22 Mind-Blowing Onboarding Statistics

If you own a business, you're likely thinking about employee retention and turnover rates on a regular basis, in addition to the constant gnaws of performance and productivity concerns.

‍Did you know there is a single process that can help ease your concerns for all of these factors? Onboarding. This HR best practice has finally begun to receive the recognition it deserves, and employers are hurriedly attempting to get programs in place to receive the benefits. If you're still on the fence, read on to learn 22 shocking onboarding statistics.

What is Employee Onboarding? ‍

Employee onboarding is the processes and programs in place to introduce new hires to the company. This includes several aspects including job training, team integration, culture introduction, and more. HR professionals have realized the positive impact this can have on the employee experience and on the company as a whole. Giving new hires a good onboarding experience can boost hire retention and help determine whether or not they choose to stay with a company. ‍

Essentially, the employee onboarding process is your company's first impression of your new hires. It will also give your new team members a look into the company culture and company values. This is something you won't be able to do again so it's important to give new team members the best employee onboarding experiences the first time around.  

New hire onboarding is usually a collection of formal training and informal or ad hoc activities. The formal part of new hire onboarding usually consists of orientations and training sessions. These are essential in ensuring that your new employees have all the skills, tools, and knowledge they need to be able to do their job well. When done correctly, successful onboarding programs will also prevent new employees from feeling overwhelmed by their work. ‍

The other part of the employee onboarding process experience is informal but just as important. This consists of informal activities like mentoring or job shadowing as well as one-on-one meetings with other employees and team members and management. This part of the onboarding process helps new hires get acquainted with the teams they are going to be working with in the future. ‍

No matter how a company approaches their onboarding, a good onboarding process for new hires can be an investment. However, it's money well spent. Employee onboarding statistics show that having a strong employee onboarding process can boost hire retention and prevent early turnover in as many as 1 out of every 4 new hires. ‍

22 Incredible Employee Onboarding Statistics ‍

Still not convinced onboarding is essential for new employees? Check out these employee onboarding statistics and see how your business can be positively impacted by a strong onboarding process. ‍

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New Hire Retention ‍

• 86% of employees decide whether they will stay with a company long-term in the first six months of employment.  
• 58% of new employees will still be with a company for three years if they completed a structured employee onboarding program.
• Organizations with an effective employee onboarding process increase retention by 82%.

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Turnover ‍Onboarding Statistics

• 33% of new hires look for a new job within six months of starting a job.
• 23% of new hires leave within a year.
• The organizational cost of employee turnover is estimated to be 100% to 300% of the former employee's salary.
• Roughly 16% of employees leave between the first week and the third month.
• 15% of respondents who left within three months said the lack of an onboarding program contributed to their decision to quit.  
• In 2020, voluntary turnover cost companies in the U.S. at least $630 billion.

New Hire Performance and New Hire Productivity ‍

• In 2012, companies in the US and UK spent an estimated $35 billion on unproductive employees.
• It takes eight months for a new hire to reach their full productivity.
• 60% of companies do not set short-term goals for new employees.
• 72% of employees find 1-on-1 meetings with their manager the most useful aspect of onboarding.
• 22% of companies have no formal onboarding program.
• 48% of employees leave their first job within the first 18 months.
• Productivity increases by over 70% in companies with a well-structured onboarding program.
• 66% of companies with an onboarding program have better assimilation rates.
• 37% of companies do not extend their onboarding program beyond a month.
• 50% of employees found their company's onboarding program only somewhat successful or unsuccessful.
• 83% of the highest performing companies begin onboarding before a new hire's first day at work.
• Company manager satisfaction increases by 20% when their employees have formal onboarding training.
• Very late responses to job-related queries or a negative onboarding experience may produce disengaged employees

How Strong Onboarding Programs Helps New Hires ‍

The phrase "start off on the right foot" is applicable to many things including giving your new hires the best possible start in your company. In the past several years, HR professionals have all agreed that companies with a strong employee onboarding program set their new hires up for success from the very first day. ‍

Employee onboarding isn't just about properly introducing your company to your new hire. It is about properly equipping them with all the tools they will need and giving them a chance to create good connections within the teams. With the right employee onboarding process, new hires will feel like they are an integral part of the company's community and this will make them more invested from their very first day. ‍

This positive onboarding experience will not only help make new hires feel inspired and included but will also impact how they see the company overall. Companies that take the time to spend for and craft good employee onboarding processes show their new hires that they care about their success and this instils confidence in the organization. ‍

Best Employee Onboarding Practices

In today's competitive world, companies need to go above and beyond to create the ultimate onboarding programs that can significantly boost new hire retention and employee engagement.

As proven by the employee onboarding statistics we've listed above, poor onboarding will negatively affect your employee retention, employee turnover, and employee engagement. Here are some of the best employee onboarding programs to easily retain employees

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Send A New Employee A Welcome Email

Eleven per cent of new employees changed their mind on an offer after passing the hiring process. However, a popular onboarding strategy, such as a well-timed welcome email, can help convince your new hire to join the company.

When composing an email, it is best to let your new employee know that you are looking forward to working with them and that they can send you messages should they have any questions before their starting date. You can also outline the next steps in the onboarding process.

Additionally, writing a welcome email would not cost your company much. It is one of those strategies that you can do using software. Automating onboarding tasks can save your HR leaders time for other tasks as well as improve employee retention.

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Consider Preboarding Programs

A good onboarding program should not begin on the employee's first day. Begin the onboarding process after the employee's hiring by introducing them to the team via a Slack channel or through a company-wide introduction email.

You can also begin onboarding training by pairing your introductions with information about the company, such as its mission, vision, values, and culture.

Effective onboarding programs give employees an inside look into the company even before they begin. This will also get the paperwork out of the way, which means new hires can focus on making introductions during their first day.

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Launch The Buddy Program

Pairing your new worker with a seasoned employee can help them fully acclimate to the working environment. One of the top onboarding challenges is when a new hire has so many things they want to know, but doesn't want to bother their co-workers to ask.

Launching a buddy program can help your new employees feel more comfortable, which can boost new hire productivity and new hire proficiency.

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Have A Structured Onboarding Process

Having a standard onboarding process ensures that the message and experience you create is the same for all employees, regardless of their role.

Having said that, however, your company still needs to make small changes on onboarding processes depending on the type of employees.

Your employee onboarding practices should be slightly different between remote workers and on-site workers. It is also common to include intensive training for specific roles, such as your customer service representatives.

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As demonstrated by these 22 mind-blowing onboarding stats, onboarding impacts retention, engagement, satisfaction, productivity and is ultimately a necessary process for your business to succeed.

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Many companies have successfully integrated Qualee's mobile-first solutions to streamline their onboarding process. With an intuitive app driving employee engagement, Qualee makes it easy for companies to create engaging and effective onboarding experiences. Give Qualee a try by joining our Starter Plan today!

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You might be interested in the following resources:
Calculate onboarding ROI using our Onboarding Cost Calculator
‍Learn about our Employee Engagement Platform
‍Trial our Employee Onboarding App
Our Recommended Exit Interview Questions for an Effective Offboarding Experience

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[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2015/05/29/how-to-get-employee-onboarding-right/?sh=1a0856cd407b
[2] https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/onboarding-key-retaining-engaging-talent.aspx
[3] https://b2b-assets.glassdoor.com/the-true-cost-of-a-bad-hire.pdf
[4] https://hbr.org/2015/03/technology-can-save-onboarding-from-itself
[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/85broads/2013/07/19/how-not-to-lose-your-new-employees-in-their-first-45-days/?sh=5e79dc53be35
[6] https://hbr.org/2018/12/to-retain-new-hires-spend-more-time-onboarding-them?registration=success
[7] https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/onboarding/2017/5-things-new-hires-want-during-onboarding
[8] https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucerogers/2019/01/25/is-onboarding-the-new-hr-secret-for-company-success/?sh=5fda21dc1484
[9] https://www.aberdeen.com/hcm-essentials/perfecting-onboarding-funnel/