How to Build an Employee Onboarding Process? 

Employee onboarding is a critical process that strengthens a company’s operations by integrating new hires effectively into their roles. It sets the stage for long-term success by fostering a culture of learning and growth. Through tailored training programs and career development opportunities, employees can acquire new skills and advance professionally, with micro-credentials playing a key role in recognizing and validating their achievements.

In this guide, we’ll share an employee onboarding checklist. Plus, we’ll mention practical tips, examples, and frequently asked questions to help you build an effective strategy for onboarding new employees.

What Is the Employee Onboarding Process

Employee onboarding is the process of introducing new employees to a company. It involves helping them understand the company’s culture, policies, and job responsibilities, so they can feel comfortable and confident in their new role. 

Top Benefits of Employee Onboarding

New hire onboarding benefits organizations as much as it does new hires. From easier adjustment to new roles to boosting company culture, here are the advantages at hand.

Better collaboration and bonding

Employees need to be part of the team to become effective in their roles—and activities like team-building lead to 36% higher retention. An efficient onboarding does just that—it allows new hires to connect to the company, build professional networks, and bond with teams through targeted activities.

Improved employee experience

Quality employee onboarding facilitates the process of employees joining your company—which can boost productivity by 60%. Onboarding prepares hires for handling various challenges. In turn, they become more engaged, competent, and confident, and can enjoy maximum support from their managers, teams, and peers.  

Greater trust in the organization 

Efficient employee onboarding instills confidence in newcomers—they feel taken care of, supported, and valued, rather than rushed and overlooked. Having a solid onboarding process leaves a good impression, resulting in higher loyalty to the company and confidence in HR departments.

Closed skill gaps

Employee onboarding programs are somewhat of an initial assessment of the hire and their skills. It helps onboarding teams identify the skills employees still need to build for the role and choose the apt training to close those gaps. 

Better assessment of employee-company compatibility

Quality onboarding gives organizations enough time to evaluate if the hire will make a good, long-term fit. The same goes for hires—it typically takes 70% of employees one month to decide if the new job fits them. It’s a balancing act, really, but benefits everyone in the process.

Improved onboarding for remote employees

More professionals work remotely these days, so businesses need to develop a remote onboarding process to ensure success. Solid remote onboarding ensures efficient communication, streamlined collaboration, and aligned expectations, giving remote hires confidence to easily adapt to the role. 

Standardized training

Robust onboarding ensures employees know the company policies, workflows, and procedures, regardless of their roles or teams. It ensures standardized employee training on everything—tools, compliance, security, safety, etc.  

Streamlined processes

Developing a comprehensive employee onboarding leaves organizations prepared for future hires and processes. As the employee count expands, HR-certified teams might struggle to onboard them accordingly. Having a proper plan in place helps see onboarding to completion and saves teams time on hefty admin tasks. 

Solving employee problems early on

Comprehensive onboarding gives employees peace of mind. They are sure they’ll be adequately trained for their role and integrated seamlessly into the company procedures. Solving employee concerns during onboarding helps them solve problems down the line, manage deadlines efficiently, and establish a healthy work-life balance. 

Investing less, saving more

When employees are onboarded accordingly, they’re more likely to be efficient, comfortable, and productive in their new role, which boosts retention and job satisfaction. By developing quality onboarding programs, organizations can keep talent on board long-term, reducing turnover and costs for future hiring, onboarding, and training, which can reach up to $28K. 

Employee Onboarding Checklist

Here is a full staff onboarding template for you to use in your staff onboarding processes. This checklist could also be used as an onboarding checklist template.

A successful onboarding process requires crafting a tailored plan to ensure employee engagement, adaptation to company processes and culture, and goal alignment. 

If you’re not sure where to start, we prepared a step-by-step guide to make the employee onboarding process easier and impactful. 

The pre-boarding stage

The preboarding stage begins as soon as the candidate accepts the offer. This period is crucial for preparing the new hire for a smooth first day. Here’s what HR teams should do: 

1. Send a warm welcome— deliver a personalized welcome email including the time, date, and location. Include a brief introduction to the company culture, with an optional video from leadership. If available, include links to an onboarding portal for easier navigation. 
2. Prepare documentation and policies—share digital copies of employment contracts, benefits forms, tax documents, and other essential policies for pre-signing. Additionally, share the company’s employee handbook, code of conduct, and common practices. 
3. Set up workstations and tools—equip a desk with essentials like a laptop, notepad, and branded merchandise for in-office employees. For remote employees, ship necessary hardware and confirm necessary tools like VPNs, communication and collaboration apps, and software are pre-installed and ready to use.
4. Coordinate team introductions—inform relevant teams of the new hire’s start date and share contact information, like emails. Additionally, assign a buddy or mentor to guide them through the first months. 
5. Create a preboarding checklist—including action steps like completing paperwork, reviewing or updating company policies and training resources, and testing equipment and login credentials.

The first day of employee onboarding

The first day sets the tone for the employee’s onboarding experience. It should be structured, welcoming, and engaging, and include the following steps: 

1. Start with a warm welcome—host a morning welcome meeting (virtual or in-person) with the designated team or direct manager. Include a short introduction to the company’s mission, vision, and core values.
2. Technical setup and walkthrough—guide the new hire through the office space, or virtual office settings. Assist them with logging into systems, setting up emails, and enabling access to vital tools. Offer a demo or a cheat sheet for commonly used tools, office locations, and software they’ll need. 
3. Team introductions—organize one-on-one introductions with key team members. In addition, host a casual meeting or coffee break (virtual for remote hires) so employees can get a feel of the company culture and ask questions about the teamwork or their role. 

The first week of onboarding

The first week of onboarding, a.k.a orientation period,  is about learning, observing, and acclimating. Employees should primarily focus on understanding their role and obligation vs the company’s expectations. Here are the key steps onboarding teams should take during this period:

1. Introduce daily check-ins—schedule short daily meetups to address any concerns and provide feedback. 
2. Implement structured training—assess the hire’s existing skills vs those they need to build, and create a targeted training module to get them up to speed. Provide access to training videos and E-Learning modules, or hold live training sessions on role-specific skills, soft skills, compliance, fire safety, and workplace security training. 
3. Set weekly goals—work with the manager to create clear, achievable goals for the first week, like completing introductory tasks and understanding key processes. 
4. Assign a small task—ask employees to complete a small role-specific task or observe teams during the day to note how they approach existing projects.
5. Encourage feedback—allow the new hire to share their initial impressions of the onboarding experience and ask questions if needed. Also, provide feedback on their weekly goals to better navigate them through the role demands and workflows. 

The first month of onboarding

The first month is about solidifying the employee’s understanding of their role and place within the company. Here are the steps to take during the first month:  

1. Assign meaningful responsibilities—introduce the employee to more complex tasks and assignments. Encourage collaboration with other team members or mentors and track assignment completion and engagement. 
2. Continued support and social integration—Maintain regular one-on-one meetings between the new hire and their manager. Offer additional training sessions as needed and track the hire’s progress and success levels. Finally, organize team-building activities or informal gatherings so the employee can integrate into their team easily. 
3. Review progress, engagement levels, and feedback—conduct a formal check-in at the end of the first month to assess the employee’s comfort level in their role. Provide constructive feedback on their performance and respond to their feedback to address any concerns or fill any knowledge gaps.

The first three months of onboarding

Unless onboarding requires six months, this period marks the end of the probationary phase, setting the tone for long-term success. Here are the key steps to implement during the first three months: 

1. Conduct a 90-day performance review. Evaluate the employee’s alignment with role expectations and company culture. Discuss areas of improvement and key strengths. Outline a roadmap for future goals, training opportunities, and responsibilities. 
2. Offer development opportunities. Recommend certifications, courses, or training programs that align with the employee’s career aspirations and the company’s goals. Check our blog to learn more about employee leadership development.
3. Recognize achievements. Celebrate milestones, like completing first projects or acquiring new skills through microcredentials to boost employee engagement and morale. 
4. Encourage feedback. Ask for overall feedback on the onboarding process and refine it for future hires based on findings. Also, ask the employee to perform a self-assessment to determine their overall success during this time. 

After three months of employee onboarding

Unless it’s a specific role requiring more adjustments, most onboarding processes will be completed after three months. This is a great time to set up the foundation for ongoing development and integration. Some essential steps to take here include:

1. Develop long-term career plans. Work with the employee to outline a strategic career development plan. Set quarterly or annual performance goals to help see this plan to fruition. 
2. Promote continuous learning. Provide additional resources for learning and upskilling, like courses and workshops to keep employees engaged. Support this learning with digital certifications to recognize employee skills and ensure well-trained staff. 
3. Regular check-ins. Schedule frequent meetups to discuss employee progress and offer support. Encourage participation across various teams to help employees build professional networks. 
4. Refine the onboarding process. Discuss employee progress during check-ins and use insights from their feedback to improve future onboarding experiences and reduce turnover.

Building the Best Employee Onboarding Process—The Verdict

Employees who experience effective onboarding are 69% more likely to stay with a company over three years. By following the employee onboarding steps we outlined, businesses can drive retention, elevate productivity, and foster a thriving workplace culture. 

On one hand, employees benefit from feeling prepared, valued, and supported, leading to greater contributions at the workplace. Additionally, incorporating digital certifications and microcredentials into your process adds an extra level of value. They can recognize the skills and tools employees have mastered during and after onboarding. On the other hand, companies can immediately start supporting employees’ learning efforts and invest in their career journeys, ensuring long-term retention.

Effortlessly manage digital certifications—Sertifier offers an all-in-one solution to verify skills and recognize new hires. Our intuitive interface allows organizations to build digital credentials that celebrate achievements, ensuring employees are engaged and acknowledged every step of the way. Train and recognize hires from the get-go—start for free today! 

The Employee Onboarding Process—FAQ

What are the 4 phases of onboarding new employees?

Onboarding has four phases, preboarding, orientation, training, and integration. Preboarding covers paperwork and setup before the start date. Orientation introduces company culture, policies, and team members in the first week. Training focuses on job-specific skills built over weeks or months. Integration helps employees become fully contributing team members.

How long should employee onboarding be?

Onboarding duration might vary depending on the organization and the needed time to complete the four stages. As a rule of thumb, onboarding lasts around 90 days but can extend to 6 months for more complex roles. Organizations need to estimate how much time employees might need to gain needed skills, earn confidence, and align their efforts with the company’s goals and vision. 

What are common mistakes to avoid during employee onboarding?

The most common mistakes companies make during employee onboarding include rushing hires and under-supporting them in the process. Failing to clarify expectations, introduce teams, or provide follow-ups and feedback can also reduce motivation and confidence in hires.