Employee Onboarding process
Employee Onboarding Process: A Complete Guide for HR and Managers
In this post, we will look at the employee onboarding process, why it is essential, the key stages involved, and some best practices that can make it smooth and effective.
Let’s check out these sections:
What is Employee Onboarding?
Employee onboarding is the process of helping a new joinee settle into the company and become comfortable with their role. It usually begins once they accept the offer letter and includes introducing them to the workplace culture, giving them the necessary tools, explaining their job responsibilities, and helping them connect with their team.
A good onboarding process makes new employees feel supported and confident, so they can start contributing faster. It also builds engagement and helps them stay with the company longer.
The importance of employee onboarding
A good onboarding process can improve employee retention by up to 82 per cent. It helps new hires settle in, understand their roles and become productive faster. In India, it usually takes 6 to 7 months for employees to perform fully, but proper onboarding can reduce this time.
Without it, new hires often feel lost, leading to early exits. This is costly for companies, as large organisations in India lose nearly 15 to 16 per cent of new employees within the first six months. In today’s competitive job market, structured onboarding is not just helpful; it is essential.
Employee Onboarding Process Flow
1.Preboarding
It begins once the offer is accepted. Covers documents, IT setup, and company details while creating excitement and helping new hires feel welcomed.
2.First Week
Focuses on introductions, basic training, and clear expectations so employees feel comfortable and confident in their role.
3.First 90 Days
Employees move from learning to contributing. Managers set goals, track progress, and provide regular feedback to build confidence and alignment.
4.Ongoing Integration
Goes beyond three months with continuous learning, career growth discussions, and performance reviews to keep employees engaged.
Key Stages Of the Employee Onboarding Process
When a new employee accepts the offer letter, they officially become a part of the company. The following steps together make up the onboarding process.
1. Share information on company policies and benefits
On the first day, the employee should be given precise details about company policies, benefits, insurance, tax rules, leaves and diversity policies. At this stage, they also need to sign compliance forms to complete the formal joining process.
If digital signatures are allowed in your country, all these forms can be shared in advance through onboarding software. This way, the employee can complete formalities before their first day and start contributing immediately. This is especially useful when hiring remote employees.
2. Provide clarity on the role
Every new hire should know exactly what is expected of them. Their daily tasks, responsibilities and reporting structure should be explained properly. The manager plays an important role here as they can clearly explain the job and guide the employee during the first 30 days.
With the help of onboarding software, the employee can also be introduced to their team members before joining. Team profiles can be shared so that the new hire knows whom to work with. This creates some level of comfort and familiarity even before their first day.
3. Arrange training
Training is a key part of onboarding and helps even experienced employees settle into a new company. Managers should guide the training process and explain how tasks and systems work.
Some training materials can be shared in advance through onboarding software so the employee knows what to expect. Tools like Hibob and Freshteam help HR create customised workflows and streamline the whole process.
4. Introduce them to the company culture
Understanding company culture takes time, but new employees should be given a broad overview at the beginning. HR and managers can explain the vision and mission of the company, whether it is output-focused or outcome-focused, and how open the workplace is for discussions beyond work.
Onboarding software can also give insights into team members and the overall company profile, helping new hires understand the culture better.
5. Help them build social connections
It is important for employees to feel connected with their colleagues. HR and managers can make this easier by encouraging communication and friendly interactions. Many companies follow a buddy system, where one employee is assigned to guide the new hire with both work and small day-to-day queries.
A survey showed that many employees prefer to make friends naturally with coworkers, but a buddy system is still useful, especially for simple doubts like whom to contact for office supplies or how to use certain tools. Nowadays, even chatbots can act as quick guides for new hires.
Employee Onboarding Best Practices
Many employees drop out even after accepting a job. You cannot always control that, but you can control the experience that they have once they join. Onboarding is now all about automation, personalisation and making employees feel valued. Here are some best practices:
- Match job with job description – Be transparent during hiring. Do not promise one thing and give another. Clear job descriptions build trust.
- Automate onboarding – Use software to cut paperwork, track approvals and send reminders. Add a personal touch like a welcome video or a favourite coffee on the first day.
- Have a clear schedule – Share an onboarding plan for the first day and week so the employee knows what to expect.
- Cover what matters – Focus on essentials like culture and role-specific needs. Skip what is not relevant.
- Share company policies – Provide a handbook or chatbot support to avoid confusion later.
- Give the right tools – Keep desk, IDs, IT access and accounts ready before day one.
- Welcome properly – Arrange introductions with the team and leaders. Small gestures like team lunches help.
- Avoid isolation – Assign a friend or mentor. Group onboarding works better than singling someone out.
- Track results – Measure costs, engagement and retention to improve onboarding over time.
Conclusion
A good onboarding tool should make new employees feel motivated and confident to step into their new workplace without any hesitation.
With an automated onboarding process, they don’t have to waste time on paperwork. Instead, they can focus on learning the company’s values, getting familiar with the workplace, and building connections with their colleagues.
We’ve reached the end! If you have any questions or concerns about the Employee Onboarding, please feel free to leave them in the comments section. We are here to help you.
FAQs
Q. Why is onboarding important?
Ans: Onboarding is important because it creates the first impression for new employees, helps them understand their role quickly, and gives them a clear plan for the first few months. A good onboarding process makes employees feel comfortable, reduces the chance of them leaving the company, helps in keeping skilled people, and also saves hiring costs.
Q. What is required for employee onboarding?
Ans: A good employee onboarding needs the following:
- Proper planning and preparation
- The right onboarding software
- A clear 30-60-90 day plan
- Regular communication, structure, organisation and consistency
- Training and development opportunities
- Guidance and mentorship from colleagues and managers
Q. How long should onboarding last?
Ans: The length of onboarding depends on the job role and the company. But in most cases, a proper onboarding process should last about one year.
Q. What are the most common mistakes during the onboarding process?
Ans:
- Not keeping regular communication with the new hire
- No proper plan or structure in place
- Not giving clear expectations about the role and work
- Skipping progress check-ins or feedback sessions
- Making the onboarding process too short
- Not using software to simplify and automate tasks
