement.
• Their preferred gender pronouns.
• How to pronounce their name, or their preferred name.
• Non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
• Code of Ethics policy.
• Tax documentation.
• Banking/direct deposit forms.
• A detailed breakdown of their benefits and where to sign up for them.

Productivity starts with the correct technology tools and accessories. So, make sure that your new hire’s phone and computer are ready and available for them on day one. Other miscellaneous items to prepare include your new employee’s:

• Identity/access card.
• Nameplate.
• Parking access.
• Key FOBs and premises access.

You’ll also need to set up and activate your new hire’s online accounts. These could include:

• Email.
• Company communication app.
• HR information systems.
• Productivity software.

It’s also a good idea to schedule a few in-person and online meetings to give your new hire and some of their key stakeholders a chance to get acquainted. But don’t set up back-to-back meetings. You don’t want your new hire to feel overwhelmed!

Here are a few other key tasks to complete before your new employee’s first day:

• Schedule a meeting with the relevant HR representative/partner.
• Schedule any necessary training sessions (internal and external).
• Plan your new hire’s first assignment.
• Send your new hire a welcome email in which you share information about where to go on their first day and how they’ll need to sign in.
• Remind the rest of your team that their new colleague will shortly be arriving and their start date.

The First Day

Ideally, a representative from the HR team should welcome the new hire at reception. They should walk them to their department and workstation, where their hiring manager should greet them. Here are some other actions and activities to include in a new employee’s first day on the job:

• Give your new hire an office tour and talk them through their schedule for their first few days.
• Assign your new hire their first task.
• Advise the employee when their formal induction session will be taking place and share an email invitation.
• Walk them through the department for an informal meet and greet session with their new colleagues.
• Set time aside to go through all the paperwork.
• Take your new hire out for lunch with a few close team members.