The Definitive Guide to

Onboarding for 2024

When onboarding new employees, you have just 44 days on We found that new hires’ biggest frustrations
average to influence their decision to stay long-term. That’s with onboarding include:
a vanishingly short window of time—and a high-stakes one,
considering that employee turnover typically costs $7,500 to
$28,000 per new hire.
No clear points of
Will your new hires turn into dependable, dedicated team contact for questions
members? Or will a bad first impression send them running,
taking your sunk costs with them? It all depends on the quality Not enough training on company
of your onboarding process, which needs to be as deliberate, products/services
comprehensive, and structured as every other HR process at
your company.
Lack of access to essential tools
Despite its importance, effective onboarding remains one
of Corporate America’s most elusive golden geese—rare Technology issues (e.g.,
and hard to catch, but worth the effort. To find out what malfunctioning computers, lack of
employees want—and need—from onboarding, BambooHR setup, etc.
surveyed 1,500 full-time US employees and interviewed 40+
recent new hires.* Not having a single person acting
as an onboarding guide

No clear manager

*Editor’s Note: All names and identifying information have been changed to protect privacy. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and concision.

2023 Compensation Trends: Deflation, Transparency, and Benefits 1

What Is Onboarding?

Good onboarding introduces new hires to the expectations,

skills, tools, people, culture, and other educational resources
they need to be successful at your company. It also lays the
groundwork for how the rest of the relationship will go and
helps new hires anticipate the job’s potential impact on their
long-term career goals.
44%
of New Hires
Regret Their
As a form of “organizational socialization,” the onboarding Decision to
experience marks an often emotional beginning of what’ll Join After the
hopefully be a long and fruitful working relationship. And as First Week
many employees think of new positions as a way to launch
or advance their careers—adding yet another layer of
expectations—onboarding is an opportunity (for the company
and new hires) to make a critical first impression.
Onboarding for new employees—and for the company—is
Our 2023 survey revealed new hires’ hopes and expectations
a critical time, especially during the first seven days. Nearly
about the onboarding experience:
half (44%) actively regret their decision to join after the first
week, and after the first month, 70% of your new hires will
have officially made their decision to exit or stay.

This number jumps to 95% after the first two months. And
remember, staying doesn’t mean new hires will be engaged

87% in their work, just that they may choose to stay despite
harboring regrets.
of New Hires
Hope to Make a
Friend at Work
62%
of Employees
Say Their First
Impressions of
a New Company
Are Still Accurate

Employee onboarding is your opportunity to equip new hires

with everything they need to succeed at your company, from
best-foot-forward meet-and-greets with their immediate New-hire onboarding is your chance as an organization
coworkers to clear expectations for how their performance to solidify the new person’s decision to come on board,
will be measured. commit to your mission, and do what you hired them to
do to the best of their ability for as long as possible. This
And your efforts won’t go unappreciated: 87% of new hires makes first impressions incredibly important, with 62% of
hope to make a friend at work, which happens more easily employees saying their first impressions of a new company
when you facilitate opportunities for connection right off are still accurate, and 60% agreeing that once made, a first
the bat. impression is hard to change.

2023 Compensation Trends: Deflation, Transparency, and Benefits 2

 It focuses on completing necessary paperwork and providing
basic information about the company, including:

1 in 4 • History, mission, vision, and values

• Policies, procedures, and benefits

New Hires Will
Cry Within Their • Organizational structure
First Week
• Workplace rules

• Safety guidelines

Orientation can be as simple as sending an introductory

To define onboarding as emotional is to acknowledge the packet before the new hire’s first day or scheduling
universal experience of “first-day jitters.” Our same survey group sessions during the first week. The primary goal
revealed that one in four new employees (23%) will cry is to familiarize new hires with the company’s immediate
within their first week at a new job. expectations and help them navigate their new environment.

So it’s important to structure those first few weeks of Onboarding is the more comprehensive and long-term
onboarding with a plan that’s specifically designed to process that extends beyond the initial orientation activities.
convince new hires your company is worth it—the paycheck, It’s designed to integrate new hires into the company culture,
the mental load, the time, the effort, and the emotion. help them understand their roles and responsibilities, and
facilitate their successful transition into the organization.
Whether those tears are due to imposter syndrome,
information overload, feeling like a fish out of water, or being
the odd one out on a close-knit team, a lot can weigh on new
employees. Not to mention the emotional and physical toll of
especially demanding jobs and industries. As much as
possible, onboarding should alleviate anxieties, not add
to them.

What’s the Difference Between Orientation

and Onboarding?
Though the two terms are often used interchangeably,
“onboarding” and “orientation” are two distinct processes.
Onboarding may include a mix of short- and long-term
activities, including:

• Introductions to key team members

• Mentorship programs

• Job-specific training

• Goal-setting

• Performance feedback

• Continuous communication to address challenges

or concerns
Orientation is a subset of activities couched inside an
overarching onboarding process. Onboarding can last for weeks or even months, depending
on the complexity of the role and the organization. It involves
providing ongoing support, training, and resources to new
hires to ensure their productivity, engagement, and retention.

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Types of Onboarding

For better or worse, your company’s onboarding processes— A formal process provides clear structure and
formal or informal, virtual or in-person—will say volumes oversight, including:
about the way things are run at your organization. But that
isn’t to say all of one and none of the others is the • A defined onboarding timeframe with specific timelines
best approach. and milestones

Instead, think of where and how to blend the formal with the • A structured process for completing new-hire
informal, and the virtual with in-person, for a comprehensive, paperwork
flexible, and inclusive onboarding process.
• Scheduled training sessions, workshops, and
shadowing opportunities
Formal vs. Informal Onboarding
• Scheduled, staggered check-ins, performance
Onboarding exists on a spectrum of formal and informal assessments, or feedback sessions
approaches and processes. We recommend leading with a
structured, formal onboarding process but leaving room for • Assigned mentors, guides, or “onboarding buddies”
informal personal touchpoints along the way.
While formal onboarding can create consistency for new
After accounting for all the necessities, like paperwork and IT hires, there’s a risk it may become inflexible or impersonal.
support, and streamlining processes as much as possible, you And while it’s important to treat all employees equally,
can then focus on welcoming and integrating new people into a one-size-fits-all approach to education, training, and
an established organization with a more personal touch. socialization could unintentionally discourage managers from
accommodating new hires’ needs on an individual basis.

Formal onboarding processes are often associated with

enterprises, but in truth any company can dial in a formal
process for new hires.

Formal Onboarding Pros Formal Onboarding Cons

• Faster or more predictable time to productivity • Less flexible processes can feel rigid and unwelcoming
• Thorough new-hire training improves quality assurance • Lack of personalization creates a one-size-fits-all
approach and feelings of exclusion
• Ensured check-ins and opportunities to socialize for
new hires • Less room to accommodate employees’ specific needs
• Set processes for gathering new-hire paperwork • Risk of information overload when training occurs within
& signatures a tight timeframe
• Intentional introduction to company culture, mission,
and values

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Informal onboarding describes a more organic and In our survey, for example, one in five workers (20%) said
unstructured approach to integrating new hires, focusing more their company didn’t do anything to facilitate networking
on learning as you go than facilitating guided interactions or or interpersonal support between new hires and their
trainings. Startups or small companies may take this approach coworkers. This is an example of an informal, sink-or-swim
by default, but sticking to this style of onboarding gets style of onboarding.
messy quickly.

Informal Onboarding Pros Informal Onboarding Cons

• More opportunities for personalization and adaptability • Important paperwork more likely to fall through
in situations where the structure may not be working for the cracks
an individual
• Risk of workstations not being set up on time or
• Ongoing, informal communication around how the new even addressed
hire is feeling and developing may feel more natural
• New hires’ time to productivity may take longer
and approachable
than necessary
• May fit new hires’ individual needs more flexibly
• Poor or incomplete training may lead to
and organically
preventable errors
• Knowledge transfer between senior employees and new
• Lack of oversight and direction may increase turnover
hires is more custom and directly applicable to their
day-to-day • No dependable timeline for new hires, managers, or HR
• No specific contact person for new hires may leave them
feeling isolated

Virtual vs. In-Person Onboarding • Scheduled, staggered check-ins, performance

assessments, or feedback sessions
Whether your new hire will be working in the office or a
thousand miles away, every best onboarding practice • Assigned mentors, guides, or “onboarding buddies”
mentioned in this guide still applies. Your onboarding process
Emphasizing a human touch is especially important when
should prioritize the same goals for onboarding new hires,
most of your onboarding efforts must translate to a virtual
including:
environment. Thankfully, innovative technology as well as
• A defined onboarding timeframe with specific timelines time- and pandemic-tested methods for connecting across
and milestones physical divides can help you create a virtual onboarding
experience that’s every bit as attentive and effective as an
• A structured process for completing new-hire in-person experience.
paperwork

• Scheduled training sessions, workshops, and

shadowing opportunities

In-Person Onboarding Activities Virtual Onboarding Activities

• Office tour • Welcome video

• Introductory team lunch • Food delivery gift cards and virtual meet-and-greet
• Signing physical onboarding paperwork • Digital pre-boarding packets with e-signatures
• Workstation setup and IT support • Equipment delivery in time for first day
• Job shadowing and check-ins with a mentor or • Regular virtual 1:1s and pairing sessions with mentor
onboarding buddy

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Types of Onboarding

How Long Is the Onboarding Process? How many US employees want to start
work immediately?
An employee onboarding program can extend anywhere
from a week to several months. Some companies may even
schedule onboarding activities for their employees’ entire first
year. Of course, what works best will depend on the role and
Gen Z
organization.

In fact, employees themselves are fairly divided on what

they like best. 86% of employees prefer having at least some
Millennials
time to ramp up, but more than half (56%) say they need just
one or two days to ease into the swing of things.

Similarly, 36% of employees expressed frustration over

Gen X
long onboarding processes, citing boredom or feelings of
exclusion—but 30% of employees want a slower, more gradual
onboarding process before being expected to perform their
full responsibilities. Baby Boomers

How do US employees prefer to

be onboarded?
So how do you figure out what the right timeline is for
your employees?

Prefer some ramp time Collect feedback from new hires, so you know what to
tweak or overhaul about your processes. And create specific
goals for what you hope to achieve. It’ll be easier to pinpoint,
Prefer 1-2 days of ramp time measure, and assess the strong and weak points of a defined
program than to fine-tune an informal,
shoot-from-the-hip approach.

Prefer a slower onboarding

Feel frustrated with a long

onboarding process

Our survey also revealed some interesting preferences among

employees in different age groups, with younger generations
more likely to prefer diving into work on day one. 22% of Gen
Zers are eager to get to work immediately, compared to lower
rates for Millennials (15%), Gen Xers (13%), and
Baby Boomers (12%).

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What Are the 4 Phases of Onboarding?

1. 2.
Before the First Day (1–2 Weeks Before) New Hire Orientation (2–6 Weeks)

• Craft a job offer. • Offer a virtual or in-person facility tour.

• Negotiate salary. • Introduce new hires to their teams.

• Complete new-hire paperwork. • Introduce new hires to executives.

3. 4.
New Hire Training (1–6 Months) Ongoing Support (Indefinite)

• Educate new hires on company policies, • Conduct a new-hire survey to get immediate
compliance, procedures, and more. feedback on the onboarding experience.

• Introduce company culture and values. • Create regular check-ins between new hires and
managers to create an ongoing feedback loop.
• Complete benefits selections.
• Establish formal or informal mentors.
• Provide job training.

• Offer guidance on roles and responsibilities,

e.g., with an onboarding buddy.

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What Should an
Onboarding
Plan Address?
According to Dr. Talya N. Bauer, socialization and onboarding Culture
researcher and Cameron Professor of Management at
Portland State University, the “ Four Cs” of successful This C introduces new hires to the formal and informal
onboarding are compliance, clarification, culture, organizational norms of your workplace. Ideally guided by
and connection. your mission, vision, and values, your company’s culture is
its personality and compass, so failing to incorporate the
Compliance Culture pillar into your onboarding rolls the dice on whether
your new hires are ultimately pointed in the right direction.
Neglecting training on security and safety protocols,
federally regulated policies, and other aspects of Connection
compliance exposes your organization to legal risk.
Connection is more than getting familiar with an org chart—
Clarification it should focus on facilitating productive, collaborative
connections with key colleagues. And as the final of the
Without clarity—about their role, your expectations, and Four Cs, it may mean the difference between having
the company’s organizational structure—even the most merely-there new hires by the end of the onboarding period
experienced new hire will have a hard time finding their or unleashing empowered, engaged professionals who are
feet at a new organization. Clarification is the essential ready to hit the ground running.
onboarding pillar that’ll ensure a faster time to productivity.

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How to Onboard
New Employees in
10 Steps
Make sure you can easily customize your template to include
personal, genuine, and specific details from the new hire’s
interview process. This will create a truly compelling job offer
that results in an emphatic, “Yes!”

1.
Write a

3.
Detailed Job
Description

Create a
Pre-Boarding
Process

This will echo the job posting that brought the new hire
to you in the first place but must now include clear,
detailed, and immediately applicable descriptions of the
role’s expectations and responsibilities. This will also be Establishing a pre-boarding process makes the transition
what managers and supervisors use to evaluate smoother for new hires and gets boring paperwork out of
employee performance. the way, so you can focus on creating the best experience
for their first day.
Imagine the new hire referring to this document on a daily
basis as they learn the ropes. Leave nothing out they’ll need For example, BambooHR® Onboarding gets onboarding
to know to do the job to your standards and needs. started before the first day with automated pre-boarding
packets, e-signatures, Get to Know You questionnaires,
and more.

2.
Craft a
Compelling
4.
Job Offer Make a
Good First
Impression

Be ready to send the offer immediately after you inform the

candidate you’ve decided to hire them. To speed things
up while still making sure everyone complies with your At this point, you’ve made a good enough impression to
standards, start with a template that includes formalities, secure an accepted offer, but now’s your chance to plan a
such as the terms of employment, salary and benefits, and welcome that solidifies their decision to join your cause.
other relevant details.

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Table stakes is equipping your new employees with the
practical tools and resources they need to get started, but
you have 44 days to do better than that—that’s the average “ It was maybe just a minute long,” she said,
time it takes for a new hire to solidify their first impression of “but in that video he was very specific
a new company. about how he supported minorities and
Failing to make a good first impression can leave new diversity. That stood out for me because
hires feeling misaligned or uncertain about their future at a the message was not just about the
company. Take Blake’s story, for example. company, but also about the employees
and how he supported them wherever
We met Blake in November 2023, when we interviewed
40+ new hires at companies around the world about their
they were on their journey.”
experiences during the onboarding process, and their story
highlights the importance of starting off on the right foot by
honoring the information employees provide about
their identities.

When Blake started a new job, they were pleased to be

given the option to select nonbinary pronouns in their
onboarding paperwork. But they were soon disappointed by
the disconnect between pre-boarding and introductions with
6.
new coworkers. “She/her pronouns were still mostly used,” Introduce
said Blake, “which kind of stinks.” Your New Hire
to the Team
Although they tried to assume the best by acknowledging
that some colleagues may have been unaware, the
experience still stung. “It just didn’t feel great on my part—
like my identity wasn’t honored.”
Building relationships with colleagues is crucial for new
hires to feel connected and supported. Encourage open
communication and provide opportunities for new hires to
ask questions and get to know their colleagues.

For example, HR can take the lead and organize introductions

5. and meetings (virtual or in-person) with team members,

managers, and key stakeholders.
Establish Your
Organization’s After a decade-long hiatus from retail, Henrietta returned
Culture and to the industry as an older employee with a lot of questions.
Values Her new employer successfully built connections between
Henrietta and her team so she would have all the support
she needed. “Everything was very positive,” she said. “No
question was too stupid or minor. They answered them all
and were very helpful with training me on all the devices
and teaching me how to use all this new technology. I felt
If you want to build an exceptional workplace where great extremely supported.”
work gets done, it’s imperative to cultivate a strong company
culture with clear and impactful values. Nearly all (96%)
new hires want and expect their onboarding to include an
introduction to the company’s mission and values. “ Everything was very positive,” she said.
The best way to drive the message home is to share
“No question was too stupid or minor.
examples of how the values have guided business decisions They answered them all and were very
in the past and continue to direct day-to-day operations. It’s helpful with training me on all the devices
important to emphasize and demonstrate how everyone is and teaching me how to use all this new
accountable to the values, especially leadership. technology. I felt extremely supported.”
As an example of leaders setting the tone for a new hire’s
onboarding experience, Tanya recalled watching a welcome
video featuring the company’s CEO.

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 Clearly communicate expectations around the new hire’s role
and performance. Managers should use the job
description to:

7.
• Set goals, objectives, and performance metrics that align
with the company’s overall objectives.

Plan a Training • Provide regular feedback and guidance to help new hires
Schedule understand how they’re progressing and what areas they
can focus on for improvement.

This process works best when it’s an ongoing conversation.

When Erik joined a new company, he was impressed by how
open and easygoing the team’s leaders were.
A training schedule guarantees no crucial skill or information
gets overlooked, which can create unnecessary risk for
your company and your new hire, too. This can include both
general orientation topics, such as company policies and
procedures, as well as job-specific training. “ We had weekly meetings about how I
feel here, if there’s anything I need, and
Provide resources, online modules, or assign mentors to if there’s anything that doesn’t meet my
guide new hires through the training process. As for the
expectations—or if there’s something
content some of this training should cover, Marcus had
some advice:
they had to tell me about expectations,”
he said. “It was a very two-way process
that made me feel very comfortable.
My superiors would always be open to
“ There’s always some super cheesy working with me to try to make me feel as
videos,” he said, “but I do like when the comfortable as possible.”
information is more socially conscious.
If there’s unconscious bias trainings,
racism trainings, harassment trainings—I
think those things are important.” Marcus These regular touchpoints ensured that Erik felt included
throughout the entire onboarding process.
went on to explain how he mistrusts
organizations that present themselves
as a perfect workplace where nothing
goes wrong, and advises companies to
be realistic about the ways they’ll need to
protect and advocate for their different
employees. “It’s really just about making
the person feel welcome and safe.”
9.
Provide Ongoing
Support and
Feedback

8. Setting up a check-in cadence for managers also helps

new hires feel valued and supported as you give them
Set Expectations
opportunities to receive and provide feedback early and
Around the Role
and Performance often throughout the process.

Having an attentive supervisor who was always available

made all the difference in Lyle’s onboarding experience

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 “ My current manager did a really good job

10.
at making the process really easy, relaxed,
and comfortable. She pretty much
walked me through it step by step and it Re-Board
really helped. She was always available When Necessary
for questions if I had any. I had a really
positive experience with onboarding.”

Our survey found that new hires appreciate peer Re-boarding is necessary when employees have been
connections, too. 86% of new hires appreciate support from absent for a period of time or are transitioning to a new
an onboarding buddy, and an added benefit is the ongoing role within the company. Substantial organizational changes
support these connections can provide long after the original can also call for re-boarding, which can involve revisiting
onboarding period ends. certain trainings, setting new goals, or providing
additional resources.

Regularly assessing an employee’s progress and making

adjustments as needed ensures their continued
engagement and long-term success.

The Top 9
Benefits of
Onboarding
1. Increased Productivity 3. Improve Understanding of Role
and Expectations
Good onboarding doesn’t just increase a new employee’s
capacity for productivity. It also boosts a key HR and Onboarding should provide new hires a clear understanding
onboarding metric —time to productivity (TTP), which of their role, your expectations, and the performance
describes the time it takes for new hires to acclimate and metrics you’ll use to assess them. This sets them and their
start contributing at full steam. supervisors up for a meaningful first performance review,
complete with aligned expectations and actionable feedback.

2. Increased Retention
4. Improved Understanding of Company
65% of employees know if a job is the right fit within the first
Culture and Team Dynamics
month, which means every second of those first 30 days will
make or break your retention metrics. As you welcome new No company is too large or profitable to be immune to
hires with effective onboarding, you build a strong case for “broken culture syndrome” and its toxic, foundation-
staying long-term at your company. crumbling effects, but an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure. Onboarding ensures new hires understand
and align with your org’s culture, values, and norms from the
beginning, and directs the course of your mutual
long-term success.

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5. Minimize Wasted Investments 7. Increase Transparency
Losing a single new hire to early turnover can cost you Onboarding is your chance to reinforce promises made
between $7,500 to $28,000 in sunk costs. Failing to during recruitment and set up realistic expectations for
implement an onboarding strategy is like dropping the the future. It’s also your chance to reduce uncertainties
same amount of chips on a craps table and rolling the dice. and mitigate anxieties by being upfront about how your
There’s no reason to take that kind of risk with your hiring organization will serve to advance their own goals as they
investment. Onboarding hedges your bets and paves the way contribute to yours.
for exponential growth.

8. Build a Sense of Trust

6. Create Comfortable Employees
The best onboarding creates an inclusive culture where
One of our new-hire interviewees, Lyle, shared a little about every employee can thrive in mutual trust and respect. A few
his onboarding experience as someone with autism, and of our interviewees shared their thoughts on how HR can
what contributed most to his comfort as a new employee. create an inclusive onboarding experience.

For Emma, whose mental health condition qualifies for

protection under US federal law, it was important to be
treated just like anyone else. “I don’t want my colleagues,
“ When you’re supporting an employee my coworkers, or my bosses to see me differently,” she said.
who’s onboarding, you wanna “That would induce anxiety for me. I’m happy to fly under the
support that employee and not their radar and just be seen as one of the herd.”
demographic,” he said. “I felt super
Jon expressed similar sentiments. “We kind of focused on
supported because they weren’t trying training and not so much on my identity,” he said. “I don’t
to support my autism specifically. They think my identity played a role in any of these interactions at
were just trying to support my needs all, which is what I wanted.”
as an employee. They also just handed
out solutions without demanding 9. Reduce Workload for Other Teams
explanations for why I needed them.”
Effective onboarding produces confident, self-sufficient
new hires who are less prone to making mistakes others in
the company will need to fix. Additionally, when new hires
are given a designated and equipped support system as
part of their onboarding experience, other employees and
teams aren’t being pulled from their work to offer impromptu
support and training.

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Expert Tips for
Improving the
Onboarding Process

HR pros are experts at spotting poor onboarding practices. For Emma, a new job came with an overwhelming amount
of online training—much of it irrelevant to her specific role.
We found that 79% of HR professionals know if a job is going “It’s hours and hours of training that I have to do on my
to be a good fit for them within the first month, compared own unpaid time outside of work hours,” she said. “It’s just
to 65% of other workers. It’s especially unfortunate when a something that everybody has had to do, but a lot of it is
poor onboarding experience repels the very people who’d be irrelevant to my role. It’s very frustrating.”
tasked with improving it.
In situations like this, HR pros have an opportunity—and a
So how do you begin improving the onboarding process at responsibility—to seek out feedback and advocate for more
your company? efficient practices that reduce employees’ discontent.

How many employees know whether a job is Define Trackable Metrics to Gauge Success
a good fit within one month?
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics to
measure the effectiveness of your onboarding process.
These metrics could include employee retention rates, time
to productivity, engagement levels, or feedback scores.

By tracking these metrics, you can objectively evaluate the

impact of your onboarding efforts and identify areas
for improvement.

Be Receptive to Feedback and Quick to

Accommodate
Keep Track of What Works and What Doesn’t
Create a culture of open communication from day one
Regularly review and update your onboarding program to by actively seeking feedback from new hires and other
incorporate best practices, industry trends, and feedback stakeholders involved in the onboarding process. Encourage
from stakeholders (e.g., HR, hiring managers, and new them to share their experiences, suggestions, and concerns
hires themselves). New-hire surveys should be a part of during or immediately after their onboarding period.
every onboarding strategy, as well as staying up to date Be responsive to their feedback and make necessary
with new technologies and tools that can enhance the accommodations or adjustments to address issues or gaps
onboarding experience. they’ve identified.

Pro tip: If requesting feedback from a large number

Create Room for Flexibility and of employees or new hires, provide a way to give it
Personalization as Needed anonymously to encourage honest (i.e., critical) feedback—
the most useful type of feedback you can hope for if your
A standardized process doesn’t work for every situation, goal is to improve.
which is why your onboarding should be prepared to evolve
and adapt to the changing needs of your organization, and
even the individual needs of your new hires.

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Discover the Best
Tools for Onboarding

Truly effective onboarding relies on the humans on your Onboarding Process Automation
team—the recruiters, hiring managers, mentors, and other
teammates—who’ll welcome, support, and encourage new When you use HR onboarding software for new employees,
hires. you’ll get access to prebuilt, automated workflows,
checklists, and other time-saving features, such as:
But technology can be a powerful assistant to the
onboarding process—and new hires expect it to play a • Custom offer letter templates
role in their onboarding experience. 97% of our survey
• Personalized welcome emails
respondents say it’s important for onboarding to include
tools and software the company uses to streamline the • Total rewards statements
process, and 81% call it “crucial.” • Pre-assembled digital new-hire packets

In fact, onboarding software can set HR pros and people • Digital pre-boarding paperwork and e-signatures
managers free to delve even more deeply into the nuances of • Automated self-boarding checklists
truly effective, human-to-human onboarding.
• Post-onboarding new-hire surveys
• Digital document storage and organization

For example, BambooHR® provides all of the above and

more, including a Get to Know You questionnaire as part of
the new-hire pre-boarding packet.

New employees shouldn’t have to learn their way around

your company from the school of hard knocks. Give them the
welcome and tools they need to have a positive experience
and watch them thrive alongside your company.

Create better first days.

BambooHR helps you build an effective onboarding process with customizable onboarding checklists,
welcome emails, and new hire packets—so every new hire feels welcome on day one.

2023 Compensation Trends: Deflation, Transparency, and Benefits 15

 Onboarding FAQs

Who should be involved in employee onboarding?

Everyone in the company plays a part in helping new hires feel welcome and comfortable, but your key
contributors will be HR, hiring managers, mentors, and those coworkers who’ll be working closely with the
new hire in their day-to-day tasks.

Can you start onboarding before the employee’s first day?

Absolutely. In fact, when you leverage pre-boarding packets, you can get all the paperwork and formalities
out of the way so the new hire’s first day can be all about making connections and getting to know your
company’s culture.

How do you develop an onboarding process for the first time?

Start by defining clear objectives for your onboarding and a way to measure success. Then create a
structured plan for incorporating company culture, providing necessary resources, and seeking feedback
for continuous improvement.

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